As a German, I say it loud to all these aftercome, newborn Nazis: WE MAY NOT FORGET! It's a duty to every moral human being! Heaven help, what we face in future.
On reflection I think Marlene Dietrich is one, if not THE most remarkable women not just of her time but in history. The way she went from her initial Movie Goddess career, to entertaining the troops of those opposing her homeland, she did so with great bravery and more than a little discomfort. Her courage to accept this role knowing how many of her fellow Germans would hate her for doing so, is another indication of what a truly brave and courageous women she was, Her later career as perhaps the most successful Chanteuse of the '50's through to the 70's was amazing- I know I saw her in 72 in Concert and believe me she was STUNNING! She made the songs "Blowing In The Wind" and Where have all The Flowers gone hits in Europe. I think it's a Great shame that she is often overlooked or more often perceived as just a movie actress, she accomplished so much more. People don't realize what great success she had in Concert. A TRUE LEGEND!
@@launabanauna8958 She had no way of knowing that she would remain a huge star in America. She already was a huge star in Germany and the Nazis would have fawned all over her if she had bought into their BS. It's interesting how you excuse the Nazi brutality ("the poor Germans didn't know!!") and take such a cynical view of Dietrich, a far more principled person than you.
@@launabanauna8958 No, there are people who are prepared to sacrifice a lot , even their lives to defend their principles. There were people in occupied Europe who,were risked their lives to hide the the Jews . You are a very miserable person who is motivated only by money
Spencer Tracy's line about how nobody seems to have known recalls Colonel Lawson's at a different point in the film: "There are no Nazis in Germany, didn't you know that, Judge? The Eskimos invaded Germany and took over. That's how all those terrible things happened. It wasn't the fault of the Germans, it was the fault of those damn Eskimos!"
@@newlam7958 Let us remember that at the Nuremberg trials the evidence was clear. America had demonstrated to the Nazis how to promote and deploy sterilizations. We could blame the Muslims for many things. That said, there has never been a country on Earth as immoral or as violent as the USA.
Aztecs and human sacrifice? Japanese and the Rape of Nakking? Stalin starving millions of Ukrainians and Kulaxks to death? Mao starving millions of Chinese to death? Tutsis hacking 100,000 Hutus to death with machetes? ISIS burning people alive in cages? The US the most violent? Not by a long shot.
Such a powerful scene. I’ve never seen the movie but that last line, “we have to forget, if we are to go on living”, makes me believe that they did know. And if we forget then those that have committed atrocities will not be brought to justice, victims will have no justice, and we risk repeating these atrocities.
Of course they knew. There wasn't anything they could do about it. They were powerless at best, complicit at worst. Neither is a good look to them though.
And here we are today ….on the greatest country in the world repeating the atrocities of the Germany of yesterday….not at the same scale of those days ..but if we are careful and learn from those days ..we are bound to do the same ….and for that as with the Germans ..we too will be sorry …
@@nrafter530 to serve regime , that makes a person wear a yellow star , already puts her husband and her into the barbarians. Everyone in Germany knew about the camps yes, Germans coming from the Eastern front was talking about mass shootings of Jews . Hundreds of thousands of Germany soldiers knew it was happening, because Jews in Ukraine, Belarus , Lithuania, were not sent to the camps like Polish , Czech , Dutch and Hungarian Jews, but massacred in places where the soldiers stationed . In front of their eyes , sometimes with their participations . To stop soldiers from talking about it when they were coming home for the respite or recuperation was impossible. Her husband was a general in the army , he knew what was happening in the places he was occupying .
Yes...it shows how people can be ordinary citizens one day...and then they listen to a hate-filled politician who cons their senses. Then they begin to hate and become "conservative". Then they receive a little push-back from those with a conscience and they retreat into a hard right-wing bubble. Then they find any scapegoat to make war upon or a voiceless minority to blame for their failure at life.
Hitler announced loud and clear what his intentions were.Of course they knew. Marlene Dietrich is so good in all her endeavours. Love her singing as well as her acting.
