Both humorous and horrific aspects of Germany during Hitler’s reign are being brought to the Baker University campus through a film series organized by Associate Professor of Political Science Bruce Anderson.
Anderson said he originally planned to show the movies only to supplement his Hitler and Nazi Germany class, but decided to invite the entire campus.
“I was only going to show a few,” he said. “Then, I thought the availability of decent cinema on campus is pretty small.”
Anderson said he has been teaching the course on and off for 10 years, and some films are ones he has shown each time. Others are films that have only come out recently.
He said all the films relay a message to the viewer, although the message is not always the same from film to film.
“I think they have very dissimilar messages,” Anderson said. “The messages from that time range from the comedic to the horrendous. The films kind of find a balance.”
Senior Jaci Kettler is in the class and said she believes the variation of film styles make them more interesting.
“None of the movies so far have been anything like each other,” she said “It keeps a new perspective on things, and all the different views help me understand more of the time period.”
Anderson said he hopes his students can gain some insight into that period in Germany’s past.
“There’s a depth in the scholarship in this area that’s reflected in film,” he said. “How did people live? What were they thinking?”
Sophomore Trevor Racine is in Anderson’s class and has watched two of the films.
“It was really interesting to get the perspective of what everyone around the world was seeing at the time and what Hitler was presenting to the world,” Racine said. “It didn’t really change my perspective, but it forced me to recognize the magnitude of the Nazi party.”
Kettler said she found the films added to her knowledge of the subject.
“I learned more about the society and culture, not just the politics of it,” she said.
Some of the films are not in English, but Anderson said this adds to the educational value of the film. He said German-made films help viewers see how Germans see themselves.
“It’s more important to show films like ‘Shoah’ than ‘Schindler’s List,'” Anderson said. “It’s made by Spielberg. It’s made by an American about something he didn’t live through.”
Anderson said before the showing of “Europa, Europa,” students will have a chance to have a more individualized learning experience.
“(Professor of Biology) Darcy Russell and I have collaborated on a presentation about Nazi ideas of race,” he said.
Anderson said the students will also have the chance to measure their heads and noses and compare their eyes on a chart to determine where they would have ranked on the Nazi racial profile.
The films are shown at 7 p.m. most Wednesday evenings in Mabee 100.