Red Baron movie, RAF 90th

[FliegerJG1]

Red Baron recast as a German hero

guardian.co.uk home | guardian.co.uk

As the RAF marks its 90th anniversary, one of its earliest adversaries is to be celebrated as a sensitive hero in a controversial German film

David Smith
The Observer,
Sunday March 16 2008
(This article appeared in the Observer on Sunday March 16 2008 on p. 25 of the News section.)

As Britain prepares to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Royal Air Force, Germany is reclaiming the First World War flying ace known as the Red Baron as a national hero.

On Tuesday, Henry Allingham, 111, the oldest British survivor of the war, will join guests at a commemorative dinner at the RAF Museum in Hendon, north London. On 1 April, the RAF will mark the service's birthday with a spectacular aerial display over London. Then a week later, the controversial film The Red Baron will have its premiere in Germany, with a UK release to follow.

In Germany, where painful milestones of war often pass without ceremony, £14m has been spent on the new film about the country's most famous fighter pilot, Manfred von Richthofen, making it one of the most expensive in the country's history. The Red Baron, who shot down 80 British, Canadian and Australian pilots, is portrayed as a brilliant and sensitive hero in the English-language production.

The film has been described as breaking a taboo which for decades has seen German soldiers generally portrayed as callous zealots or conscripts tormented by conscience. But there has been renewed appetite for exploring the country's wartime past since the release of Downfall in 2004, and later this year Tom Cruise plays Claus von Stauffenberg, the German colonel who tried to assassinate Hitler, in Valkyrie

Nikolai Müllerschön, writer and director of The Red Baron, said: 'Historically there has been a reluctance, and there are strong voices in Germany still saying we're not allowed to do this: a film about a German war hero. But the film makes a very clear statement against war. In it Richthofen says that he understands everyone has turned this world into a slaughterhouse and the war cannot be won. He says he's not going to be the immortal god that Berlin wants him to be; he knew millions were lured into the trenches with such propaganda. He had been turned into one of the first pop stars in history by one of the biggest propaganda machines ever seen.'

The Red Baron casts rising star Matthias Schweighöfer as Richthofen and two British actors in key roles. Joseph Fiennes, star of Shakespeare in Love and Enemy at the Gates, plays Captain Roy Brown, a Canadian initially hailed as the Red Baron's conqueror, a claim he never made and later discredited. Lena Headey, best known for 300 and television's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, is the love interest Käte Otersdorf, a nurse who may or may not have had a romance with Richthofen in real life.

Richthofen was 25 when he was killed in combat near the Somme at noon on 21 April 1918, but the exact cause has been debated ever since. Peter Kilduff, who has written six books about the Red Baron, recently made a potentially dramatic discovery when he bought a 1932 German veterans magazine on the auction website eBay. Buried inside was an article entitled 'The Truth About Richthofen's Death - Eyewitness Account by Hermann Bink'. Kilduff translated it into English and found the allegation that Richthofen survived a crash landing only to be stabbed by watching soldiers.

Bink was quoted: 'It is possible that the engine of Richthofen's airplane was hit and perhaps he was as well. But in any event, we saw him climb out of the airplane alive! Several brown forms fell on him with drawn daggers and presumably stabbed him. They were British colonial troops, which were opposite us.'

The magazine quoted other supposed eyewitnesses in support of Bink. But Kilduff, whose book Red Baron: Life and Death of an Ace, rejects the claims. Instead he backs the view of historian and retired cardiologist Geoffrey Miller, who believes the Red Baron was probably brought down by Sergeant Cedric Popkin, an Australian machine gunner. The angle of the entrance and exit wounds on Richthofen's body indicates that he was hit as he was trying to turn away from Popkin's fire. Miller said: 'There is little doubt that the bullet penetrated his heart and was fatal.'

The RAF - an amalgamation of the Royal Naval Air Service, to which Henry Allingham belonged, and the army's Royal Flying Corps - will hold a series of events including a commemorative service at St Clement Danes Church in London and a concert in Birmingham. It will issue service badges to 25 veterans and, most spectacularly on 1 April, stage an aerial display by the Red Arrows above central London culminating at the London Eye.

[BismarcksOtto]

Oh my, now Manfred von Richthofen has his very own "Dolchstoßlegende"!

It's the first time I have heard that story and it sounds rather far fetched to me. Even hypothetically- would the Limeys go ahead and forge an autopsy report to cover up a lynching?

And as for Mr. Müllerschön- the man seems to have spend so much time in America that he must have forgotten that there iare no such things as "war heroes" in Germany. And even if people privately regard someone as a war hero, they would never dare to publically say so. There actually is a paragraph in the service code of the German Armed Forces which states that no heroes and/or acts of heroism must exist for the German soldier.
Tradition? Yes.
Heoes? No.

Of course, the British (as every sensible man of any nation around the world) have a hard time understanding that. I share that problem.


Thank you for sharing the article, FliegerJG1!

[Barrett]

Here's another assessment of the movie and the general situation. Interesting to note the comment by MvR's nephew, Manfred von Richthofen!

The Red Baron: unease, but national hero at last - Europe, News - Independent.co.uk

Pretty danged amazing from the US perspective that Germany is still so wrapped around the axle about one movie that does not portray Soldaten as brutes or victims...

[BismarcksOtto]

Thank you for the article, Barrett! Quite an interesting read with many very valid points.

I especially love how they claim to exclusively have kept the memory of the Red Baron alive...