It was written that this scene was the most difficult of all of her career for Dietrich. She felt she could not bring herself to say, "We did not know," when she believed that it wasn't true. Keep in mind that her life during WW II life was spent mostly in the U.S. She travelled to Europe only to support/entertain the Allied troops.
Marlene Dietrich was an American Patriot. She was a German, yes, but she loved America and you are correct, she hated saying those lines. She helped allied war efforts wherever she could and never denied that Germans didn't know what was going on. She was a great lady and a good German American.
They did not Know? THEY DID NOT KNOW! It is the business of all honorable men to make it there business to KNOW what their government is doing IN THEIR NAME.
@@ulrichlehnhardt4293 I wonder where they thought their Jewish neighbors, friends, schoolmates, colleagues all disappeared to? Of course they knew!! Common sense tells anyone who is not utterly blinded by denial.
@@sharonarnoldi I can tell you what they knew IMO - it is a long list (sorry): 1. They knew that the NSDAP had a racial party program 2. They knew in 1933 that Jews were not allowed to be civil servants 3. They knew in 1933 that (for one day) a boycott of Jewish shops was organized - many Germans refused to follow the boycott. One German send an open letter to Hitler in which he protested against the boycott. He was sent to a concentration camp, tortured and emigrated to the UK after being liberated. 4. They knew in 1935 that weddings and sexual intercourse with Jews were forbidden 5. They knew that political opponents were sent to concentration camps, e.g. they knew that priests, communists and homosexuals were sent to concentration camps after having served a prison punishment (the majority of inmates of concentration camps on German soil were non-jews - jews were mainly deported to Theresienstadt or to death camps in the east from 1941 onwards - ) In Dachau alone there were 200000 inmates over the years - mainly non-jews. So Germans knew that the Nazis had erected a terror regime (of which many Germans became victims too) 6. They knew that many companies were taken away from Jewish owners (when it was published in the newspapers, they often said that it was due to fiscal fraud of the owners - which was a lie ) 7. They knew signs in the streets or at the entrance of towns which said "Juden unerwünscht" (no Jews wanted here) 8. They knew that many of their jewish neighbors and schoolmates emigrated (to America e.g.) because of the situation until 1939 9. They knew newspapers like the "Stürmer" or movies like the "Ewige Jude" in which terrible lies were said about Jews. 10. They knew in 1938 that synagoges were burnt and many Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps (not death camps!) for a couple of time - most of them were liberated the same year. 11. They knew in 1941 that Jews had to wear a yellow star 12. They knew in 1941 that Jews were deported to "the east". Jews received a letter that they are going to be deported. They received lists of what they had to pack and what they had to leave behind. Everything was "organized". Older Jews even could make "contracts" prior to being deported to Theresienstadt. They were promised a "life long pension and medical care" if they "moved" to Theresienstadt (where they found out that everything was a lie and they were killed instead) 13. They knew from their sons and husbands, who were in the army in the east, that "if they gonna do the same thing to us, what we did to them, it's gonna be horrible after the war" So, they knew a lot but there was no official announcement of the murder of Jews. There were rumours but no-one knew for sure (not even the Jews) what is going to happen in the east. Germans could still "hope" that Jews are only supposed to work in the east - and so hoped many Jews before being deported. You also have to keep in mind that in many rural areas in Germany there had not been any Jewish population before the war. Jews mainly lived in cities. 0,9 % of all Germans in 1933 were Jewish. There were about 500000 Jews in Germany in 1933 of which 125000 were deported from 1941 onwards (the 375000 had emigrated until 1939 or committed suicide). So, there were not too many "friends, classmates, or colleagues" left when the deportation started. The story is complex. It was horrible. I certainly don't want to excuse the behaviour of the Germans. I just want to explain it. And I certainly don't want to excuse the Nazis. They were terrible. Even if they had not killed one single Jew, they should have been sentenced to death for what they did prior to the Holocaust. Mankind has to learn from these crimes. Mankind should do everything to prevent crimes like this in the future. Sentences that start with "THEY" are not helpful in this process, because judging an entire group is never helpful. In fact the whole terrible thing started because someone had started to say "THEY"
@@ulrichlehnhardt4293 ...ordinary german person knew..but i think they were helpless too help .even there own children non jewish children so brain washed in school ..they were taught too snitch turn there own parents in..if they seen any sympathy for the Jewish people at that period in time it was hard add to Love Thy Neighbour it was a very terrible unimaginable horrific time for the Jews and even to this day people are still horrified beyond belief what happened
Sir look in a mirror the vast vast majority of your forefathers were cold blooded killers they killed in the caves the jungles through the bronze age through medieval Europe the inquisition through the wars of the middle ages the wars of napolean the civil wars the world wars the endless Afghanistan waryour a killer try to fight for peace
Who were the responsible for the German defeat in WW1? Who were the responsible of the degeneration and economical crisis in the 20-30's? Who are the responsible for the mass migration that commits crimes today? Who are the responsible for the moral degeneration nowadays in the West? We know who. We can play the same game and the best part of it, it's that you're not stopping us this time.
