A German Life

A German Life is an authentic, deeply moving documentary film from 2016 which tells the story of Brunhilde Pomsel, the lifelong secretary to Adolf Hitler's Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. Ms. Pomsel was one of the last contemporary witnesses of the inner circle of Nazi power. This film serves as a critical reflection on personal accountability and the manipulative mechanisms of political incitement.

Directed by four talented directors—Christian Krönes, Olaf S. Muller, Roland Schrotthofer, and Florian Weigensamer—the film has a lighting and graphic design that contrasts the present and past in a simple yet profound manner. Black and white close-up shots of Pomsel speaking are superimposed with disturbing bits of archival footage from the Nazi era, skilfully posing the bleakness of the past against the clarity of the present.

The film starts with Pomsel’s extraordinary birth story—born on the day the Titanic sank and the news overshadowing her birth. Metaphorically, it sets the stage for the layers that her life would undergo in the subsequent years. The documentary then moves on to depict her early life, growing up in World War I Berlin, her work at a Jewish insurance broker, and finally her enrolment in the Nazi party under the suggestion of her boyfriend.

A German Life does an excellent job of presenting Pomsel's life experiences under the Nazi regime and her personal philosophies. Instead of being a straightforward chronicle of historical events, Pomsel's recollections are interspersed with reflective narratives from her later years, offering viewers an intimate glimpse into the psyche of individuals complicit in the horrors of the Nazi regime.

Brunhilde Pomsel is unapologetically frank, not shying away from discussing her culpability and presenting a deeply unsettling view of how ordinary Germans became swept up in the atrocities of the Third Reich. The filmmakers deftly use their central character's candor and vulnerability to pose questions about responsibility, willful blindness, and the politics of memory.

Pomsel's intricate account of her life draws no lines between her personal and professional experiences, becoming thereby a metaphor for the lives of many Germans under the Nazi Regime—the personal becoming the political. The filmmakers make astute use of period footage and clips from Nazi propaganda to provide visual context to Pomsel's narrative, effectively juxtaposing historic events and personal influence.

While the narrative primarily focuses on Pomsel and her interactions, the movie also includes personal insights from her friends and family, giving viewers a more rounded perspective. The cinematography has a hauntingly exceptional quality, delicately balancing the ghosts of wartime Berlin with scenes from her peaceful life in the present day.

A German Life indeed gives a tantalizing glimpse into the psyche of an individual serving under the Nazi regime. Pomsel’s reliance on rationalization and downplaying to process her guilt is a chilling reminder of our predilection to escapism. Her inability to grasp the full extent of Hitler’s ideology casts an eerie shadow onto the charismatic hold Hitler had on the German populace.

A German Life is a confronting documentary that poses unsettling questions about personal responsibility, societal pressure and the fragility of morality under totalitarian regimes. The stark black and white color palette reinforces the central theme of hidden guilt and willful ignorance, while Pomsel's clear-eyed, forthright storytelling adds a layer of human detail that is both compelling and disturbing.

The filmmakers craft a powerful and poignant narrative that resonates long after the credits roll. This cinematic exploration of choices, personal perspective, and complicity in one of the darkest times of human history is indeed a gripping and contemplative experience for the viewers.

In conclusion, A German Life is a masterful recount of an ordinary life lived during extremely extraordinary times. The powerful narrative, supplemented by the exceptional cinematography and Pomsel's own candid interviews, paints a chilling, yet significant, portrait of history. The film serves as a timely reminder of the horrors humanity is capable of when influenced by manipulative regimes and is sure to leave its viewers contemplating long after.