The Original Bunker Scene (aka OBS) is the most famous scene in Downfall that is used frequently in parodies. It's called the "original" because the earliest parodies (Sim Heil and Hitler gets banned from Xbox Live) used this scene.
The OBS is thus the nucleation site of the whole Downfall parody meme, and to this day remains the most widely used scene for Downfall parodies worldwide. It also came to represent the entire meme as a whole, completely disregarding years of development of the meme much to the disdain of many Untergangers.
In Downfall
The scene takes place on 21 April 1945, during a military briefing. Otto Günsche sees Hermann Fegelein enter as Hans Krebs informs Adolf Hitler that the enemy has broken through the front. Krebs also informs of other suburbs of Berlin under attack, pointing at a map of Berlin. Hitler believes that Felix Steiner's assault will bring everything under control.
His statement evokes dead silence in the room. Wilhelm Burgdorf looks over to Krebs who was afraid to explain the situation. Alfred Jodl stepped in and explains that Steiner did not have enough soldiers to attack the Soviets and that the battle never came to fruition. Visibly upset, staring at the map in silence, Hitler's left-hand trembles as he takes off his glasses. He clears his throat and orders everyone except Generals Wilhelm Keitel, Jodl, Krebs, and Burgdorf to leave the room. Everyone else except for Joseph Goebbels and Martin Bormann who are standing behind Hitler's left leave the room.
After the door closes Hitler immediately went ballistic and scolds the four generals. He states that Steiner's attack was an order and asks them who they think they are to disobey his orders. Outside, Fegelein turns around to look at everyone who listens, as Gerda Christian starts crying. He declares that the military has been lying to him from the very beginning; even the SS. As he rants that the four generals are cowards, Burgdorf tells him that he shouldn't insult the soldiers, but Hitler continues that they are failures, traitors and cowards. Burgdorf declares that Hitler's accusations are outrageous, but Hitler ignores him and says how they are a disgrace to the German people, throws his pencils at the map, and yells, "Sie ist ohne Ehre!" (literally: "it [viz. the army leadership] is without honor").
Continuing, Hitler goes on about how years at a military academy the generals have only learned how to hold a knife and fork, and how the military has hindered his plans. Around this time, Eva Braun arrives at the hallway outside listening and Gerda cries even harder as Traudl Junge tries to comfort her. Meanwhile, Hitler accuses the military of putting obstacles in his way and goes as far as saying that he should've executed his high officials like Joseph Stalin did during the Great Purge.
Sitting down in his chair, he continues to talk about how he never attended an academy yet managed to conquer Europe all by himself. He calls the army leadership traitors who had betrayed him since the beginning, and that they will pay with their own blood. Outside, Traudl tells Gerda to control herself, while Eva looks on.
Hitler realizes the war has been lost but tells them that he will not leave Berlin and that he'd rather stay until the end and shoot himself. It ends with Hitler telling his generals, with tears running down his eyes, to "do whatever you like."
In the Parodies
The Original Bunker Scene is the basis of the whole meme, with multiple websites such as Know Your Meme referencing parodies from this scene to refer to the meme as a whole. Usually titled Hitler rants about... or Hitler finds out..., the scene is used for Hitler being banned from somewhere, Hitler being informed about world events, etc. Its use by major Untergangers declined when the Hitler Reviews scene, among other scenes, were introduced, though upstarts and one-timers still produce them in abundance. In fact, most of the parodies that made it to mainstream media use this scene, with most of the uploaders uncommon in the Unterganging circle.
The general structure of this scene's use in the original meme is as follows: At the beginning, Krebs gives a brief summary about the situation of the parody, for example, the events of the latest episode of a popular series, a new update of a computer game or something happening in the real world, while using his maps as a reference. After the summary, Hitler gives a brief statement about what he hopes will happen regarding the subject. This is followed by Krebs attempting to give Hitler bad news, but as he fears the Führer's violent outburst, he is unable to finish his sentence. A good example of bad news is a disappointing plot twist in a series Hitler really likes.