All German citizens knew what was happening. They knew from the beginning. They knew what was happening when there neighbors and friends were taken away. They all knew. Like the ending of this scene, They all wanted to forget.
Timothy Butler What exactly do you think that they knew? Many might have known that people were being taken away to concentration camps, but they did not know the details of what happened in those camps. Most people were just trying to stay alive each day. To say “they knew,” does that mean that they have some responsibility as well?!
Fascism trains people to accept the unacceptable. If you do not stand up in 1933 against the Reichstag fire decree (suspension of civil liberty), why would you stand up against the Enabling Act (which granted Hitler law making power)? If you did not stand up against that, why would you stand up against the dissolution of local/state authority? Why stand up against civil service ban on Jews? Why stand up against the removal of citizenship for Jews a short year later? Why stand up against the night of the long knives? Every injustice, every evil is only slightly worse than before. They are presented daily, it becomes impossible to keep track of them all. Each one numbs you to the next, preparing you to accept greater and greater evil as normal.
"We did not know". Utter nonsense. Soldiers returning from the Eastern front brought back tales of atrocities. The Nazi's made no secret of their intentions. The regular troops often worked alongside Einsatzgruppen. They all knew.
Rumors? Anyone could walk along the walls containing Dachau and smell the stench -- it was in the middle of a populated area. There were hundreds of camps and subcamps within Germany, and most were not hidden behind a wide impenetrable perimeter. Anyone working in industry, for Krupp or IG Farben or many other companies, would have come across the slave laborers. Anyone who didn't know, it was because they did not want to know.
@@ChimeraAZWrong, if the amount of people that “didn’t know” done something with the ones who knew and DID do something and paid the ultimate price, they could have done something about it.
“They are liars and are as guilty as sin. The people are to blame for their cowardice.” - the US Army Report on Dachau concentration camp, after the local German people said: “We all had been lied to. We didn’t know that this was going on.”
It’s crazy to think Spencer is only 1 year older than Marlene but here he looks like he could be 30 years older than her. She graced and aged like very beautiful vintage wine while he………yeaaaaaaaaaaa
“We must forget if we want to go on living”. This is the rational of why she stated before “We did not know” When Hither as Marlene to come back to Germany, her answer was becoming a US citizen. Her family was divided for political reasons. Marlene had a sense of dignity and performed for the Allied troops even in the front line so the German troops could listened her voice on the radio. She did it with the hope, they stop the war!
Launa Banauna - you’re just being willfully blind to facts you find inconvenient. In 1937, she donated her entire salary for “Knight Without Armor” to help refugees and she gave up her German citizenship to become a naturalized American in 1939 and her anti-Nazi efforts throughout the War were too numerous to mention. In the late 1930s, Hitler tried unsuccessfully to lure her back to Germany with promises of lucrative film gigs when she became “box office poison” in the US and the UK. She received the Medal of freedom in 1947 and received honors for her efforts from France, Belgium and Israel. Hardly the conduct of an unprincipled money hungry entertainer! And as regards “wanting to live”, she travelled to entertain US troops in USO tours in 1944 and 45, including appearances in Germany within easy walking distance of the front lines of the war.
