Himmler's madness, the same as Hitler's wonder weapons. Himmler was No 1. war criminal in the eyes of allies, especially after they watched the concentration camps.
I think that Himmler wanted to great them lends more to making sense that the concentration camps weren't places of execution. The deaths in the camps were more a result of starvation and disease that was rampant at that time. The bald heads were due to the lice that were an issue at that time. It makes no sense that Himmler would commit war crimes, then walk into an interview as if they never happened. What makes nore sense, is that the accusation of crimes were false
My amateur translation of the scene. H is Himmler, F is Fegelein, S is Speer. H:Between the two of us, (HItler) is finished. F: (sarcastically) Oh really? What do you expect from a man who doesn't smoke or drink and on top of all that is vegetarian? H: I'm being serious here, Fegelein. I have to take this situation into my own hands. Berlin will fall in just a few days. Once Hitler is dead, whom do you think the Allies will negotiate with? F:What makes you so sure the Allies will negotiate? H:They need the Nazi state and my SS to keep order after the war. Give me an hour with Eisenhower, and he'll see things the same way. The first contact has been made. F:Tread carefully, this is treason. H: Fegelein, I have other worries. When I meet Eisenhower, should I give him the HItler salute or a handshake? F:Look out. (then sarcastically): The later the evening, the better the guests. S: Gentlemen, are you leaving? I wanted to talk with you. The Fuhrer's orders, about destruction... H: Excuse me, friend but I have to go. VIsit me in Hohenychten some time. Me and my staff are heading north to support the battle for Berlin.
Thomas Kretschmann, here Fegelein, did an amazing Job at movie "Stalingrad". If you see Stalingrad and then Downfall you can make and see some parallels.
I think this film presents a somewhat distorted portrait of Fegelein. As a field commander on the Eastern Front, he oversaw the massacre of thousands of Jews, and prior to that, participated in the killing of the elites of Polish society. He also was a lowlife thief. As a police officer before Hitler came to power, he was fired after being caught stealing a copy of a promotion exam. As an SS Grupenfuhrer, he was caught stealing gold and jewelry twice, and was saved from being court martialed by Himmler's intervention. He was also a notorious womanizer, who impregnated his Polish mistress, for which he could have been imprisoned under Germany's racial purity laws--sex between Germans and ethnic Slavs was strictly forbidden. The real evil of his character is never displayed in the film. He was virtually certain to be executed as a war criminal after the war, if he had survived.
"Sagen sie, wenn ich Eisenhower gegenuberstehe was halten Sie fur ungebracht, Hitlergruss, oder soll ich ihm die Hand schutteln". Das ist ja vielleicht mein Lieblingsatze des Films. Ich muss sagen, hier der Schauspieler Himmlers war echt angstlich anhlich wie den wahren Mann, er sieht genauso aus wie Himmler, der Schauspieler klingt eben als den Mann in den beruhmten Tonaufnahmen. Ein wunderschonliche Auslegung.
For your information, there were no underground positions at that time, especially during the Allies' entry into Berlin and the general fog of the foundations, and the Reichstag and the Führer's officers, along with the officers, were in the Bunker in Berlin, underground, waiting for the coming hours, either the end or the continuation of the resistance, and so on. It is a beautiful film, but the majority of films come... From a director and the truth is not mentioned in it
