The Great Dictator

A detailed Summary of The Great Dictator

The Great Dictator made in 1940 by Charlie Chaplin was at the time a controversial film because it exposed Nazism and anti-Semitism with both humor and horror. In his film, Chaplin plays the two main characters: Adenoid Hynkel, the tyrannical dictator of Tomania and a Jewish barber persecuted by Storm Troopers in the ghetto.

The movie begins in 1918, at the end of the First World War. The Jewish barber is fighting on the franco-german front and in the thick of the battle, inadvertently rescues a pilot and both fly away to safety. Unfortunately, due to their catastrophic landing, the barber looses his memory of the war. Then he is released from the hospital in the late thirties and goes back to work in his barbershop in the ghetto. However, he doesn't know that the soldiers of the Double Cross (instead of a swastika) who persecute and terrorize people are now controlling his town. At one point, he stands up to them and is almost hanged. Fortunately, by a twist of fate, the pilot whom the barber saved in the war becomes one of Hynkel's top men and out of gratitude, orders the Storm Troopers to leave the ghetto alone. Due to his courageous act the barber wins the admiration of a pretty neighbor girl, Hannah.

The final speech is the most powerful moment of the film. Chaplin steps right out of his character and faces the camera, delivering an emphatic and astonishing speech. The purpose of this scene was to finish with a strong impact; it was what the viewers had to remember the most from the movie. Indeed, the speech stresses the notion of happiness, liberty, democracy and a promising future: "You the people have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness. You the people have the power to make life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy let's use that power - let us all unite." It was, without a doubt, one of first times that Hollywood ever let an actor give a speech like that in a movie.

Through The Great Dictator, Charlie Chaplin wanted to ridicule the mystic bilge about a pureblooded race and to point the finger of Communism at the audience. Therefore the film threaten Hitler and the Nazi Party, and also Mussolini and its fascist party. However, the film ignores the situation in the pacific with Japan's invasion of China and also the position of the United States during that time.

Some relevant events were not mentioned in the film. For instance, in October 1935 Mussolini's armies invaded Ethiopia and in March of 1936 Nazi troops violated the Versailles agreement and seized the Rhineland. A few month later, Hitler and Mussolini extended aid to General Francisco Franco, a fellow fascist, who was seeking to overthrow Spain's republic government. These events prove that Germany was already a powerful country and that the cooperation between dictators was to be menacing for the rest of Europe.

Meanwhile, Hynkel demands the wealthy Jews to fund his invasion on Osterlich and when the Jews refuse, he launches an attack on the ghetto. The barber is then thrown into a concentration camp. Tomania's dictator also holds a meeting with the Dictator of Bacteria, Benzino Napaloni, to discuss the territorial situation in Osterlich. Napaloni holds troops at the border and agrees to remove them only if Hynkel signs the treaty, which he does. When the attack on Osterlich is ready to begin, the barber escapes and is mistaken for Hynkel, leading up to the final and powerful speech.

Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass" is an another important event not cited in Chaplin's film. It happened on the night of November 9, 1938 when Joseph Goebbels carefully organized the pogrom, the devastasion of the Jews across the Reich. In two days, over 1,000 synagogues were burned, 7,000 Jewish businesses were trashed, dozens of Jewish people were killed, and Jewish cemeteries, hospitals, schools, and homes were looted while police and fire brigades stood by. The pogroms became known as Kristallnacht for the shattered glass from the store windows that littered the streets.

Later on, Hynkel finds out that Benzino Napaloni has troops on the front of Osterlich and decides to meet with him. Napaloni is the fictional character of Benito Mussolini, Italy's dictator. At this point of time, Hitler wanted to invade Austria without the help from Italian troops. In the film, Napaloni agrees to remove his troops only if Hynkel signs a treaty. After a great dispute, Hynkel finally accepts to sign. In March 1938 Hitler annexed Austria to the Third Reich. The fact that Italy agreed to cooperate with Germany as the "Axis Power" and that it withdrew from the League of Nations in 1936 is not cited in the film.

Some common words found in the essay are:
World War, Storm Troopers, German Government, Osterlich Austria, Charlie Chaplin, Grosse Bertha, Jews Reich, United Artists, Hitler Aryan, Britain France, storm troopers, world war, concentration camps, charlie chaplin, third reich, nazi party, jewish barber, attack ghetto, la grosse bertha, wealthy jews, jews fund, 1918 world war, jews fund invasion, wealthy jews fund, hynkel signs treaty,

Approximate Word count = 2578
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Movies