Seeing his colleague Krebs struggle, Jodl musters the courage and finishes giving Hitler the bad news. Upon receiving the news, Hitler calmly orders everyone, but Keitel, Krebs, Jodl and Burgdorf to leave the room. This is usually done with a statement relating to the parody (i.e. "Everyone who liked the previous episode, please leave this room"). After almost everyone leaves the room, Hitler starts the iconic violent outburst he is known (and loved?) for. He angrily rants for a good two minutes, after which he calms down sits on his chair and sadly states how faith, in whatever he is ranting about, is now forever lost.
Parts of this scene, however, found separate uses. The part with Fegelein waiting outside the room has been combined with other scenes when he has something to do with the rest of the bunker (eg Hitler is informed by everyone by Hitler Rants Parodies and Traudl's secret admirers by 1979Onetime). The part with Hitler throwing his pencils at the map became the basis of a weapon called the Pencil of Doom and Mass Destruction. Krebs' map pointing trait also originated from this scene.
As time passed, this scene as a whole has been considered overused, thus losing popularity among new and established Untergangers alike. If the scene is used by an established Unterganger, it is almost always meant to be as self-parody, or with an added twist which includes combining part of the other scenes to avoid overusing the original joke. A good example of this is Hitler finds no one has found a cure for his 8-bit voice and Hitler Rants Parodies' Hitler's cybernetic enhancements disaster II. Sonic7emerald has used this scene in a quite innovative way in his Hitler finds out that Brexit is happening parody, where, instead of ranting, Hitler just sits there whilst being upset. Recent parodies from Hitler Rants Parodies began merging the scene with scenes that involve explosions (See: Battle Scenes and Grawitz family's suicide) upon Hitler throwing his pencils (a.k.a. Pencil of Doom).
Popular culture references
Some popular culture references featured in the parodies include, among others:
- Upset results in sports, including State of Origin, tennis, Formula One, MotoGP, cricket, Australian rules football, rugby league, soccer, rugby union, ice hockey, basketball, boxing, and golf, among others.
- Contestants being eliminated from The X Factor, The Voice, Idol, etc.
- Being banned from Xbox Live.
- Functionality of the PlayStation network.
- Finding out there is no Santa.
- Politics.
- Apple's latest products.
- Mass Effect 3's controversial ending.
- Finding Justin Bieber was released from jail.
- Maria Sharapova's grunting.
- The war on terrorism.
- Barack Obama eating his dog.
- Vuvuzelas at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
- Parodies being uploaded or taken down.
- The incompetence of the rest of the Führerbunker occupants.
- Fegelein's antics (very rarely).
- Being Bruno Ganz.
- Facebook, YouTube and/or Twitter's new layout.
- Deaths of celebrities.
- WikiLeaks.
- Losing his voice and having to do with a vocoder.
- Movies getting pushed back.
Transcript
The full translation can be found here by KakashiBallZ.
German transcript and English translation | ||
---|---|---|
Speaker | German | English |
KREBS | Es ist dem Feind gelungen, die Front in breiter Formation zu durchbrechen. | The enemy has managed to break the front in a broad formation. |
Im Süden hat der Gegner Zossen genommen und stößt auf Stahnsdorf vor. | In the south, the opponent has taken Zossen and pushes on Stahnsdorf. | |
Der Feind operiert jetzt am nördlichen Stadtrand zwischen Frohnau und Pankow... | The enemy now operates on the northern outskirts between Frohnau and Pankow... | |
...und im Osten ist der Feind bis zur Linie Lichtenberg, Mahlsdorf und Kahrlshorst gelangt. | ...and in the east the enemy has reached the line Lichtenberg, Mahlsdorf and Kahrlshorst. | |
HITLER | Mit dem Angriff Steiners wird das alles in Ordnung kommen. | Everything will be fine with Steiner's attack. |
