Moreover, every time they see the desperate fight of the two Axis villains, Germany and Japan, in the final stage, no matter who they are, they like to use words like "the beast is still fighting". In the past, I did not understand why there were constantly "brainwashed" young soldiers rushing to the front, even willing to sacrifice their lives for "the glory of the empire."
Is it really just as simple as being "brainwashed"?
Later, after reading many memoirs of the German soldiers of World War II, I began to gradually solve the mystery in my happiness. At least, from these memoirs, some precious information can be obtained from perspectives that were previously unknown.
For example, in John Foss’s "Black Edelweiss-Memoirs of SS Soldiers", the author has repeatedly emphasized: In the later stages of the war, the flames of war began to burn to the German mainland. We young people have the responsibility and obligation to "defend our home and our country." "(The original invader has now become a victim. This is one of the cruel and dramatic aspects of war). Moreover, on the most brutal and inhumane Eastern Front, a large number of atrocities such as Soviet soldiers forcing German women to take place. Every young man in Germany goes to the front to defend his family from harm. From this perspective, it seems that there is not much to be blamed.
Moreover, in the context of that era, apart from Nazi Germany, the public enemies of the entire European Union also had the Bolshevik invasion. As a young German against the Bolsheviks, the storm that swept his country is also within a reasonable range.
As an individual, joining the German army does not necessarily have to first become a so-called Nazi believer, it is probably just because of a sense of responsibility of a German citizen. Also in this "Book of Iwo Jima", it is not necessarily out of allegiance to the emperor and the spirit of martyrdom to follow Bushido to go to the island for the final dying struggle. Just like Bing Nishimura, one of the protagonists in the play, he is just an ordinary baker who loves his wife and the baby who is about to be born. However, in this tragic era, he faces the "serving for the country". Forcibly recruited, he has no choice at all.
I believe that no matter whether it is in Germany or Japan, there must be many young people who join the army in these two ways. The former is active and the latter is passive, but neither is the kind of facialized, blindly brainwashed, brutal and emotionless fascist soldier image that we are often instilled in, just like a killing machine.
Although some people complained or criticized that the old cowboy "beautified" the Japanese soldiers, but indiscriminately said that the Japanese soldiers are inhumane. This is even more a naked slander.
The plot that touched me the most in the play came from a dialogue between Zhongdao Su Lin and Nishimura:
"Ximura, you are a good soldier."
"No, sir, I'm just a baker."
Jiang Wen had wondered why a Japanese The civilians were so friendly and turned into a murderer in a military uniform. Later, he filmed "The Devil Is Coming." In the "Book of Iwo Jima", the old cowboy told us indifferently that the devil had taken off his military uniform and he was just a baker.
Nishimura is such a "baker". After he came to Iwo Jima, he had no idea that he must die for his country, and he did not intend to become a hero in the future, lying in the Yasukuni Shrine and being worshipped by posterity. Although he himself understood that the chance of surviving was basically gone. But I still want to work hard to live. Well, stay alive.
Such a person may not necessarily represent all Japanese soldiers, but there must be a lot of people. There is even a devil soldier who once invaded our Greater China. In the face of fierce battles, he can still maintain a small and fresh literary feeling:
"Now looking out of Dingyuan City, the scenery is unusually clear and beautiful. Willow spit fresh green, river water. Miaomiao, the rape blossoms are golden. The plain is thousands of miles away, and the distance is misty and misty, but the white clouds are like flocculents. In addition, the weather is sunny, and the adjectives of Chinese characters such as spring breeze, warm spring, and late spring are used to apply. This situation is perfectly suitable for this situation. Bright and beautiful spring is worthy of any Chinese adjectives. Especially the green of willow and yellow of rapeseed, the colors are bright and similar to the original colors, and the composition is extremely leisurely and content. It is purely an illustration of Crown Leader 2. ."
-Excerpted from "Letters from Ozu Yasujiro"
Needless to say, this Japanese soldier will become a national treasure director in the future. If he was just a Japanese devils who had been brainwashed to the extreme by the emperor, he would definitely not be able to write such a relaxed and detached diary, and he would never associate filmmaking with opening a tofu shop.
There is more or less "spoof" at the end of this film. Desperate, Nishimura faced the siege of the US army. He had been afraid of death before, but now he is "seeking death with all his heart". This is a very wonderful plot setting. Because his companion Shimizu was shot and killed after surrendering to the US army, Nishimura, in despair, took an engineer shovel there and became hysterical. But at any rate, the old cowboy gave this group of devil soldiers who were destined to become cannon fodder one last touch of mercy:
He, Nishimura, a baker who didn't want to be a soldier, survived dramatically to the end because he was captured by the US army!
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