The movie that humanises Hitler: Docudrama Goebbels And The Fuhrer - which views the Nazis from the viewpoint of Adolf and his propaganda maestro - sparks controversy in Germany

A new film charting the reign of Adolf Hitler and his propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels has split public opinion in Germany where it was initially refused public funding for its attempt to 'humanise' the Nazi leaders.

Führer und Verführer - translated as 'Leader and Seducer' or 'Goebbels and the Fuhrer' - is a docudrama that seeks to 'tear off the masks' of the Nazi demagogues and explore how they compelled an entire nation to follow their murderous ideals.  

Splicing dramatised scenes of Goebbels and Hitler together with archive footage and interviews with Holocaust survivors, the film follows the private lives of the Führer and his propagandist-in-chief from 1938 until their suicides in 1945 - and covers in detail their tactics for mass indoctrination. 

Many critics in Germany and beyond have lauded the docudrama as a 'masterpiece and 'revolutionary' for its willingness to place the Nazi chiefs front and centre of the story, unlike most works which focus on the victims of the Third Reich - but others have questioned the filmmaker's desire to do just that.

Such resistance comes from long-held wariness in Germany of any work that focuses on the 'perspective of the perpetrators' amid fears the audience could begin to empathise and identify with the fascist authors of the Holocaust. 

A new film on the reign of Adolf Hitler and the tactics of propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels has split public opinion in Germany

The film follows the private lives of the Führer and his propagandist-in-chief Goebbels (pictured here being depicted by Robert Stadlober) from 1938 until their suicides in 1945 

Many critics in Germany and beyond have lauded the docudrama as a 'masterpiece and 'revolutionary' for its willingness to place the Nazi chiefs front and centre of the story

Adolf Hitler and Dr Joseph Goebbels are pictured in Stuttgart in this colourised photo

(L to R) Fritz Karl, Franziska Weisz, Joachim A. Lang and Robert Stadlober arrive for the 'Fuehrer und Verfuehrer' premiere at Delphi Filmpalast on July 11, 2024 in Berlin

Führer und Verführer offers a uniquely personal take on the experiences of Hitler and Goebbels, portraying in equal measure how they concocted their evil grand plans alongside the tumultuous and controversial nature of their family and romantic lives. 

Viewers are shown how Goebbels painstakingly rehearsed virulent anti-Semitic speeches, openly boasted of manipulating the truth for the benefit of the regime and routinely attempted to influence Hitler's decision making. 

They also watch how Goebbels was troubled by lust for one of several mistresses, Czech actress Lida Baarova, and the disputes he had with Magda, his wife and mother of his children, as a result. 

For Director Joachim Lang, the humanisation of the Nazi leaders is paramount to prevent history from repeating itself.

Lang argues that portraying such individuals as human beings - and lifting the curtain on the processes by which Goebbels was able to construct lies and effectively disseminate 'fake news' - can help people today to become more resilient to propaganda and disinformation.

'It is a film for the present. When I look at recent events, it couldn't be more topical,' the filmmaker told BILD.

'If we manage to see through the criminals of that time and their strategies, we will also be able to rip the mask off the faces of today's people-catchers. The film shows how endangered our civil society is and how quickly barbarism can arise.' 

That perspective is shared by Thomas Weber, the film's chief historical consultant and professor at Aberdeen University.

'The whole point is we have to humanise Hitler, precisely because he was not some kind of demon, he was a human being who did terrible things… 

'In a way it becomes scarier when Hitler is human, because when you see the Aperol spritz-drinking new radical right you realise that they are not really that different from National Socialism,' he told The Times.

Lang, Weber and the team behind Führer und Verführer went to great pains to make the film as historically accurate as possible, enlisting various expert consultants and poring over hours of recordings, Goebbels diary entries, memoirs and notes from other Nazi henchmen, and archive footage.

The first scene of the film even contains the only known private audio clip of Hitler, recorded secretly by a Finnish sound engineer when the Nazi leader visited Finland in 1942.   

Weber told Germany's Der Spiegel that every scene of the film could have a footnote to show its historical authenticity, much like an academic paper. 

But despite Lang, Weber and their actors Robert Stadlober (Goebbels) and Fritz Karl (Hitler) earning plaudits from German media, the film has also received plenty of pushback. 

Much of the film had to be shot in Slovakia after German authorities reportedly refused to provide funding upon reading the plot. 

And Vision Kino - a federally administered institution that recommends and organises screenings of films to German schools - ruled that Führer und Verführer must not be shown to pupils, even after the country's media regulator deemed the docudrama 'particularly valuable' with 'intelligent and well-founded information'. 

The film splices dramatised scenes of Goebbels and Hitler together with archive footage and interviews with Holocaust survivors

A Nazi rally is seen in this archive footage included in Führer und Verführer

Much of the film had to be shot in Slovakia after German authorities refused to provide funding upon reading the plot

For Director Joachim Lang, the humanisation of the Nazi leaders is paramount to prevent history from repeating itself

Dr. Joseph Goebbels (L), Minister of propaganda for Nazi Germany, and German Chancellor Adolf Hitler (R) standing in a crowd of military officers ahead of WWII

102-year-old Margot Friedlander, one of several Holocaust survivors who appear in the docudrama, said: 'You have the responsibility to use the power of film to ensure that something like this never happens again'

The regulator recommended the film for ages 12+, writing that 'the clear message that history can repeat itself, as well as the plea for humanity, encourage discussion for this age group'. 

But Vision Kino still declined to offer Führer und Verführer to teachers for screenings in schools, declining requests from German media to explain their decision. 

The ruling from the group, which previously recommended the film 'Zone of Interest' on the life of Auschwitz camp commandant Rudolf Höss to German pupils, angered Lang.

'The decision to withhold this reappraisal of National Socialism from students, which is so important, especially in the current situation, is completely incomprehensible to the producers, the distributor, the historical consultant and to me,' he declared.

Weber was also adamant that the film could prove invaluable to school children as a tool to educate them about propaganda and disinformation.

'As has always been the case in times of pandemics and crises, conspiracy theories are springing up like mushrooms, with the help of which demagogues are cleverly trying to poison the masses,' he told BILD.

'Social media and artificial intelligence are acting as accelerant, just as the new media of film and broadcasting did in the years 1920 to 1945.'

The sentiment of Lang and Weber is shared by 102-year-old Margot Friedlander, one of several Holocaust survivors who appear in the docudrama. 

Speaking onstage at the German Film Awards in May, she said: 'There are a lot of storytellers in this room. You have the responsibility to use the power of film to ensure that something like this never happens again. 

'I ask you to support me so that history does not repeat itself.'

Führer und Verführer premiered at the Munich Film Festival on July 4, where it won the National Audience award, and opened in German cinemas last week.