Les enfants d'Hitler

Tim Holt is a nazi youth devoted to Alolf Hitler, but also in love with a petite American blonde (Granville, stepping up from A-support to B-lead) who lives and eventually works in the American school next to the nazi academy. If it sounds like a ridiculous story will develop, you won't be too surprised. Straight propaganda with the spice of melodrama. Kruger is great in a supporting part as Holt's mentor, an Oxford educated nazi colonel. I believe this movie was distributed by expoiteers wiht added holocaust footage on the end (if the sherrifs were out of sight) in the 50s. Interesting to see once, but probably not twice.

A propaganda movie,"Hitler's children " shows how the youth was brought up, and forced to consider Hitler a God;hints at Napoleon are not gratuitous:in their Sunday school lessons,children were told that if they did not obey their emperor ,they would face eternal damnation!But as the character adds:"Napoleon's speeches passed,Hitler's will and art and music will endure . If Dmytryk is not completely convincing,it stems from the part of Karl.His motives are obscure and ceaselessly changing ;his evolution,considering his ambition and his faith in the Fürher ,does not make any sense;Anna ,on the other hand ,is true to herself from start to finish;the scene of the lashes,in front of the camp and the officers , may have inspired Verhoeven for his "starship troopers"which ,despite its limitations, is a condemnation of fascism too. The best scene is perhaps the moment when Anna and Karl discover a young boy in the wood,gagged and bound;"it's part of the training" he says.

I can see how this film would have created a stir when it was released in 1942.World War II was being fought and the Germans dominated Europe. The film is the story of two star crossed lovers: an American girl with German blood and an unfortunate young man who rises from the Hitler Youth and becomes a colonel in the Gestapo. Kind of an unusual take on the boy meets girl story but a good film just the same. Recommended for history buffs and Tim Holt fans.