in a long list of films about Nazi Germany, this movie seems be an exception. first because it is story of people, seduced, proud, discovering the truth and the fall of a regime who, for a time, was the image of personal success. sure, the critics are many about it. because its ambition is to be a large fresco of a dictatorship. and an embroidery with too many motifs. because it use stereotypes who , not always, are real convincing. because , after its end, you feel something missing. but it is an interesting trip in the essence of the perceptions about a dictatorship. and this virtue remains not insignificant.

When I saw the DVD on sale I had no idea what I was buying, but it was cheap and I hoped it could be interesting. I got much more then my money's worth! It's a story of a German family (father, mother and three sons). In the years of the depression the oldest son joins the Nazi union - simply to get a job. He feels it's the right thing (the Germans having jobs in Germany, even if it meant they'd have to get rid of the foreigners). The other son is strongly against it (but then again he doesn't have to work, he's going to study and be an intellectual).But at the time that Hitler took power and he decided to deal with the brown-shirts the oldest son realizes just what the Nazi regime is all about. As many other common men he is disillusioned and when the war comes, he's sent to the Russian front (where he simply wants to perform his duty).The other son (who's studying now) was very much against the Nazi regime, but one of the tutors shows him that the Nazi way of thinking is the right was, that the goal justifies the means. He becomes an SS officer and s firm believer in the worst parts of the Nazi ideology.The war is nearing the end, the Germany is on its knees. Two brothers meet. Their little brother (still just a child) just became one of the kid soldiers defending the Raich. Only after he blindly goes and attacks a tank the older brother (the SS officer) realizes what the blind hatred of the Nazi ideology is doing to people, and how they have virtually brainwashed him as well.This is just the main part of the story - following the lives of this particular family. There are also many other sub-stories, which really make this film more then just a family drama.All in all it will help you understand how a common man in Germany was overwhelmed by the Nazi propaganda and how the common man had virtually no choice but to do what he did. It will also show you how important it is for any leadership to have a strong opposing critical voice - otherwise the society can easily be doomed (which is not completely unlike what we are witnessing today in many parts of the world).

Welcome to a world of lunacy where the horror is the transparent normalcy of those who buy into the nightmare. Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil tracks the lives of two brothers Karl Hoffmann and Helmut Hoffmann who take opposing views on the new idea of National Socialism sweeping the country; one is violently opposed; the other believes Germany can harness the energy but that the extremes and excesses can be controlled by people of character from within.The main story line in Hitler's SS is nicely complemented by an excellent performance by Tony Randall as the stand-up comedian a left-over from freer Weimar days. He may be too lost in the bottle to tell the difference but he does his bit for The Fatherland in the equivalent of USO tours on the frigid Eastern Front.Yet his sense of humour and timing are always impeccable as he reminds the other Deutchers drowning their sorrows in the bottle during an Allied bombing raid of Hermann Goerings' pledge in 1940 that the Luftwaffe would intercept Any Allied Bombers, "Meyer, Meyer my name is Meyer." A pity the Gestapo did not share the sense of humor.

This film follows two German brothers through the history of Nazi Germany from 1931 to 1945. The film seemed pretty much to be historically accurate although there are a few points, which are arguable. What is different about this war movie is that you watch the rise to power of the Third Reich, the war, and the interaction of ordinary people from the perspective of two German brothers who take different paths in life. It's a very interesting and thought provoking movie that keeps your attention throughout. My only problem with this movie is that it touches on so many issues I wish the movie could have been longer so they could have gone into them more in depth. This movie is more about the lives and relationships of people and does not show as many fighting and battle scenes as most war movies would. If you like a lot of military action, this may not be for you although the movie does have some of this. Hitler's S.S.: Portrait in Evil is an excellent movie, under rated and for those interested in the history of World War II, is a must see movie.