Who is Herman Goering?
At the end of World War 2 a psychiatrist Dr. Douglas Kelley is sent to interview the top Nazis who were still alive and captured. Herman Goering was the head of the brutal Nazi regime after Hitler’s death.
In the time of the time of the Nazi regime he was a minister of portfolio who made decisions when Hitler was busy or was not needed. When Goering was confronted by soldiers at the end of the war, he surrendered.
He was one of the Nazi cabinet who had been arrested as Germany fell. There were many in the special Jail wing, which held the Nazis who would be taken to trial at the end of the war. In previous wars these prisoners would have just been shot. Indeed Italy’s Mussolini was shot by Italian partisans and hung from a petrol station alongside his girlfriend.
Image above is the real Goering.
However, the rulers of the day decided to put the rulers of the Nazi regime to a trial, the Nuremberg, with American, British, French and Russian judges deciding the fate of these various
Whilst some of the Nazi’s were less complicated to manage, e.g Julius Streicher the minister for propaganda, he came across the more verbally able in Hermann Goering. As Goering said towards the end, ‘Do you find sometimes that your friend is not your ally’?
That is the whole crux of the film. They are friends for much of the film as Kelley sometimes forgets who he is dealing with. For example Kelley delivers letters to Goerings wife and child to them. Also he loses his temper with his colleagues when he realises that Goering’s wife had allegedly stolen some art. Who is winning the verbal duel Goering or Kelley.
What do I think of the film Nuremberg?
For someone who has not watched the film Kelley’s friendship with Goering would seem unforgivable and spineless. Like all things life is not that simple. Read the small spoiler before judging Kelley
Spoiler
Firstly, in defence of Kelley, he is a human being, and he had met Goering in a ‘clean sheet’ situation. As far as he knew, he was just a war criminal. Once he knew the Nazi atrocities in the Nuremberg court, he instantly turned against Goering and ensured Goering’s downfall. Kelley seems to be a decent human being in the film. He was just against a highly capable adversary and this would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Spoiler Ends
As a film it is highly watchable, and the way Goering managed to manipulate Kelley as if to say he knew nothing about the atrocities or that it was pragmatism. For example, he explains the pogroms as a need to re-energies the youth after a horrible war and the need to feel proud to be German again. Beating up and scapegoating Jews was encouraged for a reason, and not just blind prejudice. It makes you think throughout the film, and indeed Kelley, that Goering is not as bad as he may have first seem.
To rationalize the hard core Nazi atrocities because he didn’t know and his ‘It’s Not me Guv!, or I was looking the other way when these terrible things were done does not wash. Calling it was mere pragmatism . However in a wider context he is charismatic but not believable , however Goering can certainly talk a good fight.
As Goering said, ‘Do you sometimes find that your friend is not your ally’
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