The Hitler Youth Artillery Scene is a scene in Downfall, which, although not commonly used in parodies, is notable for the Hitler Youth soldiers preparing for a hopeless battle: being a lone unit on the field and relying solely on an AA gun to fight.
In Downfall[]
While civilians are making efforts to flee Berlin several Hitler Youth soldiers are manning an 85-mm gun. As people push a damaged tram, using them as barricades against the advancing Soviets, Wilhelm Kranz, an old man without a left arm, appears approaching the nest. A boy, Peter Kranz, Wilhelm's son, who was moving empty shells sees him and tells him to leave him alone. Wilhelm then asks everybody how old they are and tells them to play something other than war.
The group commander, a young lieutenant, asks him what he wants. Wilhelm says he wants his son back alive. The lieutenant tells him that he should be proud of his son: he destroyed two tanks and that the Führer will award him later that day. Wilhelm asks the lieutenant if he has fought on a battle, but he answers that he hasn't had the honor yet. Inge Dombrowski, the blonde pigtail girl, says that they will all fight to the last man. Wilhelm, however, points out that they are in a trap, the Soviets will surround them. Inge claims that they will fight back with the flak gun, and, despite the fact that Wilhelm points out that the Soviets will outnumber them, she ignores him and claims that they have all taken an oath.
Wilhelm then shouts at them the fact that the war is lost to which Peter runs away yelling "Coward". Wilhelm tells them one last time that if they don't leave the Soviets will kill them. He then departs while the Youth look indifferent.
In Downfall Parodies[]
The scene is used sometimes in parodies, albeit not so often. Parodies usually involve Wilhelm shouting at the Youth, criticizing them. One notable use is in Hitler Vs Justin Bieber Fans, where Wilhelm criticizes them for their lack of weapons in the war that they're about to fight.
In KakashiBallZ's parody Hitler and Friends Explain How to Make a Hitler Parody, the scene presents Wilhelm as Hitler Rants Parodies, criticizing a handful of aspiring Hitler parody makers, on how they screw up their parodies.
This scene is also the center point of WonkyTonkBotty's Hitler's message to Kids parodies, which spoofs stereotypical PSAs towards children, like "Don't do drugs", "Have a good taste in music" or "Respect your parents".
Transcript[]
German transcript and English translation | ||
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Speaker | German | English |
PETER | Hau ab! Lass mich in Ruhe! | Go away! Leave me alone! |
WILHELM | Wie alt bist denn du? | How old are you? |
Zwölf? | Twelve? | |
Und du, 14? | And you, 14? | |
Und du? Warum seid ihr hier? | And you? Why are you all here? | |
Wollt ihr Krieg spielen? | Do you want to play war? | |
Geht nach Hause, spielt etwas anderes! | Go to your homes, play something else! | |
OBERLEUTNANT | Wer sind Sie denn? | Who are you? |
Was wollen Sie hier? | What do you want over here? | |
WILHELM | Ich will meinen Sohn...und zwar lebend. | I want my son...alive. |
OBERLEUTNANT | Sie sollten lieber stolz sein auf Ihren Sohn. | You should be really proud of your son. |
Er hat zwei Panzer abgeschossen. | He destroyed two tanks. | |
Der Führer persönlich wird ihn heute dafür auszeichnen. | The Führer will personally congratulate him today. | |
WILHELM | Sie sind jung. | You are young. |
An welcher Front haben Sie gekämpft? | On which front did you fight? | |
OBERLEUTNANT | Ich hatte noch nicht die Ehre. | I haven't had the honor yet. |
WILHELM | Es ist Ihr Glück dass Sie noch nie eine Schlacht erleben mussten. | You are lucky that you have never experienced a battle. |
Und jetzt seien Sie vernüftig und schicken die Kinder nach Hause! | Now be reasonable and send the children home! | |
INGE | Wir werden die Stellung halten bis zum letzen Mann. | We will hold our fortification down to the last man. |
WILHELM | Und welche Stellung soll das sein? | And what fortification would that be? |
Das ist keine Stellung, das ist eine Falle. | This is no fortification, this is a trap. | |
Die Russen werden euch von zwei Seiten in die Zange nehmen, und ihr könnt noch nicht mal wegrennen. | The Russians will pinch you in from two sides, so you can't run away anymore. | |
INGE | Wir werden zurückschießen. | We'll shoot back at them. |
WILHELM | Mit was denn? | With what? |
OBERLEUTNANT | Wir benutzen die Flak als Artillerie. | We're using this AA gun as artillery. |
WILHELM | Die Russen sind mit mehreren Armeen im Anmarsch, mit Panzern und schwerer Artillerie. | The Russians are approaching with multiple armies, with tanks and heavy artillery. |
Ihr glaubt doch nicht im Ernst, ihr könntent diesen Sturm auch nur für fünf Minuten aufhalten? | Do you guys really believe that you can hold off their assault for even five minutes? | |
INGE | Wir haben es dem Führer geschworen. | We made our pledge to the Führer. |
WILHELM | Habt ihr denn noch immer nicht begriffen? | Do you guys still not understand? |
Der Krieg ist verloren! | The war is lost! | |
Es ist am Ende! | It's pointless! | |
PETER | Feigling! | Coward! |
WILHELM | Haut ab! | All of you get away! |
Jetzt! | Now! | |
Wenn die Russen kommen, und ihr seid noch da, geht ihr alle drauf. | When the Russians come and you are still here, you will all be taken down. |
Trivia[]
- Peter shouts "Feigling" only in the Theatrical Version.
- The Anti-Aircraft gun in the scene is actually the Soviet 85mm M1939 52-K, it is supposed to represent the Flak 88 18/36/37 Anti-Aircraft gun. However, it was easier to get the 52-K as most of the filming was done in Russia.
- Inge's actress Yelena Zelenskaya spoke her lines with a Russian accent and had to be re-dubbed for the release of the movie. In the Behind the scenes footage her actual voice can be heard.
Gallery[]
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Hitler Youth Artillery Scene View Template Page |
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