Comparing Schindler's List And Inglorious Basterds

Ever since the fall from power of the Nazi Third Reich at the end of World War II, there have been numerous attempts of reimagining the unforgivable acts from the Nazi Party in film, animation and games. Although the representation of Nazism varies significantly from case to case, each depiction has one thing in common; Nazi’s are considered to be the definition of evil. This can clearly be seen through the depiction of Nazi characters from two very different takes on World War II, Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 1993) and Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009). Schindler’s List is a realistic take on events that actually occurred and Inglourious Basterds is a fictional revenge story revolved around the events of World War II. This

Ralph Fiennes’ portrayal of real life concentration camp “Commandant Amon Goeth is represented as the embodiment of evil in human form” (Juliette Harrison, Portrayals of Nazi on Film, 2011). He is repulsed by Jewish people and believes they are unworthy of possessing human rights. He has no problem with killing someone without hesitations as he does so, so care free throughout the film. This slightly differs from Christoph Waltz’ portrayal of Hans Landa, who can be seen more of a cunning opportunist. Tarantino suggests that “…everything he does is some version of an interrogation, and every piece of an interrogation is a… mind game.” (Quentin Tarantino Inglourious Basterds, Charlie Rose. WNET. 2009) This character is smart and uses that to his advantage. Once Landa recognises the Nazi army are likely to not prevail, he surrenders to the American army and switches sides for the exchange of information. It is clear that he never truly shared the Nazi views, but saw the advantage of the power that came with it. These two Nazi’s are the prominent antagonists of their films but are depicted quite