Regarding your question:

Back in '02 when I was an exchange student in VA and later CA, many people asked me exactly the same thing. It was the time where anti-German sentiments ran high because Gerhard 'Gazprom' Schröder ran for reelection on a ballot of "we ain't gonna go support you in Iraq, no way!"

People- especially MROTC-fellas approached me in the hallways (the exchange student were well known) and pretty much asked me "You started two world wars, why the heck are you chickening out now?"

I'll try to give you as short of an answer as I can:

The problem is pretty much that the Allies did such a damn good job in erasing german militarism and keeping the shame of especially World War II fresh and present in our minds, that the 60s Civil Rights Movement (it is called the 68 Revolution here for a reason) hit us like a bombshell.

When the first post war generation started to develop their new ideology, they had ample opportunities to "get to" people and uncover their 'terrible' past, since many old minor Nazis were still in relatively important position throughout the country.

Therefore, a national "witchhunt" started that can still be witnessed today as soon as anyone dares to mention anything military, war, or history-related without immediately performing a thorough self-flagellation while shouting "mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa" for all the world to hear.

And since the old (Prussian) ideals of the German Society were robbed of their foundations because these very foundations had been (more or less justly) demonized for over two decades, the young lefties had no problem at all to replace them with a new brand of "anti-racist, anti-militaristic, gender-equality, save-the-planet, make-love-not-war, Ami-go-home" virtues.

Now, the "old" pre-60s middle class is gone and those former leftists and hippies hold the key positons throughout the country.

Try to imagine the entire US of A being ruled by Dylan, Ginsberg and their fellow beatnicks of the Berkeley-Campus-Subculture and you get something close to what Germany is today.

If you ever want to see "Liberal Bias" in operation, take a look at the German media. Also, self-censorship in this country regarding controversial discussion of its history is so evident it has even been noted as somewhat of a curiosety by "Reporters Without Borders" in the past.

Germany is at odds with its own history. It cannot be proud of what it was, because the unspeakable cruelties of those twelve years of National Socialism cast a shadow over our history.

Therefore, we cannot allow ourselves to see "the German soldier" as anything but an evil monster that has to be caged and guarded. After all- if we don't mistrust our troops (and ourselves), who will stop us from committing the same crimes all over again?

Principiis Obsta - Beware of the Beginnigs!

It's the unofficial national motto.

As you see, I feel a bit bitter about it. But after living in the US and UK for a while, it is hard to understand why we always have to hate ourselves.

Sorry for the rant, but with the Socialists on the rise in the counrty (and at my Uni), I've gotten a little "thin-skinned" as of late.

[Germanophile-1]

Originally Posted by BismarcksOtto

Thank you for the article, Barrett! Quite an interesting read with many very valid points.

I especially love how they claim to exclusively have kept the memory of the Red Baron alive...

Regarding your question:

<big snip>

Germany is at odds with its own history. It cannot be proud of what it was, because the unspeakable cruelties of those twelve years of National Socialism cast a shadow over our history.

Therefore, we cannot allow ourselves to see "the German soldier" as anything but an evil monster that has to be caged and guarded. After all- if we don't mistrust our troops (and ourselves), who will stop us from committing the same crimes all over again?

Principiis Obsta - Beware of the Beginnings!

It's the unofficial national motto.

As you see, I feel a bit bitter about it. But after living in the US and UK for a while, it is hard to understand why we always have to hate ourselves.

Sorry for the rant, but with the Socialists on the rise in the country (and at my Uni), I've gotten a little "thin-skinned" as of late.

Thin skin or not, you have written a very lucid statement that clearly reflects what I have heard from Germans ever since I began to visit your country (in 1967).

Based on those visits and my abiding interest in German culture and history, my only response to your comment -- "Germany is at odds with its own history. It cannot be proud of what it was, because the unspeakable cruelties of those twelve years of National Socialism cast a shadow over our history" -- is sad agreement. The world and perhaps too many Germans measure modern Germany's worth in the world by a 12-year period of politically-inspired evilness -- vs. the almost 60-year success of democracy and so many other achievements of the Federal Republic of Germany. Your freedom to disagree with the Sozis, et al. (and theirs to disagree with you) is only one proof that modern Germans have built a society of which they can be proud. With that self-acceptance, they don't need to hate themselves for their history -- and certainly not for that portion of history pertaining to Rittmeister Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen.

You should write an op-ed piece for The New York Times, expanding upon the them you presented above.

Viel Glueck in der Zukunft!

Peter Kilduff

[BismarcksOtto]

Thank you for your very kind compliment, Mr. Kilduff!

That is something I personally haven't even considered yet. Perhaps I just didn't dare to...

As a student of contemporary history and politics, I witness this 'struggle within' almost every day, and since I'm aiming to become a journalist once I get my degrees, I'd love to see my opinion - especially on these kinds of matters, considered somewhere. A reply-even a generic one, from a NY Times editor would therefore be close to elysium.

When there will be an opportune moment for me to do so, I'll go ahead and see what I have to offer them.

Ever the optimist, I still have some hope for a future 'normal' Germany.
Maybe not for us to overcome our Nazi-past, but to finally really come to terms with it- to a degree where we don't automatically launch into an overreaching defensive reaction whenever the topic comes up.

Maybe the new foundations chancellor Merkel and our friends in Israel are building at the moment will get us on the way...


Ich danke Ihnen!

Phil Zorn