During their meeting at the Oval Office of the White House on February 28, 2025, US President Donald John Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy: “You have talked too much. You cannot win this war.” It has become quite natural in the 21st Century that the President of a World Power shows such dominance over the Head of a weak State. The US President also accused President Zelenskyy of triggering the Russia-Ukraine War, stressing: “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people, you’re gambling with World War III and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to this country.“

President Trump was speaking in such a manner so that the global community could gradually forget the suffering of the Ukrainian people because of the Russian invasion. It may be noted that Paul Joseph Goebbels (October 29, 1897 – May 1, 1945), the Chief Propagandist for the Nazi Party and the Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 1945, did the same in the 1930s. He used the media to constantly turn Lies into Truths so that the Germans could trust the words of the Führer. This particular method made Nazism stronger.

Ernst Wilhelm ‘Wim’ Wenders, the German filmmaker and a major figure in New German Cinema, has called this method Textbook Fascism of Goebbels. Speaking at an event in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata in mid-February 2025, he said that “nationalism is the most dangerous thing on the planet”. According to Wenders, nationalism means only the arrogance, as well as pride, of nationality in the contemporary world. Nationalist leaders have become quite selfish as they have started teaching people how to suppress or destroy other countries.

Wenders claimed that one could find nationalism in various forms in different parts of the world. He told the audience that the US was trying to redefine history in a strictly fascist way under the leadership of a populist right-wing politician. The filmmaker did not forget to point out that those who were supporting populist leaders across the globe were mainly men! It is such a recipe that almost destroyed the entire world in the 20th Century, stressed Wenders.

Meanwhile, Wenders, who has experienced American culture up close, admitted that “the Americans liberated us from Nazi Germany“. He stated: “I have always thought it was a liberation. I have discovered myself in American art and literature. I have spent 15 years in the US. I became addicted to the music of that country first and then to books and films.” Later, he arrived in Germany after returning his Green Card to the US authorities. Wenders believes that he is basically a German romantic filmmaker. Interestingly, he has acknowledged the fact that the American rhapsody encouraged him to return to German culture and accept himself as a German. He has returned to his own culture because he indoctrinated the US concept of freedom at an early age.

Wenders further admitted that the spirit of freedom brought him closer to the universe and to become a global citizen. Hence, he has been able to overcome the traditional system of State-controlled nationalism and to achieve globalism. He has discovered Australia, Japan and Latin America in a different way while making new films. “I did not just sit in my own country and make films,” stressed Wenders. The artistic style of Road Movie that emerged with his 1974 film Alice in the Cities stems from the desire to travel and to connect with people of different countries.

Wenders never engaged in any direct political commentary. However, the hypocrisy of US Politics has hurt him, as well as his fascination with that country. He has recalled that atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki a few days before his birth. Hence, one can feel the influence of the Second World War on his films. In Kolkata, Wenders said: “I was born in a war-torn Nazi Germany and grew up amidst the ruins. I still see the same images in the cities of Ukraine and also in the Gaza Strip.” He added: “I make films to learn about history and to inform others. That is why cinema is way ahead of other media. Only films can bring back the terrible memories of the past in a tough time and sensitise people.“

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Facebook

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Twitter

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Linkedin

Contact: kousdas@gmail.com

Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das