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Admirable Live Action: Deaths-Head Revistied

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Show: The Twilight Zone
Episode: S3 E9
Year: 1961

Writer(s): Rod Serling


"Mr. Schmidt, recently arrived in a small Bavarian village which lies eight miles northwest of Munich...a picturesque, delightful little spot once known for its scenery. But more recently related to other events having to do with some of  the less positive pursuits of man: human slaughter, torture, misery and anguish. Mr. Schmidt, as we will soon perceive, has a vested interest in the ruins of a concentration camp - for once, some seventeen years ago, his name was Gunther Lutze. He held the rank of a captain in the SS. He was a black-uniformed strutting animal whose function in life was to give pain, and like his colleagues of the time, he shared the one affliction most common amongst that breed known as Nazis...he walked the Earth without a heart. And now former SS Captain Lutze will revisit his old haunts, satisfied perhaps that all that is awaiting him in the ruins on the hill is an element of nostalgia. What he does not know, of course, is that a place like Dachau cannot exist only in Bavaria. By its nature, by its very nature, it must be one of the populated areas...of the Twilight Zone."

- Rod Serling Opening Narration


As much as I hate to admit it, there are people in this world so very much deserving of death and worse for the things they've done. There are some forms of evil that simply cannot be forgotten no matter how many years pass, long after those who committed such atrocities have died and their bones have become dust. Word War 2, between the years 1939 to 1945 is often considered one of the absolute low points in human history, when some men decided to turn the world into a graveyard. There have been times of genocide before, but none as horrific as this. The Nazi regime is the very face of evil even after over 70 years. We may think of them as jokes now, but what they've done is anything but funny, and while some people were indeed forced into their ranks and did what they were told to survive, there were some who RELISHED in the pain they caused the innocent; this is the story of one such man.


55 years since this episode aired and it's still as powerful as ever. The Nazi regime may be long dead, but I believe there are those who have not answered for the horrors they wrought upon the world even today. Gunter Lutze, now going by the name Mr. Schmidt was once a powerful SS captain in Dachau, Bavaria, where within its concentration camp walls he did kill and maim hundreds of thousands of innocent people. After the war he fled to South America assuming a new identity, hoping that overtime the world would forget the "little mistakes of the past". While I'm sure that certain members of the Nazi party have come to realize the wrongs they committed there are those who want to deny any part in the genocide of the Jewish people.


There are some things that can never be wiped clean, that never fade from human memory no matter how much time has passed. The horrors committed by Hitler's regime will forever be remembered even after those involved have long died, the people may be gone but the monuments to their inhumanity remain as reminders of a dark era. One such monument was as mentioned before, the concentration camp in Dachau, these days under the care of a former prisoner, one Alfred Becker, and it's here that Herr Lutze and Becker meet after 17 long years, though the circumstances hardly changed in terms of their souls.


Gunter Lutze is the most evil, despicable villain The Twilight Zone has ever handled. He's the very picture of what a monster in human form truly is. This is a man who looks at the days of his time as an SS captain with the joy of someone reminiscing of their childhood days at summer camp. An animal strutting around in a black uniform, walking the earth without a heart or soul. This guy is someone you WANT to see suffer in the slowest, most painful and excruciating ways imaginable for the things he did! He thinks he got away with genocide, he's wrong, DEAD FUCKING WRONG! This long forgotten relic of when some people threw away their humanity gets exactly what he deserves. Karmic Justice doesn't even begin to describe what this MONSTER gets, catharsis doesn't, the best thing I could call the feeling of watching Mr. Lutze suffer for his crimes here, is nirvana.


The horrors of which the Nazis committed are absolutely unspeakable, from the bullet-riddled executions, to the noose-tied hangings to the chemical experiments which are too horrible for words. The feeling of all of these things are projected on Captain Lutze though mental and physical assault from those that suffered because of him and his troops. What is inflicted upon this MONSTER is karma in the truest sense of the word. It isn't hatred, it's Justice; it isn't revenge, it is retribution. Of course for those believers in God, when those who believe they have escaped punishment do die, they will face his final judgement, or so I've heard. Regardless, there are some humans you just wanna see get tortured for all they've done, and this fills that void spectacularly giving us the perfect target which still stays relevant long after the war.


This episode was also adapted into a comic book in 2009, with Gunter Lutze reimagined as an 85-year old man, only this time he must face the Justice of Becker's daughter. I think Linkara reveiwed this issue, but I dunno. However you wish to see this tale, "Deaths-Head Revisited" is truly one of the most eye opening episodes of the show. Now I bet you're asking "Why do we leave the camps standing?" Even after the Nazis are long gone. I'll let Mr. Serling give you the final verdict on that:


"
There is an answer to the doctor's question. All the Dachaus must remain standing. The Dachaus, the Belsens, the Buckenwalds, the Auschwitzes - all of them. They must remain standing because they are a monument to a moment in time when some men decided to turn the Earth into a graveyard. Into it, they shoveled all of their reason, their logic, their knowledge, but worse of all, their conscience. And the moment we forget this, the moment we cease to be haunted by its remembrance, then we become the gravediggers. Something to dwell on and to remember, not only in The Twilight Zone, but wherever men walk God's Earth."

- Rod Serling Closing Narration


I Couldn't have said it better myself. They must stay up, no matter how much we want to forget the atrocities of the past. Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and with how things are in today's world I don't think we could handle another Hitler or Nazi party. I couldn't tell you about what the future holds, but I do hope that we learn from history and strive to make the future a better place to avoid the horrors of the past.


