SOURCE: Rentschler, Eric. “The Use and Abuse of Memory: New German Film and the Discourse of Bitburg.” New German Critique, no. 36 (fall 1985): 67-90.

In the following essay, Rentschler examines the use of a popular German song in five different German films from different eras of German history, asserting that Riefenstahl's use of the song in Triumph of the Will represents an act of historical revisionism.

From which authority does the president get briefed on World War II history? a) The Young Lions; b) Das Boot; c) Hogan's Heroes.

Correct answer: b) Das Boot.

Das Boot, featuring a World War II U-boat commander nicknamed Der Alte who refuses to give the Heil Hitler salute, coats a Konrad Adenauer veneer of humanism on fascist soldiers and sailors. This film presents a reassuring image of wartime Germans that our administration believes to be accurate: most were conscripts drafted to carry out...