Those Sudetes did not know. Those Germans in Kaliningrad did not know. All German settlers that found houses with pots on the stove, full wardrobes and open windows in eastern Europe that had been forcibly abandoned by their occupants to make room for the new German breed of the Lebensraum did not know...
Wow. There is such a sense of realism and personal conviction to Marlene's monologue here that it's hard to believe she's acting. Then one realizes that as a German who lived through those times, much of this dialogue comes from her heart as Marlene and not as a German army officer's widow.
They knew, how could they not, neighbours taken away never to return.also many Jews were murdered when they returned to try to get their life back.. they all knew..
Its not a question whether they knew or not, its that they didnt know what they could do to stop it, it was crowd mentality, nobody wanted to step up because it would mean possible internment themselves And furthermore, the Americans imprisoned thousands of japanese, and the brits created the first concentration camps for the boers
Actually it was the 19th Century American government who established "concentration camps" to put away "undesirables" except we called them "reservations" and the inmates "Indians."
"the Americans imprisoned thousands of japanese"I agree with you there,but the Americans did not do what the Germans did to the Jews and all the other minorities in Europe
Siempre he admirado como Spencer Tracy transmitía tanto como actor con solo unas pocas expresiones en su tan peculiar rostro, y en esta película lo hace con una maestría incomparable. Y qué decir de la inmortal Marlene Dietrich, con esa pose tan aristocrática de la vieja Alemania, que odiaba a Hitler, pero colaboró con él con gusto por sus razones egoístas, pidiendo olvido de lo pasado y eludiendo su gran responsabilidad en la maquinaria del terror nazi. Una de las mejores películas que he visto en mi vida, una obra de arte cinematográfico para la eternidad
The Germans knew a lot of towns for practically outside of the gate they saw those people coming in and not leaving the smelt the bodies being burnt they knew know maybe they can do nothing about it I can understand that part but the fact is they just kind of shrugged her shoulders and didn’t worry about it it’s a role is good Germans are never been a champ Sara wanna hear it no more from the Germans.
I doubt that so soon after the war that this inn would have so much food and drink with dancing. West Germany did not really begin to prosper until after 1949. Putting that issue aside, the Germans and later the Austrians were not allowed to forget the atrocities. And yes in the fury of war the allies committed atrocities too such as the fire bombing of German cities killing large numbers of civilians and of course the infamous fire bombing of Dresden which killed civilians that included refugees from eastern Germany and destroyed a beautiful baroque city that the Germans have with great care restored. What saved Germany ironically was the threat of the Soviet Union which became the reason for rebuilding West Germany when many planners were considering de-industrialising the country.
Gee, if the Germans were so concerned about this beautiful baroque city maybe they should have reconsidered whether it was a good idea to enter a war where it might get damaged. Ditto Japan.
@@Vydio One could make the same point about the current American proxy war with Russia down to the last Ukrainian. With the nuclear weapons that the United States and Russia have, the stakes are much higher not only for our survival but that of all life on this planet. The bipartisan plutocracy controlling the congressional military industrial complex are willing to risk our lives all for greedy profit and control over Russian natural resources and energy resources. We have a delusional congress and president who have convinced themselves that the United States is invincible even after the debacles in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our delusional congress and senile president really believe they can bring about regime change in Moscow.
You need to look & study this whole film carefully, from end to end, to really Understand what actually eventuated , & the resulting aspect of the Nuremberg War Crimes.
@michaelwright999 They did know. They didnt want to confess. I guess they were copying Speer. He states that he didnt know whats was happening. Later records reveals that he did know and participate in it.