KREBS | Mein Führer... Steiner... | My Führer... Steiner... |
JODL | Steiner konnte nicht genügend Kräfte für einen Angriff massieren. | Steiner could not field enough strength for a massed attack. |
Der Angriff Steiners ist nicht erfolgt. | Steiner's attack is not occurring. | |
HITLER | Es bleiben im Raum: Keitel, Jodl, Krebs und Burgdorf. | These people will stay here: Keitel, Jodl, Krebs and Burgdorf. |
Das war ein Befehl! | That was an order! | |
Der Angriff Steiners war ein Befehl! | Steiner's attack was an order! | |
Wer sind Sie, dass Sie es wagen, sich meinem Befehl zu widersetzen? | Who are you, that you dare resist my order? | |
So weit ist es also gekommen? | So this is what it has come to? | |
Das Militär hat mich belogen! | The military has lied to me! | |
Jeder hat mich belogen, sogar die SS! | Everyone has lied to me, even the SS! | |
Die gesamte Generalität ist nichts als ein Haufen niederträchtiger, treuloser Feiglinge! | All the generals are nothing but a bunch of wicked, faithless cowards! | |
BURGDORF | Mein Führer ich kann nicht zulassen, dass sie Soldaten, die für Sie verbluten… | My Führer, I cannot allow you to [insult] them, the soldiers who have bled for you... |
HITLER | Nichts als FEIGLINGE, VERRÄTER, VERSAGER!!! | Nothing but COWARDS, TRAITORS AND FAILURES!!! |
BURGDORF | Mein Führer, was Sie da sagen, ist ungeheuerlich! | My Führer, what you say is outrageous! |
HITLER | Die Generalität ist ein GESCHMEIẞ des deutschen Volkes! | The generals are the SCUM of the German people! |
SIE IST OHNE EHRE! | THEY HAVE NO HONOUR! | |
Sie nennen sich Generale, weil sie JAHRE an der Militärakademie zugebracht haben, nur um zu lernen, wie man Messer und Gabel hält. | They call themselves generals because they have spent YEARS at the military academy just to learn how to hold a knife and a fork. | |
Jahrelang hat das Militär meine Aktionen nur verhindert. | For years the military has hindered my actions. | |
Es hat mir jeden nur erdenklichen WIDERSTAND in den Weg gelegt! | It has put every conceivable OBSTACLE in my way! | |
Ich hätte gut daran getan... vor Jahren alle höheren Offiziere liquidieren zu lassen, wie STALIN! | I should have had better do well... to have all the higher officers liquidated years ago, like STALIN! | |
Ich war nie auf einer Akademie. | I was never at an academy. | |
Und doch habe ich allein, allein auf mich gestellt, ganz Europa erobert! | And yet, alone, all by myself, I have conquered all of Europe. | |
Verräter... | Traitors... | |
VON ALLEM ANFANG AN BIN ICH SO VERRATEN UND BETROGEN WORDEN! | FROM THE VERY BEGINNING I HAVE BEEN BETRAYED AND DECEIVED SO MUCH! | |
Es war ein ungeheuerer Verrat geübt am deutschen Volke! | What a monstrous betrayal by the German people! | |
Aber alle diese Verräter werden bezahlen. | But all of these traitors will pay. | |
MIT IHREM EIGENEN BLUT WERDEN SIE BEZAHLEN! | WITH THEIR OWN BLOOD THEY WILL PAY! | |
SIE WERDEN ERSAUFEN IN IHREM EIGENEN BLUT! | THEY WILL DROWN IN THEIR OWN BLOOD! | |
TRAUDL | Bitte, Gerda, jetzt beruhig’ dich doch! | Please, Gerda, calm down now! |
HITLER | Meine Befehle sind in den Wind gesprochen. | My commands have fallen on deaf ears. |
Es ist unmöglich, unter diesen Umständen zu führen. | It is impossible to lead under these circumstances. | |
Es ist aus. | It is over. | |
Der Krieg…ist verloren. | The war... is lost. | |
Aber wenn Sie, meine Herren, glauben, dass ich deshalb Berlin verlasse, irren Sie sich gewaltig! Eher jage ich mir eine Kugel durch den Kopf. | But, gentlemen, if you think that means I am leaving Berlin, you are very much mistaken! I would rather put a bullet through my head. | |
Tun Sie, was Sie wollen... | Do what you want... |
Trivia
- The room where the scene unfolds is specifically called the "Map room / Situation room." It's no surprise considering all map-pointing in the film takes place in this room.
- Out of all four generals that Hitler calls out, Keitel is the only one without any lines in this scene.
