“Explain to me how he’s taking liberties with history? How do you do that? How do you actually go about “taking liberties with history”? Are we worried because Quentin offers a new perspective on how to view it? Are we worried that certain things then would miraculously disappear? No, we’re not! He doesn’t take liberties. He takes artistic liberties in his narrative. That’s his duty as an artist. I’m not shocked about this… I’m not even irritated. I’m not even sure if I’d be irritated if I was an historian, because historians know history even better. I’ve been asked before, are you worried about the reaction in Germany or in Austria about this rather unusual outcome of the story. And I said, ‘Why would I be worried about, what reason is there to worry? Do you think Germans or Austrians still want their “dear Adolph”?’
“This is the fourth generation after the war. These people don’t have a feeling of guilt. That doesn’t mean they don’t have a feeling of responsibility. And that’s the interesting aspect. So everybody in Germany today has had this fantasy about this outcome. And you know what? In Berlin, at the screening, as this moment approached [as the Basterds assassinate the Nazi high command], everybody was relaxed. A sigh of relief went through the room when Hitler was killed! And, they were cheering. Of course, in Germany, the desire to see this is infinitely greater than anywhere else. This reaction really materialized. And, so there! Am I worried? No.”
— Christoph Waltz on Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds and Germany