Hitler's Children (2012)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Absolutely the worst movie.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

"Hitler's Children" is a German-Israeli co-production from 2011, so this documentary has its 5th anniversary this year. The director is Chanoch Ze'evi and the crew list here includes several other Israelis, which is not too surprising though given the context. This is a film about the probably darkest era in German history, but with a very specific context. We all know that Hitler did not have any children, but other driving forces in terms of the horrendous crimes of Nazi Germany did and we get to see several people in here who were (mostly) grand children of the guys who did so much evil between 1933 and 1945. We hear all kinds of stories, about people who could not break with what their parents did and occasionally even still support their ideology, but also about people who don't want nothing to do with their ancestors anymore. A bit of everything, and certainly also something right in-between, with people who tried to find at least something good in their (grand)fathers, but may have failed, but whose examination of their family (history) also helped them in dealing with who they are and with who their own (grand)children may be. And lets be honest. Evil is often not necessarily a consequence alone of who these people were, but also with all the outer influence that somehow had an impact on their lives. And evil is not hereditary I am sure. I thought this was an interesting subject here and the filmmakers informed us on a pretty personal topic here that has not (really) been done in films yet. The question of guilt is a very big one in here from start to finish in this fairly short documentary. It only runs for 59 minutes. I recommend everybody with an interest in German history of the 20th century to check it out. Do not miss out.

Do the following names have a familiar sounding ring to them? Heinrich Himmler? Herman Goring? Rudolf Hoess? Hans Frank? Amon Goeth? Well, if you are at all up on your WW2 history, and, especially, if you're hip to who's who in the notorious Nazi camp, then these particular names should, of course, ring a very clear bell that comes straight from a Gestapo, concentration camp from hell.Anyways - For anyone who might be a little vague about these 5 names and the significance that they had in the scheme of things during WW2, then here's a brief run-down of their general relevance.Heinrich Himmler was second in command of the Nazi Party. His position was directly under Adolf Hitler.Rudolf Hoess was the creator and commander of the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp.Hans Frank was the Polish Governor-General who, during WW2, was directly responsible for all of the ghettos and concentration camps that existed in Poland.Hermann Goring was a high-ranking Nazi official responsible for countless WW2 atrocities.This well-produced, 60-minute documentary consists of interviews with 5 descendants of these once powerful figures who had reigned supreme in the Nazi regime. These interviewees are people who had inherited a legacy that had permanently associated them with one of the greatest crimes in all of history.And their names are as follows - Bettina Goring, great-niece of Herman Goring; Rainer Hoess, grandson of Rudolf Hoess; Katrin Himmler, great-niece of Heinrich Himmler; Niklas Frank, son of Hans Frank; and Monika Goeth, daughter of Amon Goeth.For more than 60 years these people have, in a sense, lived in the shadows, trying to rebuild their lives without being constantly reminded of what their fathers or fore-fathers once did.In Hitler's Children each of these people discusses the delicate balance that they reached between the natural admiration that a child has for his father or relative and the innate revulsion that they clearly hold towards the crimes which their ancestors committed.The viewer is told of the challenges that these people had to face in protecting their families as they passed down their family name to future generations.All-in-all - Hitler's Children was an interesting documentary that provided the viewer with even more insight into the devastating effects of a worldwide event, like WW2, which, even today, still continues to have an impact on us.

"Hitler's Children" is a documentary that interviews and follows a few family members of several evil Nazis--such as Goering, Hoess, Frank and others. The thrust of the film was showing these folks and letting them tell their stories about how they have coped with the evil their relative did. Interestingly, several indicated that they were in the minority--that the rest of their family either wouldn't talk about this evil past or denied that it even occurred.This film was interesting and is worth seeing. Is it a great documentary? Not really. While I am glad I saw it and think it had an interesting message, technically speaking it was occasionally poor--with some sloppy camera-work and some very slow portions. However, I am not sure how much the film can be blamed for the latter entirely, as the version I saw on Netflix was 82 minutes long. It was too long and could have used an editing. BUT, on IMDb, the film is listed at 59 minutes--and perhaps there is a shorter and more tightly constructed film.

Chanoch Ze'evi Has accomplished the near impossible: he has gathered the descendants of Hitler's regime. Placed them in front of his camera, let them talk, provided subtitles, and let the rest of the film work it's own insidious way into the psyches f all who watch it. Perhaps for the first time we are seeing a full picture of what life in and around Adolf Hitler was like as he terrified the universe with his megalomaniac plan for purification of the Aryan race – a plan that resulted in the deaths and tortures and cremations of millions of Jews, gypsies, criminals, homosexuals, and those who tried in vain to stop the atrocities.The cast then are the descendants of Hitler's murderous group – now adults, forever tainted by the sins of their forbears, who explaining to us in penetrating eye contacts what it was like to be around the monster's court. Bettina Goering, Katrin Himmler, Eldad Beck, Rainer Hoess, Niklas Frank, and Monika Goeth are the cast members in this unforgettable film.These six ordinary appearing people were not associated with Nazi leanings and they talk individually about what it is like to carry a name associated with the Nazi Party, being a blood relative to someone associated with hate and murder, being German at a time when that in and of itself was seen as being associated with Nazism, dealing with their family regardless of their allegiance to the Nazi Party, and if they feel any guilt associated with the actions of their infamous ancestor. Bettina Goering is the great-niece of Nazi official Hermann Göring shares her voluntary sterilization she underwent to put an end to her bloodline of horror (she now lives simply in New Mexico). Katrin Himmler is the great-niece of Heinrich Himmler, second in command of the Nazi Party under Adolf Hitler and has written copiously about the evils of the Nazi regime. Rainer Hoess is the grandson of Rudolf Hoess, creator and commandant of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Niklas Frank is the son of Hans Frank, Polish Governor- General during WWII, he who was responsible for the ghettos and concentration camps in Nazi occupied Poland. Monika Goeth is the daughter of Amon Goeth, commandant of the Plaszów Concentration Camp. In addition to these musings, Hoess and journalist Eldad Beck - a third generation Holocaust survivor - travel back to Auschwitz to revisit their shared ancestral past. And Frank tells in his writings and in public speaking engagements, most to school aged children, of his past of being the direct beneficiary to many of the Nazi Party's favors which in turn is partly the reason he denounces his parents.Many viewers will find hearing these tales (basically related in German) unsettling and that is the film's purpose. Never ever forget that period in history and yet realize the agony of the descendants of those beasts that hopefully will never be duplicated. Grady Harp