- The original bunker scene was cut short for television broadcasts of the film. The TV cut can be seen here.
- If you look closely, you could see Günsche and Fegelein in a few scenes, though separately.
- Traudl is the only woman with lines in this scene.
- Although Gerda cries a lot more, her crying doesn't have as much impact as Erna Flegel does in the parodies, who used it as a superweapon.
- Although Hitler had asked for just Keitel, Jodl, Krebs, and Burgdorf remain in the room, Joseph Goebbels and Martin Bormann also remain.
- However, for most of the scene, both Goebbels and Bormann are not within Hitler's eyesight, as both men stand behind him.
- In a sense, by staying in the room even though Hitler ordered everyone aside from Keitel, Jodl, Krebs, and Burgdorf to leave, they have disobeyed Hitler's order, which directly contradicts Goebbels' dialogue in the Goebbels crying scene in which he states never to have disobeyed Hitler.
- Both men had no lines.
- Some versions of the scene, including that depicted in Hitler: The Last Ten Days, had Hitler also specify that Bormann remain.
- Joseph Stalin was mentioned in this scene which leads to many references to him on a given subject Hitler rants about in parodies that use this scene.
- A complete English Buffalaxing of the entire scene can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Du1he85c58 (as a Hitler Parody)
- If you can hear closely, you can hear Hitler saying "Fight Nigg*!", "Wikileaks" or "Far out!", which are bufflaxed lines.
- Weg gelegt (the actual phrase being said) can also be interpreted as "Break ya legs!".
- At around 1:31 in the scene, right before Hitler says "weiter als ein Haufen" (but a bunch) a static noise can be heard. It can be heard in both the theatrical version and the extended one. In the Blu-ray version, the noise is weaker, but can still be heard. Another explanation for this is that someone is hyperventilating.
- This scene was made famous by Gerhardt Boldt, even though he did not assist directly (as Hitler asked everyone except the four generals to leave the room). It's likely, however, that he heard the dialogue and the physical manifestations of Hitler were heard from either the generals or Bormann.
- This scene was parodied in the 2012 science-fiction film Iron Sky, which Götz Otto (who plays Günsche in Downfall) has the main role in.
- This is the standard scene for Japanese Unterganger parodies. Hitler rants about mostly political issues in Japan. Sometimes, along with fake lines, Japanese words (often funny) can be heard.
- If parodied in Chinese, Hitler's quotes' bufflaxing roughly translate to things like:
- You otaku! FRANKLIN! The s*um that gets in the way!
- Infuriating!
- He saves more fuel than a thief!
- WOC, I'd rather play with Billy!
- You guys were nothing but Franklin!
- I've came to Hebei Province.
- I will screw your dad!
- 70,000 secretaries will be shot!
- This scene was referenced in the German segment of the Cleveland Show Episode Wide World of Cleveland Show with Cleveland Brown being portrayed as Hitler.
- WonkyTonkBotty did an English dub of the scene as a parody where Hitler and his General's rant about the fake subtitles. It earned him Parody of the Month for January - March 2018 along with Most Innovative and Best Audio Based Parody.
- It also helped him win Unterganger of the Month along with a Downfall game he is making and a shitpost on a certain controversial Unterganger.
In Other Media
This scene, based on a real documented incident and a key turnaround point of Hitler's last days, is portrayed in many films, and owing to the popularity of parodies of the OBS, it was parodied in several others.
Hitler: The Last Ten Days
Steiner's failed attack is explained in great detail. After the generals leave the room, Hitler locks the door and begins to rant. During the rant, he bangs the table 5 times and shouts "Nothing!". He then slams the phone on the table and on the fallen map. As mentioned earlier, Bormann was also instructed to stay for the rant, in addition to Krebs, Keitel, Burgdorf, and Jodl.
The Bunker
The scene starts abruptly with the two generals coming down the stairs while Hitler has already begun ranting and shouting to them that they had betrayed him. Hitler then shouts to everybody to "Bring me General Steiner!", to which the generals tell him that Steiner must have been captured. He also brings the Luftwaffe into the discussion. The two generals urge him to leave Berlin and Hitler refuses, shouting at Bormann that he will not leave Berlin and go to Berchtesgaden.
