The children that became Nazis

Rating: Null/10 (31 March 2014)

The film starts off with a long title sequence.
A series of strange events are befalling a small town in eastern Germany in the months before the onset of WW1. A wire is strung across the road throwing the doctor from his horse. A window is opened to the cold jeopardizing the health of a baby. The son of the baron is abducted and whipped. A local handicapped child is kidnapped and beaten. These events are mixed in with typical small town happenings and politics, so that it remains who the culprit is. It appears, according to the local teacher, that the children of the local pastor are responsible for the acts, but they go unpunished.
I've never thought of what the childhood of Nazi war criminals was like, but considering serial killers often have childhoods torturing animals and other deviant acts, it would go to reason that this was the case for Eichmann and Goering. That's probably the obvious interpretation. The Protestant discipline was not confined the the Puritans who gave us witch burnings and, arguably, the Bill Clinton scandal.
I felt like I was watching a "Little House on the Prairie" meets "Children of the Corn". It's very haunting and aggravating to see how cruel humans can be, unfortunately too disgusting. These pointless acts of aggression and torture are often repeated. Aptly, it is having large families that helps to create these bonds. Children were viewed as future workers and an investment in the future. Even the hint at incest between the doctor and his daughter, as well a small town suspicion of outsiders (present in the initial interrogation) help to solidify a statement that cruelty is a normal, albeit unwelcome, aspect of life.
In other words, this is likely just a typical small town experiencing the vagaries of life. It's a form all but gone in much of the world, even perhaps China at this point.
I did enjoy the love story between the teacher and the nanny. I also thought all the children did a good job of being sincere. It probably helped that most of their lines were "No, sir" and "Yes, sir". I liked the interplay between the workers and the baron. The workers seemed to be able to voice their opinions, though they remained largely ignored.
This film really deserves a more in depth analysis as it is about 2.5 hours long, but anyone who's willing to sit down and explore the mind of a small village capable of sending men to the slaughters of WW1 would get something out of it.