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German Flick Quietly Reclaims the Red Baron as War Hero

Posted Mar 16, 08 3:40 PM CDT in World,  Arts & Living 

(Newser) – Films extolling German war heroes aren’t exactly abundant, but upcoming movie The Red Baron shines the spotlight on the noble, softer side of Germany’s most famous fighter pilot. “There are strong voices in Germany still saying we're not allowed to do this,” says the writer/director. “But the film makes a very clear statement against war.”

Manfred von Richthofen shot down 80 Canadian, British, and Australian pilots before his death in April 1918, reports the Guardian, at the age of 25. And the new focus on him also helps sate a recent interest in Germany’s wartime past, including 2004’s Downfall and this year’s Valkyrie, starring Tom Cruise as the German colonel who attempted to assassinate Hitler.

Source Guardian (UK)

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Jerzy Gaszynski touches the plaque dedicated to World War I ace Manfred von Richthofen, also known as the Red Baron, made by him, in front of the von Richthofen family house.   (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)
The plaque dedicated to Manfred von Richthofen made by Jerzy Gaszynski in front of the von Richthofen family house, in Poland.   (AP Photo)
The family house of World War I ace Manfred von Richthofen, or the Red Baron, with the memorial stone and plaque in foreground.   (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)
The ruins of a pre-World War II monument dedicated to Manfred von Richthofen, also known as the World War I ace Red Baron, in a park near the von Richthofen family house.   (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)
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The Red Baron shot down more than 80 Australian, British and Canadian planes during World War I.   (gothi3 (YouTube))

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movie • Tom Cruise • Valkyrie • World War I • hero • German • German army


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