Lore

This 2012 Australian-German film shows the aftermath of the second world war from the point of view of the young children of Nazi officials. Lore and her younger sister, as well as her three little brothers, one of which is a baby, are deserted by their parents in a traditional Bavarian (in the south of Germany) mountain retreat. She has been instructed by the parents to go to a hamlet close to Hamburg where their grandmother lives.

Since there are no trains, the journey is arduous and they depend on the charity of people they meet on the way. Interestingly, many of them still cling to the Nazi faith, deploring the death of the 'führer who loved them so' and 'whom they have let down by losing the war'. Also, the shocking images from the death camps that have been put up by the American military are often explained away as fakes.

Later on, the children get help from an adult who carries Nazi ID papers that declare him as a Jew. Having been brought up to despise Jews, Lore is torn between hatred and the necessity to accept his help. It is suggested that Lore gradually comes to accept the truth, rejects her parents' beliefs and the children (minus one who was shot in the Russian zone) arrive safely at their grandmother's farm.

'Vati' turns out to be a monster

I found the evocation of a conquered Germany very interesting. The film shows, in a more or less subtle manner how people face up to the facts that they thoroughly lost the war, and that their beloved masters were a bunch of criminals who had committed unspeakable atrocities on an industrial scale.

☆☆☆