War and Remembrance
The scene begins with all the general staff talking and shouting at the conference table (which is much bigger than the one from Downfall). Hitler breaks the noise by asking everybody what is going on with Steiner and that "if I do not hear from Steiner within 15 minutes, somebody will be shot!". Hans Krebs then enters the room and tells him that "there can be no Steiner attack!". At this point, Hitler begins to erupt with massive shouts telling everybody to get out and tells Keitel, Bormann, Krebs, Jodl, and Goebbels to remain. He then begins to shout that he will kill himself, and accuses everybody that he has been betrayed. He continues to shout that the war is lost, and that "eeeeverybody iiiis aaaaagainst me *pant*, *pant*"! This is considered, by many, to be the most violent and angry reenactment of the famous scene.
Dear Friend Hitler
The scene appears in the second half of the film, almost half an hour before the end. Even more interesting, it happens right after Fegelein is executed. Hitler asks why isn't Steiner attacking. A general (possibly Krebs, in keeping with the Downfall tradition) tells him that the Russian army is very large, which angers Hitler, who shouts that Steiner alone is equal to millions of soldiers. Another General (either Burgdorf of Jodl) tells him that Steiner has refused to attack because all he has is a few starving civilians. This angers Hitler, who snaps and rants that everybody has deceived him. He then calls the soldiers worthless. He then sits in his chair and says that he'll commit suicide and never leave Berlin. Throughout the scene, he constantly bangs the desk with his fist. The camera will sometimes move outside the room, showing Eva and the other people gathered, just like in Der Untergang.
Iron Sky
The scene is parodied in Iron Sky when the US president's campaigning department in New York failed to produce a decent presidential campaign poster. Vivian Wagner, who heads the presidential campaign, puts down her glasses and commands that "anyone who is not head of the department should leave." She then rants, calling them idiots and morons. She told them that she had a meeting with the United States of America the next morning and not the "President of Zambia", throwing her pen on the table.
The Cleveland Show
A spoof of the scene appears the 4th season episode Wide World of Cleveland Show, that aired on 27 January 2013. In the scene, it's shown how the eponymous series would look like in Germany, Das Cleveland Showzen. In the scene, Hitler, portrayed by the main character of the show, Cleveland Brown, rants about the show itself being written by Jews (a nod to the fact that many of the writers of the show are Jewish) in inexistent German. Almost all the characters in the scene don't look like their Downfall counterparts (e.g. Burgdorf is portrayed by Tim The Bear and Jodl by Lester Krinklesac).
Helsinki International Film Festival
One of the trailers of the Helsinki International Film Festival in 2014 features a spoof of the Original Bunker Scene, where Finnish military leader and Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim learns about the films that will be shown at the festival. He remarks that a film based on himself would be shown there, however, he later kicks into a rant after finding out that the film based on Mannerheim was never completed. This scene itself also references the film Downfall along with the Downfall parodies, where Mannerheim throws his pencil onto the table after ranting about how Hitler was a "total twat" in the film.
Look Who's Back
(WIP)
Notable Quotes
- Hitler: Mit dem Angriff Steiners... wird das alles in Ordnung kommen. ("With Steiner's assault, that will all come into order.")
- Krebs: Mein Führer... Steiner... ("My Führer...Steiner...")
- Jodl: Steiner konnte nicht genügend Kräfte für einen Angriff massieren. Der Angriff Steiners ist nicht erfolgt. ("Steiner couldn't mass sufficient forces for an assault. Steiner's assault didn't happen.")
- Hitler: Es bleiben im Raum: Keitel, Jodl, Krebs und Burgdorf. ("[Let] there remain in the room: Keitel, Jodl, Krebs, and Burgdorf.")
- Hitler (ranting): Das war ein Befehl! ("That was an order!")
- Hitler: Sie ist ohne Ehre! ("They [The generals] are without honor!") - This has been interpreted (bufflaxed) as: "She stole the heroin!"
- Hitler: Der Krieg... ist verloren. ("The war...is lost.")
Gallery
Previous Fegelein talking to Traudl and Gerda |
Original Bunker Scene View Template Page |
Next After the Original Bunker Scene |
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