''My Führer – The Really Truest Truth about Adolf Hitler'' (german: Mein Führer – Die wirklich wahrste Wahrheit über Adolf Hitler) is a 2007 German

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by

Dani Levy Dani Levy (born 17 November 1957) is a Swiss filmmaker, theatrical director, screenwriter and actor. Biography Levy was born to a Jewish family in Switzerland in 1957.

. The setting is

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, around New Year's of 1944. The film tells the story of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

and his preparation for a big New Year's speech. Hitler is too depressed to speak, so a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

acting

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

is called in to tutor him. The premiere was held on 9 January 2007 in

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

. Wide German release followed on 11 January and Swiss and Austrian releases on 18 and 19 January, respectively. It was entered into the

29th Moscow International Film Festival The 29th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 21 to 30 June 2007. The Golden George was awarded to the Russian film '' Travelling with Pets'' directed by Vera Storozheva. Jury * Fred Schepisi (Australia – Chairman of the Jury) * An ...

Plot

Professor Adolf Grünbaum, a Jewish renowned actor, introduces the story as the narrator. He wants to tell people his story, which he says may never appear in a history book. Grünbaum is imprisoned in Sachsenhausen concentration camp with his wife and four children. In the meantime, Adolf Hitler lives in the New Reich Chancellery in bombed-out Berlin. The German propaganda machine around Reich Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels is preparing a mass event in Berlin's Lustgarten for New Year's Day 1944 to give the war-weary Germans new motivation. Hitler however himself is weak and confused. Grünbaum is thus released from the concentration camp to get Hitler back in shape, and to motivate him and support him as a teacher. After an initial rejection, Hitler increasingly trusts his mentor and reveals personal feelings and childhood memories to him. Grünbaum is engaged in internal conflict and repeatedly considers killing Hitler; paradoxically, he even thwarted an attempted murder of Hitler and reminded his wife that the Führer was also a victim of his childhood. During Grünbaum's meetings with Hitler, the two are observed and wiretapped by numerous leaders. Together with the Minister of the Interior and Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler, Goebbels plans an assassination attempt on Hitler, which is to take place during the New Year's address, as part of a "staged reality". A bomb is to be placed under Hitler's lectern and the blame placed on Grünbaum, who is now close to Hitler. This attack is intended to strengthen the hatred of the Jews in the German people and thus contribute to the success of the war. On the day of the speech, Hitler becomes so hoarse that he loses his voice. On Hitler's route through Berlin from the Reich Chancellery to the Lustgarten, destroyed buildings are reconstructed using panel-shaped wooden structures, so as to portray an undamaged Berlin in the film Goebbels has planned for the occasion. Grünbaum, standing under the podium, is coerced into giving the speech while Hitler ad-libs and gesticulates. Grünbaum deviates from the planned text and begins mocking Hitler before he is shot, while Hitler flees the lectern just before the bomb explodes. Fatally injured, Grünbaum predicts that the war will soon be over and that the Führer will eventually take his own life. He notes that in a hundred years, actors will still be writing about Hitler and actors will portray him, because people will want to understand the atrocities of the Nazi regime.

Cast

Helge Schneider Helge Schneider (born 30 August 1955 in Mülheim an der Ruhr) is a German entertainer, comedian, musician, author, film and theatre director, and actor. He frequently appears on German television and is probably best known for his song "Katzeklo ...

Ulrich Mühe Friedrich Hans Ulrich Mühe (; 20 June 1953 – 22 July 2007) was a German film, television and theatre actor. He played the role of Hauptmann (Captain) Gerd Wiesler in the Oscar-winning film ''Das Leben der Anderen'' (''The Lives of Others'', 200 ...

as Adolf Grünbaum *

Sylvester Groth Sylvester Groth (born 31 March 1958) is a German theater, television, and film actor. He is best known to international audiences from his appearances in Hollywood movies including ''Inglourious Basterds'' and ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E''. Furthe ...

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

Adriana Altaras Adriana Altaras (born 6 April 1960) is a German actress, theatre director and author. Early life Altaras was born in Zagreb, FPR Yugoslavia to Jewish parents, Thea Altaras (née Fuhrmann) and Jakob Altaras, who were part of the Yugoslav Par ...

as Elsa Grünbaum *

Stefan Kurt Stefan Kurt (born 22 October 1959 in Bern) is a Swiss actor. He attended the University of the Arts Bern __NOTOC__ The University of the Arts Bern (german: Hochschule der Künste Bern) is an art school with locations in Bern and Biel/Bienne. It w ...

Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of World War II. A close ally of Adolf Hitler, he ...

Ulrich Noethen Ulrich Noethen (born 18 November 1959) is a German actor who has appeared in many movies and TV films. He starred in ''Comedian Harmonists''. He also played Heinrich Himmler twice, in ''Der Untergang'' and '' Mein Führer – Die wirklich wahrs ...

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

Lambert Hamel Lambert Hamel (born 7 June 1940 in Ludwigshafen) is a German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ...

Obergruppenführer ' (, "senior group leader") was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissio ...

Rattenhuber * Udo Kroschwald as

Martin Bormann Martin Ludwig Bormann (17 June 1900 – 2 May 1945) was a German Nazi Party official and head of the Nazi Party Chancellery. He gained immense power by using his position as Adolf Hitler's private secretary to control the flow of information ...

* Torsten Michaelis as SS-Wachmann Moltke * Axel Werner as

Erich Kempka Erich Kempka (16 September 1910 – 24 January 1975) was a member of the SS in Nazi Germany who served as Adolf Hitler's primary chauffeur from 1936 to April 1945. He was present in the area of the Reich Chancellery on 30 April 1945, when H ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:My Fuhrer The Really Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler 2007 films 2007 comedy-drama films German comedy-drama films 2000s German-language films Cultural depictions of Adolf Hitler Cultural depictions of Joseph Goebbels Films set in Berlin Films set in the 1940s Films directed by Dani Levy Cultural depictions of Heinrich Himmler Cultural depictions of Albert Speer 2000s German films