Once I wrote that I was deeply influenced by some artists who has Germany roots. Recently , I remembered one movie which impressed itself on me during my student life. Though having no direct relation , the reason why I remember it that I found the fact in one article, it says” Gerhard Richter was born in Dresden in 1932 “ Oh, Richter was born in Dresden! I thought.
The title of that movie is “ Slaughter house 5 “. Novels by Kurt Vonnegut Jr, directed by George Roy Hill. When I was a junior highschool student, it was aired only once as a substitute for some kind of program ( may be ). And I tranced into the movie world perfectly when I watched it.
To tell the story in short, main character , one American , brought up on a bed of roses, entered U.S.Army and was sended in the western front of Europe in the Second World War. In December 1944 , One of the famous battle , so to speak “Battle of Bulge”, German forces attacked U.S.troops. Unfortunately he was captured and sended to the prisoner’s camp in Dresden where was called “ Slaughter house 5 “.
( Thema is completely different from the problem of race , like Juden camp and so on )
Every day he worked monotorous camp’s labor , and saw German boys and old souldiers protecting and gurding this city. In addition , a strange colleage( may be crazy ) came to have a hate against him on accident.
One day Dresden was bombed seriously by Allied Air Force. When he went out from the shelter with many colleages and enemy German souldiers, he looked at the burning Dresden changed from splended and romantic historical city. One boy , young German souldier , started to cry and runninig into fire , shouting someone’s name , maybe his girl friend.
After the war, he succeeded in business in America . But his family suffered bad fates.
At the last , he was shooted by that crazy man ( returned from the war together ), this is the end.
We feel something very curious in watching this movie, because comfortable life with girl in the doom on some planet is inserted many times . Story is carried as omunibus
, real life and scene of science fiction .
A junior highschool student , me , when I saw this movie on TV , I was deeply impressed and had continued to think “ What is it? What is this story?” day after day.
In the University days, I encountered a friend who know the title of this movie. So, at last, I could make clear .
It was usual that one continue to think about something throughout many years because of the lack of information , different from today , without internet which make easy for us to get information all around.
A few years ago I got a VHS video tape by yahoo auction, and watched it. I could see many splendid view of Dresden City and felt that “Slaughter house 5” is a good movie indeed. I was surprised that the impression was exactly the same when I watched as a teenager. This story is maiden work of Kurt Vonnegut Jr. It was said biography.
After the WWⅡ,United States of America denied this genocide of Dresden, and tried to hide . Vonnegut was a famous ,new-left writer in ’80. ( he passed away in 2007 ) known as anti-establishment .
Sorry my wandering away...... Richter should have been experienced Dresden Bomb when he was 13. It’s like Hiroshima meaning for us Japanese. What did he think about？when he looked over his home town Dresden burnning. Big waves of great 20’s century flooded repeatedly many times to him , the after days also.

We cannot feel such things only looking his paintings......