Werner Klingler's "Die Degenhardts" is one of the few Nazi-era films that confronts the realities of World War Two, but even here the confrontation is deferred until the final reel. Although some bomb damage is shown, the footage is not very graphic and there are no shots of the victims, living or dead. For the most part, the film focuses on the daily life of a burgher in the Baltic seaport of Lubeck, while the war and its horrors remain mostly out of sight, if not entirely out of mind.
Heinrich George, who also produced the film, is superb as a stodgy old official who's pushed into retirement just when he thinks he's about to be promoted. But George's Herr Degenhardt is not a one dimensional Prussian who lives only for his work. He's also a devoted husband and father, a patriot and decorated war veteran, and a man of culture who plays both the cello and the french horn. In short, he is the epitome of the traditional German virtues that the Nazis were quick to endorse for the purposes of propaganda.
The pace is leisurely and we get to know the old boy, his family, and his boss and fellow civil servants. We also see a great deal of Lubeck itself, a city of narrow streets, Gothic churches, dutiful citizens, but apparently no cars. Herr Degenhardt takes us through the cathedral and later sits down to play the horn at a performance of one of Haydn's choral works.
Degenhardt occasionally says "Heil Hitler" instead of "guten tag" and he gives the official salute in formal situations, but it all seems rather perfunctory. And while frankly stuffy, he's not a coarse, over-confident Nazi of the Hollywood stereotype. The closest he comes to a cliche is when he briefly follows parading soldiers marching to the tune of "Pruessens Gloria" and beats time with his walking stick. Most likely he's recalling his own service in World War One and lapsing into nostalgia for the old Kameradschaft.
The current war is confined to news on the radio and seems very remote, but the tone of the film shifts abruptly in the final 20 minutes. One of Degenhardt's three sons is lost on a U-boat and Lubeck and its historic churches are badly bombed by the "sky gangsters" of the Royal Air Force. Undaunted, Herr Degenhardt returns to work, his unwelcome retirement ended by the necessities of the war effort. As the film ends, he's pictured with his infant grandson, the old lion embracing the generation to come.
Heinrich George is now remembered as a Nazi and a willing tool of Goebbels' propaganda machine, but he was also a great actor. His performance in "Die Degenhardts" is clearly heartfelt and often very moving. We do not sympathize with the cause he was serving, but his work here and in "Kolberg" (1945) gives us a fine example of how an actor can effectively convey patriotic emotions.
When "Die Degenhardts" was released on July 6, 1944, most German cities had come to share Lubeck's fate, so audiences could view the film both as a representation of their collective suffering and their united resolution in the face of mounting adversity. Within a year the war was over and Lubeck found itself under British occupation. As for Heinrich George, he was arrested by the Soviets and died in a concentration camp in September 1946.
Historical footnotes: The RAF raided Lubeck in March 1942, their first successful effort at saturation bombing. Estimates of the destruction range between 20 and 40 per cent of the city, with much of the damage in the historic Altstadt. Hitler was infuriated and in retaliation ordered the so-called Baedecker raids on historic British towns such as Bath and Canterbury
