And also. Regardless of Goltz's feelings about Fritz, it remains the case that he doesn't want to be there, he gave two reasons for not wanting to be there and was ignored, he doesn't think the roleplay is a good idea, and he's still being forced to do it. This means two things. One, it's an abuse of power by a monarch, no two ways about it. Two, maybe it's because Goltz has already tried everything he can think of to make this roleplay work better for Fritz and nothing's worked, but his lack of encouragement is not actually helping the roleplay succeed. Of course, it's not his job to help! See point one, about the abuse of power. But I still want to see this same roleplay done by someone who's encouraging Fritz to do what he needs to do.
Which leads me to, either Goltz is right or wrong that this is another one of Fritz's patented Really Bad Ideas (TM). If he's right, it means Fritz genuinely feels worse as a result of doing this, in not just the short but the long term. I find it difficult to believe, given both the RL man and the theme of this movie, that Fritz feeling worse wouldn't have any effect on the way he treats the people around him, and therefore that Goltz doesn't have some vested interest in talking Fritz out of the roleplay. There are many ways for this roleplay to go wrong, with and without the power differential, and Goltz may be spot on.
But he may also be wrong. And if he's wrong, it means Fritz would actually benefit from having someone to do this with him, and what he's got is someone who's sending "don't do this" messages. Now this may be because Goltz totally cares about Fritz and doesn't want to see him crying at the end. It may be the case that Fredersdorf would have had the same reaction, purely out of caring and his own discomfort at seeing Fritz cry. That still doesn't mean the roleplay was a bad idea.
[Okay, this turned into a ramble about trauma psychology, which is one of my interests.]
It's actually extremely common, and a big problem for trauma survivors, for the people closest to them to feel radically uncomfortable with them reliving their traumatic memories. Sometimes people tell the survivor it's better to let it go, or sometimes they try to listen, but get increasingly and visibly upset at hearing about these awful things and/or watching the survivor cry. At that point, the survivor is now having to manage the emotions of the person they're talking to as well as their own emotions, which is not something you can do while reliving a traumatic experience. So the whole thing starts shutting down.
Both these approaches mean the survivor ends up feeling like they're not allowed to talk about what they need to talk about, even when they want to, which is really, really bad for their recovery prospects. Now! It is no one's responsibility to listen to anyone else's traumas, much less participate in a roleplay. You can absolutely find someone else's traumas too upsetting to listen to and tell them so. Self-care comes first.
But telling someone it's bad for *them* to relive their memories is absolutely the wrong thing to say. I realize pretty much everyone who says this is well-meaning, and God knows I don't hold random laypeople responsible for understanding psychology in this century, much less 3 centuries ago. But they're still misinformed and spreading misinformation. (As noted, this specific roleplay between Fritz and Goltz may be going horribly wrong in many ways, and I'm not saying Goltz was necessarily concluding it was bad for Fritz just because of Fritz's emotions during the roleplay. But if that's what he meant, then that's an extremely common mistake.)
The most helpful thing you can do, if someone you care about is reliving a trauma, is to realize that they're dealing with their own emotions right now and can't deal with yours, to understand that just because your own emotions are in revolt at the thought of them suffering doesn't mean that it's bad for them to relive it, and to try to manage your own secondhand emotions out of their sight.
That's IF doing so isn't going to cause you unhealthy amounts of distress, of course. But sometimes it's enough just to know that it's okay to let them experience their own distress without you having to fix it or try to make it stop. If you're not a trained professional, quiet support and validation is usually the best thing you can do. If we're talking the present day, suggestions that they find someone qualified to help if they need to. Above all, not pressure to talk, but acceptance and encouragement when they do. And, of course, navigation of boundaries: distinguish between "I can't hear about X right now/ever because it's inherently upsetting/I don't have the spoons/I don't want to do this/I don't need to explain" and "I balk at hearing about X because I have misconceptions about what the other person needs."
TL;DR: I didn't come up with this specific roleplay for Fritz, but I've been having him roleplay with trusted loved ones in my head for months because it has a lot of potential to help if done right, and this scene hit pretty close to home in that respect.
Re: Epic rap battles of history
Which leads me to, either Goltz is right or wrong that this is another one of Fritz's patented Really Bad Ideas (TM). If he's right, it means Fritz genuinely feels worse as a result of doing this, in not just the short but the long term. I find it difficult to believe, given both the RL man and the theme of this movie, that Fritz feeling worse wouldn't have any effect on the way he treats the people around him, and therefore that Goltz doesn't have some vested interest in talking Fritz out of the roleplay. There are many ways for this roleplay to go wrong, with and without the power differential, and Goltz may be spot on.
But he may also be wrong. And if he's wrong, it means Fritz would actually benefit from having someone to do this with him, and what he's got is someone who's sending "don't do this" messages. Now this may be because Goltz totally cares about Fritz and doesn't want to see him crying at the end. It may be the case that Fredersdorf would have had the same reaction, purely out of caring and his own discomfort at seeing Fritz cry. That still doesn't mean the roleplay was a bad idea.
[Okay, this turned into a ramble about trauma psychology, which is one of my interests.]
It's actually extremely common, and a big problem for trauma survivors, for the people closest to them to feel radically uncomfortable with them reliving their traumatic memories. Sometimes people tell the survivor it's better to let it go, or sometimes they try to listen, but get increasingly and visibly upset at hearing about these awful things and/or watching the survivor cry. At that point, the survivor is now having to manage the emotions of the person they're talking to as well as their own emotions, which is not something you can do while reliving a traumatic experience. So the whole thing starts shutting down.
Both these approaches mean the survivor ends up feeling like they're not allowed to talk about what they need to talk about, even when they want to, which is really, really bad for their recovery prospects. Now! It is no one's responsibility to listen to anyone else's traumas, much less participate in a roleplay. You can absolutely find someone else's traumas too upsetting to listen to and tell them so. Self-care comes first.
But telling someone it's bad for *them* to relive their memories is absolutely the wrong thing to say. I realize pretty much everyone who says this is well-meaning, and God knows I don't hold random laypeople responsible for understanding psychology in this century, much less 3 centuries ago. But they're still misinformed and spreading misinformation. (As noted, this specific roleplay between Fritz and Goltz may be going horribly wrong in many ways, and I'm not saying Goltz was necessarily concluding it was bad for Fritz just because of Fritz's emotions during the roleplay. But if that's what he meant, then that's an extremely common mistake.)
The most helpful thing you can do, if someone you care about is reliving a trauma, is to realize that they're dealing with their own emotions right now and can't deal with yours, to understand that just because your own emotions are in revolt at the thought of them suffering doesn't mean that it's bad for them to relive it, and to try to manage your own secondhand emotions out of their sight.
That's IF doing so isn't going to cause you unhealthy amounts of distress, of course. But sometimes it's enough just to know that it's okay to let them experience their own distress without you having to fix it or try to make it stop. If you're not a trained professional, quiet support and validation is usually the best thing you can do. If we're talking the present day, suggestions that they find someone qualified to help if they need to. Above all, not pressure to talk, but acceptance and encouragement when they do. And, of course, navigation of boundaries: distinguish between "I can't hear about X right now/ever because it's inherently upsetting/I don't have the spoons/I don't want to do this/I don't need to explain" and "I balk at hearing about X because I have misconceptions about what the other person needs."
TL;DR: I didn't come up with this specific roleplay for Fritz, but I've been having him roleplay with trusted loved ones in my head for months because it has a lot of potential to help if done right, and this scene hit pretty close to home in that respect.