The movie starts with a group of women being taken to Hitler’s compound where Hitler selects a woman known as Traudl Junge to be his personal secretary. Earlier it was shown that Junge felt bad about liking Hitler.
During the Battle of Berlin on Hitler’s 56th birthday Hitler and Junge are told that the Soviet Union is approaching and are encouraged to evacuate. Hitler decides not to, and says he will stop them in Berlin, those of Hitler’s subordinates who do want to evacuate attempt to surrender Germany without Hitler knowing.
Across Berlin children are mounting defenses against the Soviet Union. They are inspired to do so because some of them receive medals. A doctor working for the Nazis is also told to leave, but is then sent to an empty hospital with an enormous amount of dead bodies in the basement to bring medical supplies to the troops.
Hitler then begins killing everyone and destroying everything that could possibly be a liability once the Soviet Union took over. Many disagree with him but the plan is seen through anyway. Hitler’s companion Eva Braun throws a party for the people who were living in the bunker with Hitler.Hitler finds out that he can no longer mobilize any of his troops, so he becomes frustrated and in a rage says that he will commit suicide. Civilians and children fighting with the Nazis are being shot down in the streets but they receive no help because they chose to do it themselves.
As high ranking military officials turn against Hitler he becomes angry with them and orders that they be executed. At this point Hitler is just wasting resources because he refuses to give up on the war. Hitler wants the bunker to be rebuilt, but the general who was supposed to be in charge of it tries to surrender to the allies. A Nazi experimental doctor asks Hitler if he can leave Berlin but Hitler will not allow it, so he goes home and kills himself and his family.
Hitler and Braun marry, eat their last meal together and then commit suicide. Hitler had ordered that he and all of his companions be killed and cremated, which is what takes place. Following these deaths almost every Nazi official kills themselves and their families while the city outside is overtaken by the Soviet Union.
The movie comes to an end with Junge from the beginning riding off with a man on a motorcycle.
I personally felt this movie was a very graphic and therefore probably fairly accurate representation of Hitler’s final days and how he kind of went insane following the invasion of Berlin by the Soviet Union.
Pictures:
Sources:
Downfall
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downfall_%28film%29 - for pictures
Comments
Good summary but you only had one picture. Did you like it?