'Murderer's House' - University of Victoria
'Murderer's House' - University of Victoria
'Murderer's House' - University of Victoria
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speech by Hitler, which states “If the enemy thought he could sap our spirits with a few<br />
surprise attacks, he was wrong. They are an alarm for total war” (Deutschland, bleiche<br />
Mutter n. pag.). 43 Hitler then pronounces, “We shall no longer speak <strong>of</strong> lost comforts in<br />
Germany” (Deutschland, bleiche Mutter n. pag.). 44 A mother gives her son a knowing<br />
look and then glances towards the ceiling. Next follows an early-colour documentary<br />
shot <strong>of</strong> planes flying in formation over the bombed ruin <strong>of</strong> a building silhouetted against<br />
a night sky. This footage is accompanied by ominous bass piano chords that underscore<br />
the fear felt by the shelter occupants. The camera then cuts to a close-up shot <strong>of</strong> a<br />
woman rocking a girl back and forth in her arms. The lights in the shelter begin to flicker<br />
as someone lets out a terrified scream. A medium shot shows Lene bracing Anna‟s<br />
carriage with her upper body in an instinct to protect her child. Next follow more shots<br />
<strong>of</strong> night bombings and the terrified reactions <strong>of</strong> the civilians in the shelter. As the sounds<br />
<strong>of</strong> the bombs crescendo and shelter occupants become more agitated, the warden cries out<br />
“Kein Wort!” (Deutschland, bleiche Mutter n. pag.). 45 He turns up Hitler‟s speech on the<br />
radio, which ends in a jubilant crowd cheering “Sieg Heil!” (Deutschland, bleiche Mutter<br />
n. pag.). 46 Next, as the intensity <strong>of</strong> the bombing decreases, the civilians in the shelter are<br />
shown passing around a bottle <strong>of</strong> schnapps and making casual conversation. A more<br />
hopeful piano melody accompanies the action.<br />
In this sequence, Sanders-Brahms alternates enacted scenes with archival footage<br />
in order to confront the public historical record <strong>of</strong> the war with images <strong>of</strong> how aerial<br />
43<br />
I quoted the English subtitle <strong>of</strong> this sentence from Hitler‟s speech as I could not adequately hear the<br />
German sentence which was made unintelligible by other diagetic sounds such as screams and the roar <strong>of</strong><br />
exploding bombs.<br />
44<br />
I quoted the English subtitle <strong>of</strong> this sentence rather than the German original for the same reason stated in<br />
the above footnote.<br />
45<br />
“Not a word!” (Deutschland, bleiche Mutter n. pag.).<br />
46<br />
“Hail [to] victory!” (Deutschland, bleiche Mutter n. pag.).<br />
61