Ernst Lubitsch, "To Be or Not to Be", close reading
Lubitsch's film "To Be or Not to Be" is one of the most famous depictions of Nazism, in part due to its time period, as it was released in 1942 in the midst of the war, by a Jewish filmmaker who portrayed the Nazis as ridiculous. It was shocking to see this type of humor during the war, and in many ways, it is still unusual in the 21st century. Lubitsch's writing of the Nazis showed them to be absurdly neurotic and deluded, constantly paranoid of misspeaking about Hitler and compulsively heiling him whenever they get anxious. This goes against traditional portrays of Nazis as masterminds who fear nothing, and presents them in their pathetic reality, as bumbling idiots and followers. The Jewishness of the creator of this film cannot be overlooked as an influence. The film's attitude towards Nazis demonstrates how oftentimes the people most equipped to criticize an enemy are the ones oppressed by that enemy, as they will not sympathize with the enemy, but also will not present a falsified (and glorified) image of the enemy either.
The film also criticizes the way people insist on portraying Nazis in a very self referential and meta way. In the beginning of the film, we see a theatrical production about the Nazis where the director scolds the actors for improving comedy, saying "This is a serious play, a realistic drama!", but later criticizes Hitler's actors' makeup, saying "It's not convincing, to me it's just a man with a little mustache". The other actors point out that Hitler actually was just a man with a little mustache, despite how underwhelming this may be. When asked what Hitler should look like, he points to a photograph of Hitler that's actually the actor dressed up as Hitler, showing he has no real idea what Hitler is like, and is just entertaining the fantasized version of Hitler as an ultra-serious demi-god type man who cannot be laughed at. This exposes the agenda often enforcing in the film industry to only portray Nazis as 100% serious, intelligent, gallant, calculating, and completely un-mockable. However, Lubitsch demonstrates how a great tool for criticizing Nazis and their oppression of others is through satire and ridicule.