Grand Illusion (1937)

Who knew being a POW (Prisoner of War) during World War I would be so nice? Well, nice for officers in Germany at least. After watching "Grand Illusion" from the great year of 1937, I was able to observe how some of the Officer POW's were kept. From the education from my Strategy and Warfare class here at school coupled with the close proximity of time that this movie was made as to when WWI was fought, it might not be too far off.


During WWI, armies on both sides of the conflict were not very eager to fight. At times, they would even venture over to the enemy's frontline and warn them of an attack coming so that no one would get hurt. This overall sense of caring for other human beings and being able to look past their nationality and see the person underneath the uniform is something that strikes me deeply. I wish that warfare would still work that way today. Wouldn't it be nice if armies would take a day of fighting off for the other side to celebrate an important holiday, or treat their enemy with respect when they have captured them? I realize at times it would be hard, especially with opponents that do not value the natural rights we, as humans, should enjoy. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness should be applied to all, and at times some governments try to oppress these. To me, that is a crime that should be punished, and that punishment is usually war. However, what good does it do for us to torture our POWs? What good does it do for us to disrobe someone of their dignity and be brutal and inhumane, the very things that we fight against?


In the final moments of the movie, as Maréchal and Rosenthal are just crossing the border to Switzerland, the German troops stop firing. They recognize that they were unable to prevent them from escaping their camp and boundaries. In the modern day, would an army officer still give the order to cease fire whenever they are still in plain sight? Would he/she still have the decency to assume defeat and be accountable for their loss?


I am not a war expert, nor do I pretend to be. I just try to make observations based on what I have been told, and have seen. If "Grand Illusion" was anywhere close to how officers were treated as POWs in Germany during WWI, they had a pretty good life for being a Prisoner of War. They had a much better life than most would enjoy as one today. The mutual understanding of both sides to the idea of life over country was alive and well then, but it does not seem that way now. As Boieldieu was dying in the end, sacrificing himself to help his friends escape, I could not help but feel the love that the German officer had for his French counterpart. He had snipped off a flower that he held dear and gave it to him as a sign of respect. He should have felt victory, but as the two bonded, and had mutual relationships by family, they only felt love towards one another. That is the way that everyone should feel towards each other. Young or old. Friend or foe. We should all love one another and devote ourselves to the betterment of life, instead of the destruction of man.