There are many great movies that feature the Nazis as villains getting their comeuppance. The horrors of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich’s reign over Nazi Germany was one of the darkest periods in all of human history. After the defeat of the Nazis in World War II, movies and TV shows about the era practically occupy their own genre. Epics like Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line show the horrors of war while movies like JoJo Rabbit tell more human-level stories from the time period.
When it comes to historical fiction, the Nazis have also been used as villains in more fantastical movies and TV shows. Re-writing history with elements of sci-fi, horror, action, and comedy makes for great entertainment, and this is how the Nazis have often been used as antagonists in stories outside of typical war movies. Here are 10 great movies and shows in which the Nazis are villains, frequently meeting their ends in very creative and outlandish ways.
10 Hunters (2020-2023)
The Amazon Prime series Hunters is a blend of history and fiction, with the show following a group of Nazi hunters tracking escaped officers plotting to form the Fourth Reich in late ’70s New York. Logan Lerman and Al Pacino bring gravitas to the show, and it is a riveting watch for history buffs interested in events stemming from Nazi Germany’s defeat after World War II, with Hitler’s widow Eva Braun (Lena Olin) stepping in as a villainess.
9 X-Men: First Class (2011)
2000’s X-Men introduced the young Erik Lehnsherr as a Holocaust survivor, and 2011’s X-Men: First Class sends Erik (Michael Fassbender) on a revenge tale against former Nazis in Argentina and the ageless villain Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). X-Men: First Class brings a refreshing new touch to the X-Men franchise with its ’60s spy-style story combined with a full origin story of both the X-Men and Magneto himself. While not strictly a World War II movie about battling Nazis, it is nonetheless a significant component of Magneto’s origin story and the X-Men franchise’s own allegory about prejudice.
8 Overlord (2018)
Zombies have been transplanted into just about every setting, genre, and time period imaginable, and 2018’s Overlord unleashes the undead in Nazi Germany as experimental lab creations. The American paratroopers fighting the zombies of Overlord are understandably terrified by the scenario the find themselves in, while the zombies themselves are effective horror movie beasts. Overlord‘s action-horror combo makes it a great blend of genres, history, and Nazi butt-kicking.
7 Sisu (2022)
A much newer release, the Finnish action-war movie Sisu follows soldier extraordinaire Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) as he battles Nazis during the Lapland War between Finland and Germany in World War II. Sisu has been favorably compared to Inglorious Basterds with 90 minutes of Korpi taking on and taking down Nazis in epic fashion. For World War II movie enthusiasts, Sisu is definitely a must.
6 Inglorious Basterds (2009)
2009’s Inglorious Basterds is not only one of Quentin Tarantino’s best movies but also a highlight of the alternate history genre. Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) leads a platoon of soldiers dubbed “Basterds,” who take on the Nazis in the most glorious gory and over-the-top comedic manner possible. Adolf Hitler himself meets a historically divergent end that is as brutal as it is fitting, while Raine’s signature of carving swastikas into Nazi’s foreheads ends the movie on his self-described “masterpiece“.
5 Kung Fury (2015)
The martial arts warrior known as Kung Fury (David Sandberg) is the ultimate kung fu master, and his time-traveling adventure in the 2015 YouTube movie Kung Fury sends him back to Nazi Germany to defeat the Nazis and the Kung Führer with dinosaur cops and Thor himself as his allies. Kung Fury‘s bloody kung fu battle with the Nazis is high-energy fun, and with Arnold Schwarzenegger starring in Kung Fury II, the long-awaited sequel should rise to the same level of ’80s-style kung foolishness.
4 The Rocketeer (1991)
Based on Dave Stevens’ graphic novel, The Rocketeer tells the adventurous tale of pilot Cliff Secord (Bill Campbell), who finds a rocket pack hidden in his airplane hangar and uses it to become the flying superhero known as The Rocketeer. The Nazis are also after the rocket pack, with Nazi spy Neville Sinclair (Timothy Dalton) determined to retrieve it for Nazi Germany to conquer the world (Neville being one of several Rocketeer characters based on real people). The Rocketeer‘s charm as historical fiction makes it a fun and exhilarating World War II-era superhero movie, and one that has a lot of fun with historical Easter eggs.
3 Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
After taking the super-soldier serum, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) becomes the first of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, donning the mask and carrying the shield of the stalwart hero Captain America. Captain America: The First Avenger still stands as one of the MCU’s best origin stories, with excellent action scenes and a superb performance by Chris Evans. Hugo Weaving is also an outstandingly menacing villain as the Red Skull. Directed by The Rocketeer‘s Joe Johnston, Captain America: The First Avenger would be the first of Steve Rogers’ many big-screen battles fighting the forces of evil, but from his debut, it was immediately clear that Captain America can do this all day.
2 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
The first big-screen adventure of Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark sees Harrison’s Ford’s Indy on an adventure to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant, which carries the ancient remains of the Ten Commandments. Hitler and the Nazis are also in pursuit of the ark, hoping to retrieve the ultimatum weapon wielding the power of God. Raiders of the Lost Ark set the template for Indy’s rousing archeological adventures and remains a model for how to make an adventure movie. Indy’s airfield battle with a huge Nazi soldier and the Ark’s literally Nazi face-melting opening ceremony in Raiders of the Lost Ark‘s ending are also some of its many memorable set pieces.
1 Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (1989)
Indy returns to battle the Nazis again in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, teaming-up with his archeologist father Professor Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery). This time, Indy and Henry are in a race to uncover the location of the Holy Grail before the Nazis do. One of the best installments of the Indiana Jones franchise, The Last Crusade also has no shortage of great action scenes of Indy battling the Nazis, including the movie’s excellent desert tank chase. Additionally, Nazi ally Walter Donovan (Julian Glover) finds out the hard way that the Holy Grail is not to be trifled with by the forces of evil.