The Twilight Zone is owned by Viacom.

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Ecclytennysmithylove's avatar

I just proofread your review summary. Copy and paste your new edited review summary (below) in the description section:












"Mr. Schmidt, recently arrived in a small Bavarian village which lies eight miles northwest of Munich... a picturesque, delightful little spot once known for its scenery. But more recently related to other events having to do with some of the less positive pursuits of man: human slaughter, torture, misery and anguish. Mr. Schmidt, as we will soon perceive, has a vested interest in the ruins of a concentration camp—for once, some seventeen years ago, his name was Gunther Lutze. He held the rank of a captain in the SS. He was a black-uniformed strutting animal whose function in life was to give pain, and like his colleagues of the time, he shared the one affliction most common amongst that breed known as Nazis... he walked the Earth without a heart. And now former SS Captain Lutze will revisit his old haunts, satisfied perhaps that all that is awaiting him in the ruins on the hill is an element of nostalgia. What he does not know, of course, is that a place like Dachau cannot exist only in Bavaria. By its nature, by its very nature, it must be one of the populated areas... of the Twilight Zone."

- Rod Serling Opening Narration

As much as I hate to admit it, there are people in this world so very much deserving of death and worse for the things they've done. There are some forms of evil that simply cannot be forgotten no matter how many years pass, long after those who committed such atrocities have died and their bones have become dust. Word War II, between the years 1939 to 1945, is often considered one of the absolute low points in human history, when some men decided to turn the world into a graveyard. There have been times of genocide before, but none as horrific as this. The Nazi regime is the very face of evil even after over 70 years. We may think of them as jokes now, but what they've done is anything but funny, and while some people were indeed forced into their ranks and did what they were told to survive, there were some who RELISHED in the pain they caused the innocent… this is the story of one such man.

55 years since this episode aired, and it's still as powerful as ever. The Nazi regime may be long dead, but I believe there are those who have not answered for the horrors they wrought upon the world even today. Gunter Lutze, now going by the name Mr. Schmidt, was once a powerful SS captain in Dachau, Bavaria, where within its concentration camp walls, he did kill and maim hundreds of thousands of innocent people. After the war, he fled to South America assuming a new identity, hoping that overtime the world would forget the "little mistakes of the past." While I'm sure that certain members of the Nazi party have come to realize the wrongs that they committed, there are those who want to deny any part in the genocide of the Jewish people.

There are some things that can never be wiped clean, that never fade from human memory no matter how much time has passed. The horrors committed by Hitler's regime will forever be remembered even after those involved have long died; the people may be gone, but the monuments to their inhumanity remain as reminders of a dark era. One such monument was as mentioned before, the concentration camp in Dachau, these days under the care of a former prisoner named Alfred Becker, and it's here that Herr Lutze and Becker meet after 17 long years, though the circumstances hardly changed in terms of their souls.

Gunter Lutze is the evilest despicable villain The Twilight Zone has ever handled. He's the very picture of what a monster in human form truly is. This is a man who looks at the days of his time as an SS captain with the joy of someone reminiscing of their childhood days at summer camp. An animal strutting around in a black uniform, walking the earth without a heart or soul. This guy is someone you WANT to see suffer in the slowest, most painful and excruciating ways imaginable for the things he did! He thinks he got away with genocide… he's wrong… DEAD FUCKING WRONG! This long-forgotten relic of when some people threw away their humanity gets exactly what he deserves. Karmic justice doesn't even begin to describe what this MONSTER gets, catharsis doesn't; the best thing I could call the feeling of watching Mr. Lutze suffer for his crimes here… is nirvana.

The horrors of which the Nazis committed are absolutely unspeakable, from the bullet-riddled executions, to the noose-tied hangings to the chemical experiments which are too horrible for words. The feeling of all of these things are projected on Captain Lutze though mental and physical assault from those that suffered because of him and his troops. What is inflicted upon this MONSTER is karma in the truest sense of the word. It isn't hatred, it's justice; it isn't revenge, it is retribution. Of course, for those believers in God, when those who believe they have escaped punishment do die, they will face his final judgement, or so I've heard. Regardless, there are some humans you just want to see get tortured for all they've done, and this fills that void spectacularly giving us the perfect target which still stays relevant long after the war.

This episode was also adapted into a comic book in 2009, with Gunter Lutze reimagined as an 85-year old man, only this time he must face the justice of Becker's daughter. I think Linkara reviewed this issue, but I don’t know. Whatever you wish to see this tale, "Deaths-Head Revisited" is truly one of the most eye opening episodes of the show. Now I bet you're asking: "Why do we leave the camps standing?" Even after the Nazis are long gone. I'll let Mr. Serling give you the final verdict on that:

"There is an answer to the doctor's question. All the Dachaus must remain standing. The Dachaus, the Belsens, the Buckenwalds, the Auschwitzes—all of them. They must remain standing because they are a monument to a moment in time when some men decided to turn the Earth into a graveyard. Into it they shoveled all of their reason, their logic, their knowledge, but worst of all, their conscience. And the moment we forget this, the moment we cease to be haunted by its remembrance, then we become the gravediggers. Something to dwell on and to remember, not only in The Twilight Zone, but wherever men walk God's Earth."

- Rod Serling Closing Narration

I couldn't have said it better myself. They must stay up, no matter how much we want to forget the atrocities of the past. Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and with how things are in today's world, I don't think we could handle another Hitler or Nazi party. I couldn't tell you about what the future holds, but I do hope that we learn from history and strive to make the future a better place to avoid the horrors of the past.