Hi, I recently saw a post wondering for what purpose Friedrich Weimar is often naked or shirtless in Napola Before the Fall, and thought to do an analysis of the purpose of nudity + clothing in the movie.
It's a bit long, so buckle in.
Part 1: Nudity emphasizes Friedrich's Development into a Nazi
Most of the characters in Napola are in Nazi uniform. If someone is not in Nazi uniform, they are usually naked. Thus, nakedness plays a significant role in Friedrich's relationship with Nazism.
Nudity has less of a sexual purpose both in-movie and in-canon to satisfy horny viewers/appeal to audiences. Instead, it serves as more of a thematic visual. Friedrich loves boxing, and he's often shirtless while doing so. Until he joins Napola, boxing remains one of his personal passions that is largely apolitical and serves to fulfill himself, rather than other people. Thus, his nudity can symbolize how both boxing and Friedrich as a person are not entirely controlled by outside forces such as Nazism. Ultimately, Friedrich Weimar still remains true to himself.
However, over the course of the story, Friedrich becomes more indoctrinated. His boxing abilities serve as Nazi propaganda. He's boxing for the Nazi state now, rather than himself. His nudity during boxing then can be seen as something else; while anyone can put on the uniform and be a Nazi on the surface, Friedrich is becoming more and more a true Nazi whether or not he is in-uniform (on duty). This shows how he is actively participating in Hitler's regime and becoming a full-fledged Nazi in ideals and action, whereas previously he was just a privileged German citizen living under the Nazis.
Part 2: Nudity contributes to Friedrich's rejection of Nazism and loyalty to Albrecht
Albrecht dies while mostly nude, which is the first time he's wearing non-Nazi-issued clothes (I think). This is consistent with how his death is his rejection of Nazism. He's rejecting all of Hitler: Hitler's ideology, Hitler's demand for complete loyalty, and most relevantly, Hitler's clothes.
When Friedrich is trying to rescue Albrecht, he's the only one of the boys who is shirtless despite the snowy weather. This shows that he is different from the other boys: he's the only one showing compassion by attempting to rescue a person, and he's visually inconsistent with the rest of his Nazi surroundings. The coldness emphasize how difficult it is to be different and shows the strength Friedrich displays by prioritizing Albrecht over protecting himself (whether from frostbite or the judgement of his Nazi peers).
In this case, something as small as lacking clothes then contributes to overarching plot developments: Albrecht's complete rejection of Nazism, Friedrich's budding rebellion against Napola, and Friedrich's care for Albrecht.
Part 3: Nudity and the importance of clothes to Nazis
When Friedrich is ultimately expelled, the teacher tells him something like "leave all your clothes with us", revealing that clothes are a huge part of whether or not someone is accepted by the Nazi community.
Aside from nudity being pretty common in sports like boxing and wrestling, ideologies such as Nazism are very concerned with the in-group and out-group. Appearances (being 'Aryan') also matter a lot. It matters whether someone is wearing the Star of David or the Nazi armband. Likewise, it matters if someone is not wearing anything.
Friedrich's shirtlessness is a way to distinguish him from the other Nazi-uniform, complicit students. His continuous changes between nudity and wearing Nazi clothes also reveals how despite his muscles and strength, at the end of the day Friedrich is an impressionable teenager that can easily be made to wear the uniform, accept the symbol, and commit atrocities.
Part 4: Symbolism of Nazi clothes and the act of wearing them
One thing this movie shows audiences is that wearing the Nazi uniform is comfortable. In the picture above, all the boys are wearing Nazi uniforms. They are well-fed, have access to pretty women, and the uniforms themselves look tailored and warm. Here are scenes where characters are not wearing the Nazi uniform:
These are moments of vulnerability, poverty, nervousness, or uncertainty. There's none of the safety that the Nazi uniforms provide. For a privileged 'Aryan' boy like Friedrich, it would be very easy to keep wearing the Nazi uniform. He struggled a lot before being granted the opportunity to wear the uniform, and thus, not wearing the uniform (being nude) is like stripping him of his protection. Each time he is nude, the audiences are nervous; will he be able to regain the uniform? Will he accept Nazism and while doing so, live a life of comfortable ignorance?
However, the movie also makes an effort to show that impactful rebellion is impossible if you are comfortable and benefitting off the system you claim to oppose. The most clear example of this is Albrecht.
When Albrecht gives his rebellious speech, his is fully clothed. When he reads his poem to his father, he is fully clothed. However, nothing changes. He is drafted into the military and dismissed by his father. The way he leaves a lasting impact is through his death, in which he prevents the German army from gaining another soldier, while also preventing himself from fighting for a nation he despises. During this moment of complete and irreversible rejection, Albrecht is not wearing the Nazi uniform. Symbolically, he has rejected it to regain agency of himself.
A similar idea is shown in Friedrich's final match. While he isn't nude (he wears a tank-top), he is clearly showing more skin than usual and notably, not in-uniform. It is in this match that he loses and is kicked out into a raging blizzard. This is a huge moment for character development: it shows that Friedrich is being the bigger person and opposing a system because it is unjust, even if he can benefit greatly from it. Clothes (or the lack thereof) is a visual way of showing this development.
Part 5: Ultimately, the true self is found in nudity, not clothes
While yes, Nazi clothes symbolize comfort, privilege, conformity and complicity, as I mentioned before (see Part 1), clothes are just surface-level. At the end of the day, whether or not someone is ideologically a Nazi is not determined by clothes.
Unlike Friedrich, Albrecht already sort of knows that Nazism is wrong from the beginning. What he struggles with is deciding whether to act on this knowledge, or continue being complicit. Thus, in the image above, clothes are very symbolically revealing. Albrecht has the appearance of a perfect Nazi (minus the physical features); he is in full uniform and even dons the actual swastika. He appears to be a complete Nazi, and everything that Friedrich isn't. Friedrich isn't wearing anything, and certainly no swastika.
However, in this conversation, it is Albrecht that is opposing the Nazis, and Friedrich who is the unapologetic winner of a brutal state-sponsored boxing match. In other words, Friedrich is a true Nazi (or at least succumbing to Nazi ideology), while Albrecht has the appearance of being one, but as it is revealed later, he isn't.
A few conclusions can be drawn from this, but it can be summarized:
Appearance isn't everything, but it can get you very far. In the context of WW2 Nazi Germany, you don't have to be a Jew-hating, ultra racist, ultra violent fiend to profit. You just need to quietly wear the uniform and do as your superiors tell you. In doing so, you can get respect, comfortability, and protection.
Part 6: Nazi clothes as a form of entrapment
Wearing Nazi clothes is an act that visually reveals that characters submit to Nazi Germany. This makes the emotional climax of the movie more devastating.
When Friedrich and Albrecht break down into tears and hug, they are still in-uniform. It doesn't matter how much they care for one another or how well they are hidden in the privacy of the bathroom. The Nazi uniform is a constant visual reminder that these boys the audience sees hugging on screen are Nazis, whether they want to be or not. I'd say this scene really highlights the helplessness of citizens, particularly the youth, to the system and adults. They are born into this, and it is very difficult to get out in a way that doesn't result in death (Albrecht) or losing everything (Friedrich). Clothing is a way to visually enforce the Nazi system's power over the characters.
Anyway, those are my thoughts. Feel free to comment your own thoughts too :)
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