Himmler and Fegelein at the garage is a scene in Downfall, which is used quite often in parodies.
In Downfall[]
In the garage Heinrich Himmler and Hermann Fegelein, are gossiping about Hitler. Himmler tells Fegelein that Berlin will fall in a matter of days and that the Allies will turn to him for negotiations. Fegelein is uncertain if the Allies will negotiate with him, but Himmler assures him that without the SS and the police, Europe would be complete chaos and they would have no choice and that a one-hour conversation with Dwight D. Eisenhower would be enough to settle things out. He reveals that he has already made contact with the Allies. Fegelein warns him that it's high treason, but Himmler isn't concerned and even jokes about whether he should shake hands with Eisenhower or give him the Nazi salute. Albert Speer arrives, and before he has a chance to talk, Himmler leaves saying that he's going north to help with the fighting against the Soviets.
In Parodies[]
The scene is most prominently used in parody series, particularly in Viva La Fegel. Most of the time, Himmler and Fegelein are depicted scheming a grand antic or recapping on successful pranks, sometimes set in a garage owned by Fegelein in some way (e.g. FegelCorp, Inc.'s headquarters).
Speer's role as an antic dealer shines brightly in this scene, selling the antic duo a multitude of antic tools and devices. He has also been portrayed as a delivery boy, like in Hitler is informed his pizza will arrive late.
This scene has also been used to show the garage as a parking lot for the Führerbunker's occupants, such as QuestionTuesdayFTW's The Bunker's Offensive Christmas parody, where Fegelein is shown pulling into the garage.
A running gag in parodies using this scene is the car radio in Himmler's car, which plays Jim Jones' "We fly high" as it rolls away. One of the earliest examples of this gag is in this video. Speer's arrival is sometimes also given a similar treatment, such as his car honking to the tunes of La Cucaracha.[citation needed]
Few parodies use this scene on its own, such as this one.
Transcript[]
German transcript and English translation | ||
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Speaker | German | English |
HIMMLER | Unter uns, der Mann ist fertig. | Between us, that man is done for. |
FEGELEIN | Na ja, was soll man von einem erwarten, der weder raucht noch trinkt und überdies Vegetarier ist? | Well, what do you expect from someone who neither smokes nor drinks, let alone a vegetarian? |
HIMMLER | Jetzt aber mal im Ernst, Fegelein. | Now is the time to be serious, Fegelein. |
Ich werde wohl die Sache selbst in der Hand nehmen müsste. | I will probably have to take matters in my own hands. | |
Berlin wird fallen, und das in wenigen Tagen. | Berlin will fall, and in the next few days. | |
Wenn der Führer tot ist, mit wem, glauben Sie wohl, werden die Alliierten verhandeln? | When the Führer is dead, who do you believe the Allies will negotiate with? | |
FEGELEIN | Was macht Sie denn so sicher, dass die Alliierten mit Ihnen verhandeln wollen? | What makes you so sure that the Allies want to negotiate with you? |
HIMMLER | Der Westen braucht die Nazi-Staat und meine SS, um nach dem Krieg Ordnung zu schaffen. | The West needs the Nazi state and my SS in order to maintain order after the war. |
Glauben Sie es mir, eine Stunde mit Eisenhower, und er sieht das genauso. | Believe me, one hour with Eisenhower, and he will agree. | |
Erste Kontakte sind geknüpft. | We have already made initial contact. | |
FEGELEIN | Seien Sie vorsichtig. | You be careful. |
Das ist Landesverrat. | That is treason. | |
HIMMLER | Ach, Fegelein, da hab ich ganz andere Sorgen... | Fegelein, I have entirely different concerns... |
Sagen Sie, wenn ich Eisenhower gegenüberstehe, was halten Sie für angebracht? | Tell me, when I am standing before Eisenhower, what do you think is appropriate? | |
Hitlergruß, oder soll ich ihm die Hand schütteln? | The Nazi salute, or should I shake his hand? | |
FEGELEIN | Sieh an... | Well, well... |
...je später der Abend, desto lieber die Gäste. | ...the later the evening, the merrier the guests. | |
SPEER | Meine Herren, sind Sie schon im Aufbruch? | Gentlemen, are you already about to leave? |
Ich wollte Sie eigentlich noch sprechen. | I actually wanted to talk to you. | |
Die Befehle des Führers über die Zerstörung aller zivilien Einrichtungen... | The orders from the Führer about the destruction of all civil institutions... | |
HIMMLER | Bedauere, mein Lieber, ich muss fort. | Sorry, my dear, I have to go. |
Besuchen Sie mich doch bei Gelegenheit in Hohenlychen. | Visit me in Hohenlychen when you have the chance. | |
Ich begebe mich jetzt allerdings mit meinem Stab in den Norden des Reichs, um von dort aus den Kampf um Berlin zu unterstützen. | I am indeed going now with my staff to the north of the Reich in order to support the fight for Berlin from there. |
Triva[]
- In this scene, the person who is behind Speer also opens the car door for Himmler, and salutes to him in the end with the Hitler salute is believed to be that of Erich Kempka in the garage.
- During this scene, he doesn't have any lines at all and that proof of him being Kempka is his appearance like he has the Obersturmbannführer patch sewed onto his uniform, the position of the Nazi Badge on the uniform is exactly the same to the other scenes he appears in, etc.
- Director Oliver Hirschbiegel remarked that while military vehicles from the era were hard to get for filming (with many which appeared in Downfall being Soviet-made), period-accurate cars are surprisingly easy to obtain, particularly for this scene, thanks to classic car collectors.
Gallery[]
Previous Himmler greets Hitler (aka Hitler Wants Himmler Scene) |
Himmler and Fegelein at the garage View Template Page |
Next Hitler walks around the model of Berlin (Germania) |
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