Continuity mistake: When the message from Göering arrives in the Führerbunker, the signature jumps from one side of the paper to the other. When we first see the machine printing the words "H. Goering, Reichsfeldmarschall", they are on the left side of the paper, as the officer removes the paper from the printer the signature is to the right.
Downfall (2004)
1 continuity mistake - chronological order
Directed by: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Starring: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Ulrich Matthes, Corinna Harfouch, Juliane Köhler
Factual error: On a number of occasions uniformed Wermacht officers and men are shown saluting Albert Speer. Speer was a civilian and (obviously) not in uniform. Military men do not salute civilians.
Constanze Manziarly: I hate those two-faced sods who say 'Sieg Heil', but behind their backs say, 'Kiss my a... aunt'.
Question: Why is this movie parodied online?
Answer: The "Hitler in the bunker" scene is iconic for historical reasons, being something most people understand the significance of. Being subtitled in the film means it's very easy for people to keep the original excellent acting while simply replacing the words onscreen to change the context entirely. It also ends up being a bit self-reinforcing, once people get wind of it as a "template", they then start getting their own ideas. And there's the arguable "Streisand Effect", when the film company issued a wave of copyright takedowns in 2010, a lot of people "retaliated" by making and uploading even more.
Answer: Presumably, due to its popularity.
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Suggested correction: Speer, in his capacity as Reichsminister of Armaments and Munitions, would have been very recognizable to all Germans at this time and respected. Additionally, no Wehrmacht members actually salute or interact with Speer (by my memory), only Waffen-SS, who would doubtless be more loyal to a senior party member and willing to salute him. More so, if the entry refers to the Hitlergruß, the Hitlergruß was given regardless of rank per National Socialist ideology related to social equality.
One of Speer's many defences at his postwar trial was that he was a civilian, mistrusted by the military and never accorded military courtesies, which included them saluting him.