This lurid exposé of the Hitler Youth follows the woes of an American girl declared legally German by the Nazi government.This lurid exposé of the Hitler Youth follows the woes of an American girl declared legally German by the Nazi government.This lurid exposé of the Hitler Youth follows the woes of an American girl declared legally German by the Nazi government.
Carla Boehm
- Magda
- (uncredited)
Egon Brecher
- Mr. Müller
- (uncredited)
Billy Brow
- Boy
- (uncredited)
Bill Burrud
- Prof. Nichols' Student
- (uncredited)
Bruce Cameron
- Storm Trooper
- (uncredited)
Paula Corday
- Young Matron
- (uncredited)
Yvonne Cross
- Bit
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- Edward Dmytryk
- Irving Reis(resigned) (uncredited)
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaEdward Dmytryk in his autobiography 'It's a Hell of a Life But Not a Bad Living', states: "A friend of mine, Irving Reis, had prepared and actually started shooting a film called 'Hitler's Children', an exploitation B. Irving was rather headstrong and somewhat touchy - a bad combination in Hollywood. After a few days, he got into a fight with producer Doc Golden [Robert Golden]. Getting his back up, he quit the film, expecting, so he told me later, to win a quick apology and a free hand. Instead, the studio said, 'As you wish,' and asked me to take over the direction. He gave me his blessing, asking only that his name be completely removed from the film's credits. The studio was willing and I went to work. I finished on schedule, cut and dubbed it, and turned it over to the distribution department. None of us at the studio was sure of what we had."
- GoofsKarl Bruner is wearing the four pips and strip on his uniform collar of an SS Obersturmbanfuhrer, or Lieutenant Colonel, when Colonel Henkel said he would be promoted to Captain (or Hauptsturmfuhrer) and should be wearing a collar tab with three pips (diagonally) and two stripes. Colonel Henkel's insignia is also incorrect. He is wearing the three oak leaves of a Brigadefuhrer (Brigadier General) when he should have only one leaf of a Standartanfuhrer (Colonel).
- Quotes
The Bishop: [to the Nazi Major] No wonder you take away the breath of life so readily. The breath of death is already upon you.
- Crazy creditsDuring opening credits, the camera zooms in on a German book burning, and the book on top of the pile is "Education for Death" by Gregor Ziemer. That was another book by the same author of the novel on which this film is based.
- Alternate versionsThere is an Italian DVD edition of this movie, distributed by DNA Srl. The movie was re-edited with the contribution of the film history scholar Riccardo Cusin. This version is also available in streaming on some platforms.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Hollywood the Golden Years: The RKO Story: Dark Victory (1987)
- SoundtracksFur Elise
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven (1810)
Featured review
Good historical accuracy re Hitler youth & 'lebensborn' rules
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.)
***************************
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!)
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.)
***************************
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!)
helpful•294
- knutsenfam
- Jan 25, 2004
- How long is Hitler's Children?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $205,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 22 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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