Timothy Butler I'm in agreement. If I was living back then when Speer was released. I'd make sure Mossad, or any of his enemies knew where to find him, then they could have there way with him, perhaps bury his remains in one of his architectural structures.
watching this movie is difficult because ever since the Nuremberg Tribunal the American Empire of the United States has committed crimes against humanity from deliberately exposing the people of the Marshal Islands to deadly nuclear radiation to our current American proxy war with Russia down to the last Ukrainian. Facing up to the crimes the American Empire committed and is still committing for profit is not unpatriotic. We Americans insisted that the German people accept the responsibility for the crimes the Third Reich committed in their name and for their benefit. Who will be left alive to hold the American Empire responsible for crimes against humanity, the ultimate crime of thermonuclear war that kills all life on this planet including millions of people not involved in the war between Russia and the United States. We Americans have lost our constitutional republic which has been replaced by bipartisan plutocracy controlling controlling the congressional military industrial complex. Every day the United States resembles more and more the totalitarian state that was the Nazi Third Reich complete with media censorship, eroding civil liberties, increasing poverty and greater repression from the state which distrusts its own citizens.
This is an imperfect world thus there's NEVER been a PERFECT country. But once God was taken out of our classrooms, you end up with present day America. Unfortunately, God's judgement is coming to America... sooner than you think.
Mmm, over 13.5 million people were involved in the workings of the Concentration camp system. Most of them were Germans although there were Austrians, Slovaks, Czechs, Russians, Poles, Ukrainians and others from the Baltic states. There were thousands of women involved in the day to day running of the camps. They were virtually ignored by all the Allies at the end of the war although a few sadistic female guards were executed. To think that nobody knew anything is just ridiculous. However, at the same time it is also true that there was a thriving resistance movement throughout Germany during Hitler's time in power. Many Germans were executed and sent to concentration camps as a result of defying the Nazis. The acts they committed were sabotauging their system, undermining war production, sheltering Jews, spying for the Allies or minor crimes like listening to 'degenerate music' or listening to foreign radio broadcasts. In short, 'we did not know' cannot possibly be true.
I think a lot of Germans didn’t want to know. They knew what would happen if the Gestapo knocked on their door. There were officers in the army, who fought for their country because of being proud Germans, not because they supported Hitler, I can’t figure out how could they could reconcile those things. But then again, there were several unsuccessful attempts by the military to kill Hitler. I think there were people who definitely believed in all they were told also. I think there were some, at least at the beginning, who were willing to overlook some things, at least between 1933-39 ish, because they had food on their table, their money was actually worth something and they had a job. And when they finally realized that things had gone to shit, it was too late. There were vocal opponents, but they tended up getting shot or what have you. Kinda reminds me of here and Trump…….
This scene shows how people can be ordinary citizens one day...and then they listen to a hate-filled politician who cons their senses. Then they begin to hate and become "conservative". Then they receive a little push-back from those with a conscience and they retreat into a hard right-wing bubble. Then they find any scapegoat to make war upon or a voiceless minority to blame for their failure at life.
This scene shows how people can be ordinary citizens one day...and then they listen to a hate-filled ideologue who cons their senses. Then they begin to hate and become "liberal". Then they receive a little push-back from those with a conscience and they retreat into a hard left-wing bubble. Then they find any scapegoat to hit with a bike lock or they blame Whitey for their failure at life. I dunno about you, but I don't recall any right wing politicians using the IRS to target their enemies or right wing owners of social media companies deplatforming left-wingers en masse. Those things sound like something villains would do. (I'd almost say "Nazis", but I don't feel it's right to sling a term like that at people just because they disagree with me politically.)
@@theproplady If you read a few books instead of getting all your "info" from Hannity and Limbaugh...you'd know most of what you wrote was complete garbage and bullshit. The GOP controlled Congress when the IRS was targeting ANY group that claimed they shouldn't pay taxes and that included just as many or more liberal groups...but...you'd have to be a "reader" to know that. And yes...when you sissy-snowflakes who constantly weep about getting "deplatformed" should read the RULES about posting your Nazi propaganda on a PRIVATE site. But, you'd have to be an adult to follow rules.
