MovieChat Forums > The Pianist (2003) Discussion > Why do German soldiers shoot...?

Why do German soldiers shoot...?

posted 9 years ago by meteor_x176
19 replies | jump to latest

I've just seen The Pianist for the first time after hearing many praise about it and I totally like it. Movie with so many realistic scenes depicting how horrible that time was. Very powerful and emotional film. But I just have a quick question (might be silly you may find): why in some scenes do the German soldiers randomly pick up some Jewish people who are standing in the line and shoot them? Are there any reasons or do they just want to get rid of them? Thank you!

[–] bryanlord 9 years ago

I imagine they did it for fun, because they were evil. It was an officer, wasn't it? I wouldn't expect a Wehrmacht grunt to do anything like that ordinarily.

[–] Hayley7 9 years ago

The plan was to ultimately exterminate all Jews... but if you were relatively fit then they were happy to keep you around for slave labour in the meantime

So I think occasionally the German soldiers would have a look over who was around, and if any of them were struggling physically, or were getting too weak or ill to serve a purpose, then they would just get rid of them

You notice when they pick people out to shoot it was usually older or more ill looking Jews... the exceptions to this was anyone who was asking questions or causing disruptions... they were also not worth keeping around

Also it would be a way of asserting their authority... making the Jews as fearful as possibly to demoralise them and stop any thoughts they might have of fighting back.. the same way they made them dance together in the streets... it was all attempts at humiliation and stripping them of their humanity and dignity

There would have also been incidents of just pure cruelty... in which German soldiers were just having "fun" or showing off

[–] fiatlux-1 9 years ago

Exactly, Hayley7.
The Germans did it for all those reasons.

The cruelty reason was the worst. They did much worse than just randomly shoot Jews. They used to literally tear infants & young children away from their mother's arms and kill them right before their eyes.

According to Szpilman's novel, one of the favorite ways Germans had to kill infants & toddlers was to grab them by their feet, swing them around, and bash their heads against brick walls.

I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.

[–] Pdx_Gold 9 years ago

flat, yes that is true and hard to imagine but it happen.

If there was ever a war worth fighting and dying for this was it!!!

Imagine if the Germans won the race for the bomb- they could of turned the events around and would of nuked London, NYC and Moscow.

Every now and then I Think about it and its hard not to get emotional and sad and angry

[–] Drooch 8 years ago

Imagine if the Germans won the race for the bomb- they could of turned the events around and would of nuked London, NYC and Moscow.

Hitler actually cooked some of his best nuclear scientists, many of whom were Jewish. His antisemistism arguably cost him the war.

Stephen Fry makes the point that if you went back in time and killed Hitler, a different opportunist would have emerged who would have been less stupid, with potentially even more dire consequences for the planet.

[–] thepinkrabbit 8 years ago

about hte bomb you should watch " Heavy Water " it's a mini serie about that : they are trying to achieve nuclear power but many guys (spy, resistance) are sabotaging the research, the train that transport the heavy water needed to create the bomb. there is also an older movie relating the same facts ( cant remember the title though).

[–] spookyrat1 8 years ago

According to Szpilman's novel ...

I agree with your comments to the other poster, but just need to point out that Szpilman didn't write a novel. The Pianist is a memoir and widely accepted as being autobiographical.🐭

[–] kwaK1983 9 years ago

My view on this:

I think there was rumour that there was bread being bought during worktime (building the walls) at the market place and they wanted to set an example for not giving permission to buy bread.
Remember, there were Jews appointed with these tasks.

[–] VVolfySnackrib 9 years ago

Oh, you know. Same reason as for the ethnic cleansing of all of Germany after the war, where the allies took every measure in spite of harsh criticism to rape the women as violently and as often as possible, often in front of their children. Millions of German civilians were rounded up and sent to death camps where they were systematically starved to death and tortured by the American overseers. If you think that the cruelty you see in the movie is unique to the Nazis or even perpetrated in the majority by the Nazis, you are gravely mistaken. The Allies by far outnumber the Axis in crimes against humanity, but because the Allies won, they have it much more easy to wash their hands off of their guilty consciences with the aid of wide spread propaganda that only shows their version of what happened and never anybody elses, especially not those on the losing teams.

[–] tapio_hietamaki 8 years ago

I thought one of this movie's strengths was that it didn't portray the conflict black and white and actually touched on the issue of what happened to German POWs after the war. I thought it was a great injustice that the officer who helped Szpilman suffered and died at a Russian prison camp and I'm sure Polanski intended it to be seen that way.

[–] jpkrunch 8 years ago

I don't see how that story was developed enough. Who knows what that officer did before he met Szpilman? Too many atrocities and injustices done to the Jews to worry about one German officer who did a couple of kind deeds towards one Jew.

I would say my memory is not what it used to be. But I don't remember what my memory used to be.

[–] bastasch8647 7 years ago

Who knows what that officer did before he met Szpilman? Too many atrocities and injustices done to the Jews to worry about one German officer who did a couple of kind deeds towards one Jew.

Right, and who cares about the fate of one Jew amid all the millions of atrocities and unjustices done to other Jews? Why make the film at all?

[–] GJOHN26721 8 years ago

VVolfySnackrib....Are you on dope or just a Big Dummy? It's a known fact that the "American Overseers" were only thinking about systematically starving to death and torturing millions of German civilians but in the end they crammed them into V-2 Rockets and with the forced help of Von Braun boosted the power of the rocket engine. These millions of people (and their descendants) then blasted off to the fourth planet in the Talos star group, hooked up with Captain Pike and lived a real decent life according to their most recent transmissions. Just ask your High School teacher, you'll be even more enlightened than you already are.

[–] jpkrunch 8 years ago

cool story bro

I would say my memory is not what it used to be. But I don't remember what my memory used to be.

[–] greenbudgie 8 years ago

I wondered if it was to instil further fear. Possibly to curb any revolt among the Jewish workers.

[–] roland-rockerfella 8 years ago

The Nazis were an evil cowardly pack of thugs. They loved killing defenceless people hence the scene you described. The worst part of course is that many of the men who committed the crimes you saw on screen went unpunished if they survived the war or the Russians. The Allies tried the Nazi leaders but many of the rank and file who had committed atrocities got off scot free simply because there were so many atrocities committed by Germans during WW2 it would have been impossible to try them all, and the allies needed these man many of who were well educated professional people to rebuild the country after the war. Pretty sad stuff really.

[–] intelligentsupermodel 8 years ago

I always thought the men who were pulled out of line and shot had been the ones smuggling bread.

[–] mojoguzzi-879-68498 8 years ago

A group of Nazi soldiers who massacred unarmed American prisoners of war were sentenced to death for the war crime but Republican Senator Joe McCarthy appealed on their behalf and got them a slap on the wrist instead.

[–] steinert-192-935088 7 years ago

I've read many books about the Holocaust, and many of them described the exact situation you're asking about... German soldiers randomly shooting Jews. The answer is that they really didn't need a reason to do it..they just did. The Jews, to many of the Germans, represented the lowest form of life and simply didn't deserve to live. They often times killed because a Jew had done something to make the soldier angry (often very petty) or because they were caught sneaking food or water. Often it was just for enjoyment.