Blind Spot: Hitler’s Secretary (aka Im toten Winkel-Hitlers Sekretarin) (2003) Sony Pictures Classics
1 hr. 30 mins.
Starring: Traudi Junge
Directed by: Andre Heller and Othmar Schmiderer
Filmmakers Andre Heller and Othmar Schmiderer take the golden opportunity to try and lend some insight regarding the world’s most notorious Fuhrer in the resourceful documentary Blind Spot: Hitler’s Secretary. We have seen projects dedicated to the speculative life of Adolph Hitler before but Heller and Schmiderer make things a tad bit interesting by using a talking head source in the form of 81-year-old Traudi Junge, a woman who ended up taking dictation for the nefarious German dictator. Junge was just a mere 22-year old in 1942 when she became the personal secretary for Hitler. Surprisingly sharp as a tack after so many years, the octogenarian’s memories are candidly vivid as she recounts the days working for her famously maligned employer. It was Ms. Junge’s recollections that helped historians and Hitler scholars alike determine what the madness was all about within the ranks of the Nazi regime. Sadly, Traudi Junge died in 2002 shortly after this involving documentary was completed. Still, she was very instrumental in giving an assessment of what it was like to be associated with a complex man who will continue to go down in history as one of the most hideous yet fascinating social monsters of the 20th century.
There’s no doubt that Junge is absolutely astonishing to look at as she hypnotizes the camera lens with her stone-hardened, excessive wrinkled face that feature glistening and penetrating eyes. Keep in mind that a lot of people will feel that her tidbits about Hitler may not be as overwhelming or intensely revealing as they would prefer. However, Junge’s anecdotal reminiscences are refreshingly noteworthy and may even confirm to some about their initial take on the infamous twisted World War II German leader.
As Junge explores her nostalgic experiences with her complicated historical boss, one cannot help but notice an array of emotion coming from the icy gray-haired soul. We get a sense of excitement and adventure that Junge willingly expresses in terms of the goings-on within Hitler’s bunker. But by the same token, we see the guilt-ridden sentiment that Junge carries on her shoulders just by the immediate association of her past with the connection of Hitler’s evil-doing tactics. To give credit where credit is due, Junge never backs down or tip toes away from partaking as an indirect accomplice to Hitler’s devilish deeds. Her complicity can only be explained by the fact that she was an impressionable and naïve young woman serving her time as a working stiff for what her country considered a dynamic presence in that of a “seemingly charismatic” Adolf Hitler. Whether Junge’s employment with the misguided military mastermind is inexcusable or understandable, that’s something that audiences will have to figure out for themselves.
Some of Junge’s fodder pertaining to Hitler is very interesting if not mind-boggling in comparison. She tells of her former late superior’s personal hang-ups that include not liking some of his physical traits, most notably his “bony white knees”. Hitler wasn’t the touchy-feeling type when it came to physical contact. Personally, Junge admits that she looked up to Hitler as a paternal figurehead and thought he was “a good man” although very distant with affection. In her daily dealings with Hitler, she shrewdly contrasts his public persona (boisterous, self-assured, commanding, defiant) with his private existence (soft-spoken, uncharacteristically polite, vulnerable). Hearing that Hitler was juggling this balancing act between being a deadly ruthless rogue and being a bundle of a sensitive and insecure mass certainly creates a unique paradox to say the least. But when you’re the leading cause behind the contemptuous actions of exterminating over six million Jews and other “elements not worth breathing your same oxygen”, it’s very hard to be sympathetic and buy Junge’s portrait of Hitler as “sweet but misunderstood”.
It’s also worthy to know that Junge points out more puzzling aspects to Hitler’s perplexing personality. In regards to Hitler’s devastating concentration camps, she contends that the unpredictable maniac shunned away from discussing the blatant horrors that he systematically bestowed on these poor people. Junge labeled this bewildering flaw of Hitler’s as his “policy of denial”. Although Hitler welcomed death to the door of millions of suffering and helpless human beings, he was deeply fearful of meeting this same fate. Apparently, what’s good for the goose isn’t necessarily good for the gander, huh Adolph? In any event, Hitler got over his reluctance to accept death when he committed suicide on April 29, 1945.
Overall, Blind Spot: Hitler’s Secretary is an unlikely biopic that looks to put a few more pieces of the puzzle in perspective. That elusive force of wickedness that once roamed the earth in the body of the furious Fuhrer is put on display in more intimate details thanks to the personalized touch of a fragile woman who allowed us to peek at the mayhem she flirted with up close. Junge may not have given some of the audience any earth-shattering revelations to unravel the convoluted mind of a narcissistic madman with lingering unresolved issues of inadequacy. However, she has managed to help us share in the chaos that for so many was considered “ancient history”. Unfortunately, for many others who are still around today that were involved in such an atrocity at the heinous hands of Hitler and his Nazi henchmen, this nasty episode in history feels like it was only yesterday when their youthfulness and innocence was robbed.
Hearing about the last weeks in the bunker with Hitler and Eva Braun or sharing her views on Hitler’s edgy psychological makeup, Traudi Junge unselfishly served up an expose’, although awkward at times, and gave a piece of valuable observation into the darkness of time some sixty-plus years ago. Regrettably, Junge was silenced by lung cancer that claimed her eight-plus decades of life. Still, her trip down memory lane will live on in this intriguing and inspired documentary.
Frank rates this film: *** stars (out of 4 stars)