I thought that scene was really moving, but I never caught why exactly Freiderch left for 40 years. Was it because his family were jews.... or nazi's? Is it supposed to be obtuse about that, or would someone who knows German be able to understand why he left?
shareMexican guy here, so I wouldn't know as much as a German, but the old guy was talking about having participated in Kristallnacht.
The Bolsheviks took the east side of Berlin after the war, so I'm guessing that bar was on side that the soviets held until the Berlin wall fell in 1990. He probably knew he was going to kick the bucket soon, so he was having a nostalgic (guilt)trip in his old neighborhood.
It was all too much for him, he was lost and confused. The youth of modern Germany might as well be aliens from outer space, he didn't understand them, and He was too young to understand what was going on around him when the Nazi's took over.
Felt bad for the old man, all that rage directed at the modern Germany and all that hate going inwards towards himself.
It's not not supposed to be obtuse, if you have a very basic knowledge of German history then you get that scene right away.
Watch the movie Downfall. He's the old man version of Peter kranz. Imagine the *beep* kids like that got after the war.
Since the old man talks about the Night of Broken Glass, when nazis broke down jews' shops, and he mentions that his father took him to the street and gave him rocks to throw
I believe his family -or at least his father- were nazis. And probably that is why he left .