Comedy, History
Schtonk! is a farce of the actual events of 1983, when Germany's Stern magazine published, with great fanfare, 60 volumes of the alleged diaries of Adolf Hitler – which two weeks later turned out to be entirely fake. Fritz Knobel (based on real-life forger Konrad Kujau) supports himself by faking and selling Nazi memorabilia. When Knobel writes and sells a volume of Hitler's (nonexistent) diaries, he thinks it's just another job. When sleazy journalist Hermann Willié learns of the diaries, however, he quickly realizes their potential value... and Knobel is quickly in over his head. As the pressure builds and Knobel is forced to deliver more and more volumes of the fake diaries, he finds himself acting increasingly like the man whose life he is rewriting. The film is a romping and hilarious satire, poking fun not only at the events and characters involved in the hoax (who are only thinly disguised in the film), but at the discomfort Germany has with its difficult past.
MOVIE COMMENTS
SIMILAR MOVIES
To Be or Not to Be
Everything Is Illuminated
Schindler's List
The Tin Drum
The Blues Brothers
Ordered to Love
Guitar Men: The Darkest Secret of Rock 'n Roll
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
Aimée & Jaguar
Bagdad Cafe
Life Is Beautiful
Downfall
Bridget Jones's Diary
Lolita
Night and Fog
Judgment at Nuremberg
Bella Ciao! - German Soldiers in the Italian Resistance
The Bridge
The Diary of Anne Frank
Heathers
SIMILAR MOVIES
To Be or Not to Be
IMDB 7.8 | Mar , 1942
During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.Everything Is Illuminated
IMDB 7.3 | Sep , 2005
A young Jewish American man endeavors—with the help of eccentric, distant relatives—to find the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II—in a Ukrainian village which was ultimately razed by the Nazis.Schindler's List
IMDB 8.6 | Dec , 1993
The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.The Tin Drum
IMDB 7 | May , 1979
In 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.The Blues Brothers
IMDB 7.7 | Jun , 1980
Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.Ordered to Love
IMDB 2.2 | Jan , 1961
Revealing story about the mysterious Nazi organization "Lebensborn," which was intended to serve the SS in pursuing population policy and racial hygiene goals by systematically producing "hereditarily valuable" children. The film depicts an anti-Hitler Knight's Cross recipient with false papers who becomes a witness and victim of relevant events in a Lebensborn home, where 30 enthusiastic BDM girls and a number of SS hooligans and frontline soldiers have just moved in to "give the Führer a child."Guitar Men: The Darkest Secret of Rock 'n Roll
IMDB 6.2 | Jun , 2007
Tough contract killers and secret organizations operating worldwide in a murderous battle for a relic that hides much more than just a simple instrument. The merciless hunt for the guitar of the "King of Rock'n Roll" leaves a trail of violence and death in its wake.Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
IMDB 7.1 | Feb , 2005
In 1943, as Hitler continues to wage war across Europe, a group of college students mount an underground resistance movement in Munich. Dedicated expressly to the downfall of the monolithic Third Reich war machine, they call themselves the White Rose. One of its few female members, Sophie Scholl is captured during a dangerous mission to distribute pamphlets on campus with her brother Hans. Unwavering in her convictions and loyalty to the White Rose, her cross-examination by the Gestapo quickly escalates into a searing test of wills as Scholl delivers a passionate call to freedom and personal responsibility.Aimée & Jaguar
IMDB 6.7 | Feb , 1999
In 1943, while the Allies are bombing Berlin and the Gestapo is purging the capital of Jews, a dangerous love affair blossoms between two women – one a Jewish member of the underground, the other an exemplar of Nazi motherhood.Bagdad Cafe
IMDB 7.2 | Nov , 1987
A German woman named Jasmin stumbles upon a dilapidated motel/diner in the middle of nowhere. Her unusual appearance and demeanor are at first suspicious to Brenda, the exasperated owner who has difficulty making ends meet. But when an unlikely magic sparks between the two women, this lonely desert outpost is transformed into a thriving and popular oasis.Life Is Beautiful
IMDB 8.4 | Dec , 1997
A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.Downfall
IMDB 7.9 | Sep , 2004
In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his generals and advisers to fight to the last man. When the end finally does come, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.Bridget Jones's Diary
IMDB 6.7 | Apr , 2001
Bridget Jones is an average woman struggling against expectations. As a New Year's resolution, Bridget decides to take control of her life, starting by keeping a diary in which she will always tell the complete truth. Her charming boss takes an interest in her, and she cannot stop running into a rather disagreeable acquaintance whom Bridget cannot help finding quietly attractive.Lolita
IMDB 7.3 | Jun , 1962
Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged British novelist who is both appalled by and attracted to the vulgarity of American culture. When he comes to stay at the boarding house run by Charlotte Haze, he soon becomes obsessed with Lolita, the woman's teenaged daughter.Night and Fog
IMDB 8.3 | Jan , 1956
Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.Judgment at Nuremberg
IMDB 8 | Dec , 1961
In 1947, four German judges who served on the bench during the Nazi regime face a military tribunal to answer charges of crimes against humanity. Chief Justice Haywood hears evidence and testimony not only from lead defendant Ernst Janning and his defense attorney Hans Rolfe, but also from the widow of a Nazi general, an idealistic U.S. Army captain and reluctant witness Irene Wallner.Bella Ciao! - German Soldiers in the Italian Resistance
IMDB 8 | Jun , 2025
When Italy capitulated 1943 and joined the allied forces, some soldiers from the German Wehrmacht also changed sides and joined the Italians in their fight to liberate the country. This film tells the story of Rudolf Jacobs, Walter Fischer and Heinz Brauers, three of the ‘Good Germans’ remembered in Italy for their efforts in fighting the Nazis.The Bridge
IMDB 7.5 | Oct , 1959
A group of German boys are ordered to protect a small bridge in their home village during the waning months of the second world war. Truckloads of defeated, cynical Wehrmacht soldiers flee the approaching American troops, but the boys, full of enthusiasm for the "blood and honor" Nazi ideology, stay to defend the useless bridge. The film is based on a West German anti-war novel of the same name, written by Gregor Dorfmeister.The Diary of Anne Frank
IMDB 7.2 | Mar , 1959
The true, harrowing story of a young Jewish girl who, with her family and their friends, is forced into hiding in an attic in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam.Heathers
IMDB 7.3 | Mar , 1989
A girl who halfheartedly tries to be part of the "in crowd" of her school meets a rebel who teaches her a more devious way to play social politics: by killing the popular kids.