Hans Litten vs. Adolf Hitler: How to Stop a Tyrant is a documentary film which premiered in 2011.
The topic of this film is the conflict between the German Lawyer Hans Litten (1903-1938) and the leader of the Nazi Party Adolf Hitler (1889-1945).
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Writer and director: Mark Hayhurst
** Narrator: Bill Paterson
** Historical consultant: Benjamin Carter Hett
** Available on YouTube
** Run time: 59 minutes
Several persons are interviewed in this film
Here are the names of the participants
Listed in alphabetical order
** Elfriede Brüning – The Association of Revolutionary Writers, 1928-1933
** Benjamin Carter Hett – an American historian
** Wolfgang Kaleck (born 1960) – a human rights lawyer
** Sven Langhammer – a curator, Lichtenberg Concentration Camp
** Patricia Litten (born 1954) – Hans Litten’s niece
** Harald Marpe – a historian of Charlottenburg, Berlin
** Hildegard Neumann – daughter of a political prisoner
** Dr Dirk Riedel (born 1971) – a historian, Dachau Concentration Camp
** Rudy Schiffmann – a member of the German Communist Party 1927-1933
** Professor Stefanie Schüler-Springorum – a writer
** Birute Stern (1930-2021) – the daughter of Max Fürst (1905-1978) and Margot Fürst (1912-2003) – Max and Margot were close friends of Hans Litten’s.
The young German lawyer Hans Litten was opposed to the Nazis. As a Jewish lawyer in the Weimar republic, he tried to use the law to stop the advance of the Nazi Party.
On 22 November 1930, a group of Nazi Storm Troopers entered the Eden Dance Palace - a well-known meeting place for socialists and communists - and opened fire on the people inside. Three were killed, while 20 were wounded.
On 08 May 1931, four suspects were tried in a court of law. Prosecutor Hans Litten called Adolf Hitler as a witness. The leader of the Nazi Party was asked to talk about the role of the Storm Troopers in the Nazi Party.
Hans Litten questioned Hitler for three hours. His purpose was to show the difference between a legal party and a party which supports the use of violence.
Hitler was in a dilemma:
He could say he and his party had nothing to do with the attack on the Eden Dance Palace. But in that case, the Storm Troopers would be upset to learn that he did not support them.
He could say he and his party supported the Storm Troopers. But in that case, members of the German middle class would be upset to learn that he and his party did not respect the law; that he and his party supported the use of violence against civilians.
Hitler was furious. But since he was in a courtroom, he had to respect the rules and regulations of the place. He was caught in a trap.
He could not walk out in protest. He could not order his Storm Troopers to beat up the prosecutor. He was humiliated.
He never forgot the name Hans Litten. He promised himself that he was going to get revenge as soon as possible.
In January 1933, Hitler became the Chancellor. One month later, after the Reichstag fire, he was allowed to issue emergency laws.
Many members of the opposition – socialists and communists – were arrested and placed in concentration camps. One of the first to be arrested was Hans Litten.
In the following years, he was moved from camp to camp. He was often interrogated and exposed to torture. In 1938, after surviving five years in different camps, he took his own life. This is how Hitler got his revenge.
In this film, we follow the life of Hans Litten from 1930 until his death in 1938.
The account of his life is illustrated by archive footage, recorded during the 1930s.
The account of his life is also illustrated with several clips from the historical drama The Man Who Crossed Hitler, which premiered in 2011. This documentary film is a companion to the historical drama.
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The conflict between Hans Litten and Adolf Hitler is an important chapter in German history:
** The history of the Weimar Republic 1918-1933
** The history of Nazi Germany 1933-1945
The story deserves to be told, and in this film, it is done very well.
The participants are well-chosen. They offer useful information and valuable perspectives on the case.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).
PS. In April 1935, while Hans Litten was a prisoner in a concentration camp, the commandant told the inmates that they had to stage a performance on 20 April in order to celebrate Adolf Hitler’s 46th birthday.
On that day, Hans Litten recited a famous German poem:
Die Gedanken sind frei
Who wrote this poem? The name of the original author is not known. The most popular version was rendered by Hoffmann von Fallersleben in 1842.
Here is the German text of this poem:
Die Gedanken sind
frei, wer kann sie erraten,
sie fliehen vorbei wie nächtliche Schatten.
Kein Mensch kann sie wissen, kein Jäger sie schießen
es bleibet dabei: Die Gedanken sind frei!
Ich denke was ich will und was mich beglücket,
doch alles in der Still', und wie es sich schicket.
Mein Wunsch und Begehren kann niemand verwehren,
es bleibet dabei: Die Gedanken sind frei!
Ich liebe den Wein, mein Mädchen vor allen,
sie tut mir allein am besten gefallen.
Ich bin nicht alleine bei meinem Glas Weine,
mein Mädchen dabei: die Gedanken sind frei.
Und sperrt man mich ein im finsteren Kerker,
das alles sind rein vergebliche Werke;
denn meine Gedanken zerreißen die Schranken
und Mauern entzwei: die Gedanken sind frei.
Drum will ich auf immer den Sorgen entsagen
und will mich auch nimmer mit Grillen mehr plagen.
Man kann ja im Herzen stets lachen und scherzen
und denken dabei: die Gedanken sind frei.
Hans Litten was beaten by the Nazis, while he was a prisoner. But his spirit was not crushed.
He wanted to show the Nazis that they might punish their opponents by sending them to a concentration camp, but they would never be able to crush the dream of a different and better world with freedom and justice for all.
REFERENCES
# 1. Books
Crossing Hitler:
The Man Who Put the Nazis on the Witness Stand
By Benjamin Carter Hett
(2008)
Beheaded by Hitler: Cruelty of the Nazis, Civilian Executions and Judicial Terror, 1933-1945
By Colin Pateman
(2017)
Beyond Tears:
A Mother’s Fight to Save Her Son in Nazi Germany
By Irmgard Litten
(2023)
Irmgard Litten (1879-1953) is the mother of Hans Litten. When he was arrested and sent to a concentration camp, she began a campaign for his release.
In 1938, when her son took his own life, she left Germany, but while she was in exile, she continued her campaign against the leaders of Nazi Germany who had refused to release her son.
The original version of this book about Hans Litten was published in German.
An English version was published in the US in 1940. It was reprinted in 2023.
# 2. Film and video
The Man Who crossed Hitler
A historical drama
(2011)
While the story of this drama is set in Germany in 1930 and 1931, the dialogue is in English, which is a violation of historical truth,
Die NS-Justiz:
Recht des Unrechts
A documentary film
(2023)
*****
The German lawyer
Hans Litten
(1903-1938)
*****
Irmgard Litten
(1879-1953)
Mother of Hans Litten
*****
Beyond Tears:
A Mother's fight to Save
Her Son in Nazi Germany
By Irmgard Litten
(This book was first published in 1940)
(It was reprinted in 2023)
*****
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