Los hijos de Hitler

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 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.

War time propaganda films must be viewed in the context of the times in which they were made. It is sometimes difficult to appreciate a film because of the framework of propaganda. This film, made at the beginning of the war with Germany, attempts to depict what was happening in that country and the threat it posed to the world. It may be somewhat simplified but it gets the point across.

Bonita Granville, an appealing actress who began her career as a child star, does a fine job as the German/American young woman who is caught up in the maelstrom of Nazism. Tim Holt, as the German officer, seems miscast somehow.....I still see him searching for the Treasure of Sierra Madre with Humphrey Bogart but maybe that's just my problem. Kent Smith, a yeoman actor, whose face was everywhere during the 40's, is his usual bland self. The coup of casting is Otto Kruger as Tim Holt's mentor.....he was an underrated actor, who always gave good performances.....see him in "Murder My Sweet" as the sleazy Anthor to really appreciate his talents. Hans Conreid, usually thought of as a comic actor, plays against type here and it works well enough. Since hindsight is 20/20, we notice that some of the major atrocities of the Nazi regime, such as concentration camps (mentioned briefly) and the "Jewish question" are not addressed. View this film for what it is....propaganda....an attempt to show the audience that other world, where terrible things were happening and why America was fighting to preserve freedom. It's a piece of history that is worth watching.

A Nazi officer (Tim Holt) falls in love with a freedom-fighting American girl (Bonita Granville) in WWII Germany. Very dated (of course) but still worth seeing. The film pulls no punches is showing how horrible life in Germany was during the war. I especially like them showing German citizens as being against Hitler and unhappy also. It is naive (concentration camps are mentioned once and very casually) but, at the time this was made, that's all we knew about Germany. A big hit in its day--it's easy to see why.

Holt and Granville are good in the leads--especially Holt who has a powerful speech at the end. Also the film moves quickly and is never dull. A very good look at Germany during WWII. Well worth catching.

I used to think this film quite dated, but still moving.

Now that I know more about Hitler Youth and about "lebensborn", forced sterilization, training in cruelty, and other Hitler Youth goals, this film stands up extremely well.

***What was 'lebensborn'? Basically, those considered "racially pure" were encouraged to have tons of kids...in or out of wedlock. About 10,000 born in Germany & 10,000 born in Norway from German soldier fathers, per one Internet source. Do your own internet search to learn more about "lebensborn".

In the movie, Bonita Granville's character refuses to deliberately sire a child out of wedlock even with her love, Tim Holt.

***Forced sterilization. Bonita's character is threatened with forced sterilization since she is not cooperative. Again, this was a historical Nazi tactic. She would rather undergo the procedure than bring a child into such a regime.

***Hitler Youth cruelty...One sees some of the Hitler youth trained to

be cruel. One need only listen to the old former Hitler Youth speak (some with tears & great sorrow) about various ways they were so abused (i.e. trained to be cruel) by the Nazi regime.

***Harrassment of Christians...The resistance of some Christian leaders to the Nazis. Near the end of the movie, the priest rebukes the Nazis who apparently dare not carry him off for punishment. This happened sometimes...A Christian leader might rebuke the Nazis such as Bishop Von Galen who stood against the destruction of retarded, etc. Some Christian leaders went to jail like Pastor Niemoller. Some Christian leaders were martyred for their stance against Nazis (including anti Jewish policies) like Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Here again, the movie is quite timely.

From these main examples, I conclude that this movie is **not** merely propaganda but reflects many historical accuracies (at least what was known at the time). Does it cover all the Nazi atrocities? No. (One movie alone wouldn't be long enough to do so.)

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Hitler's Children could be shown on a "Movie in Time" sequence on History Channel. The corrections, amendations to it based on actual history, I predict, would be slight. It's from a book on Nazi education of youth written by educator and correspondent Gregor Ziemer who also taught in the American School in Berlin. (Hit Ziemer's name in the credits for details!)

Don't let the black & white film & slightly older dialogue deter you from using this film to teach yourself (or your kids, or your class) as to how German youth were abused thru Hitler Youth and lebensborn programs.

Do your own research. Verify for yourself. While Hitler's concentration camp murders were the most cruel of his abuses, his other abuses of even the so called "nordic" peoples, especially women and girls, should also be REMEMBERED! (PS real life Hans and Sophie Scholl, college age German resisters to the Nazis, would also be a great research topic!)