Hitler's Children

Gripping WW2 movie about a young Gestapo officer (Tim Holt) who must choose between his loyalty to Hitler and the American girl he loves (Bonita Granville). Well-photographed and directed, it's a powerful and fascinating movie that has a lot to chew on for history buffs but is also an entertaining dramatic picture. It was pretty shocking stuff at the time, which led to it being a big hit at the box office. Tim Holt is fantastic in this. Definitely in his top three roles. He was a good actor who's largely forgotten today except among classic film fans. Bonita Granville has one of her meatiest parts here. This is a far cry from Nancy Drew. Kent Smith has a nice role as a sympathetic teacher. He narrates the first part of the movie. Otto Kruger and Hans Conried are two of the Nazis. As with a lot of WW2 era films on IMDb, you'll notice the reviews here are full of the word 'propaganda.' Try to ignore that. The problem isn't with the word itself but some use it to cast aspersions or impugn the honesty of a film. People these days have so many axes to grind and so much anger towards the wrong things. It's unsettling to me but, frankly, I'd rather not unravel that thread.

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.

I stumbled across this film on cable and was immediately hooked. Created as a propaganda film to show the horrors of living in Nazi Germany, it seems quite naive in retrospect, as the full atrocities of the Holocaust were not yet public knowledge. Subtle, it is not, but it is definitely interesting as a historical novelty.

I saw this as a young girl in 1943. It was in the middle of WW2 and the end of the war was not clear cut as it might seem now. People were getting tired of rationing certain foods and gasoline and the restrictions of war time precautions on the East Coast.

Looking back I see now that this type of propaganda was necessary in the view of the Movie crowd. Many young men were being killed and taken prisoner in France and Germany and Italy. I think people needed to be reminded that the war was necessary because of the aggression forced upon the United States people.

I suppose not too many of us are alive now to remember those days so it is easy to put the movie down as exaggerated propaganda. And it was but I see it as one of those things that one would expect during a war.

Truthfully I saw the movie as being very real at the time and I loved Bonita Granville and Tim Holt as the stars. I see it now as part of a pattern of keeping the ordinary people stirred up against our enemies. So be it. How will todays movies be interpreted in 60 years?

It's just interesting to have lived through 5 wars and be able to look at things more objectively.

This film must have been rather shocking at the time, as it revealed many Nazi practices which would have offended American morality:

• They forced single women to have babies "for the Fuehrer"

• They sterilized women who were undesirables, either because of their race or their ideas

• They raided churches and preached the destruction of Christianity

• They brainwashed young people and encouraged them to violence against their enemies

Of course, mixed in among the propaganda is a love story between a Hitler Youth member and an attractive German/American girl attending an American school in Germany (which is conveniently situated across from the humorously-named "Horst Wessel School"). Besides having solid lead players, this film also boasts a strong supporting cast including H. B. Warner, Hans Conried, and Erford Gage (who would soon be killed in action during WW2).

The quality of this film is higher than other similar propaganda movies of the time, and has some touching (although predictable) scenes of love and sacrifice. And the opening scene of a Hitler Youth rally may serve as a warning against what happens when a politician with a cult of personality tries to control the minds of young people.