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I know you’d probably like a list corresponding to either G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra or the much more anticipated debut of Neil Blomkamp (District 9). And, to be frank, I’d rather write a list inspired by the release of one of those two films as well, but G.I. Joe has been in theaters for three days already (not including today), and most films I’d put on a list in relation to District 9 can likely be found in the 51 Most Definitive Sci-Fi Films of All Time. And so it is: you are stuck with another Nazi list—and another two-part roster (Part II next week). Who in the world wants to watch Nazi movies?! Well, for starters, I’m betting about $45 million-worth of moviegoers are going to answer that question on the weekend of the 21st; and, well, I do—when they’re good. And the films listed below should prove that there have been many very good cinematic works about or with Nazis (neo-Nazism doesn’t apply), the lot of which denote grander importance than shear entertainment. In the glory of Quentin Tarantino and his film Inglourious Basterds, due out at the end of next week, here are the 20 Most Significant Nazi Films of All Time:

20. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Spielberg’s apex adventure classic welded thrilling action with historical legend in a way more common in post-war era serials (indeed, these were producer George Lucas’ inspiration) than Hollywood productions. And with the very pinnacle of evil (the Nazis) representing the hero’s opposition, excitement in the ’80s—and perhaps in decades following—never struck louder than in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

19. The Night of the Generals (1967)

The Night of the Generals is a much-forgotten/passed-over classic of cinematic dexterity, stupendous acting, and slightly modified, yet startlingly pointed chronological accuracy. Omar Sharif lines an epic cast as the lead investigator in a murder case whose three top suspects are German war officers (Charles Gray, Donald Pleasance, and Peter O’Toole) stationed in Warsaw. During the film, famous historical figures (such as Erwin Rommel, as played by Christopher Plummer) and events (such as the failed assassination attempt on Hitler, depicted in last year’s Valkyrie) make their mark on the story’s succession and its characters’ fates in a subtle but compelling way.

18. Cross of Iron (1977)

Sam Peckinpah’s Cross of Iron, about a Wehrmacht (German army) platoon during Hitler’s ordered invasion of the Soviets and Germany’s subsequent retreat, is one of moviemaking history’s most brazen anti-war messages—and, as is typical of Peckinpah works, it achieves its intended function with undeniable vivacity. But it’s more significant for its voice than for its overall quality—and that’s why it’s not higher on the list: It’s a mediocre film.

17. Das Boot (1981)

About the crew of German Submarine U-96, Das Boot features something rightfully coveted—albeit infrequent—in Nazi-era war enactments: a cast of characters split between supporting and rebuking the Nazi charge and Hitler’s lead. This makes for an intense yet often satirical picture that doubtless stands as director Wolfgang Peterson’s—and one of the WWII genre’s—most harrowing feat.

16. Stalag 17 (1953)

A group of U.S. Air Force pilots, imprisoned in a German P.O.W. camp in 1944, suspect that one of their fellow captives is a Nazi spy—and Sefton (William Holden) is the lead. Supposed, directed, and sequentially mounted impeccably, Stalag 17, one of filmmaker and producer Billy Wilder’s many lauded crown jewels, is christened by Holden’s only Oscar-winning performance and immortalized as one of the greatest war paranoia movies ever.

15. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

A fictionalized but historically guided take on the infamous Nuremberg trials that took place between 1945 and ’46, this brilliant film, directed by American filmmaking legend Stanley Kramer (Inherit the Wind, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?) scrutinized the studied tribunal through both its own recorded nature and moral questioning in general. Judgment is, for that, an essential illustration for classroom discussion and a quintessential account of provocative—and significant—historical cinema.

14. Casablanca (1942)

While you may not have even been anticipating Casablanca’s place on this list, now that you’ve been reminded of it, you’re likely to ask to yourself, Why in Hell is this not higher?—and if that’s you, I hate to say it, but I bet you’re doing so based on the Hollywood politics that assure society of this film’s all-time supremacy. I’ll give you two truths: 1) Hollywood politics are right about Casablanca—it’s one of the best motion picture exercises ever; and 2) while it may rank in movie history’s top ten, it hardly makes a case for, against, or about Nazis. Then again, they are a part of the story; thus this brilliant melodrama remains as the 14th most significant Nazi film of all time.

13. The Counterfeiters (2007)

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2008 Oscars, this relatively quiet (in terms of global recognition and popularity) Austrian-German tale resonates with wave upon wave of artistic, inspired, finely crafted and utterly fearless tedium—but the kind of “tedium” used to describe Schindler’s List; and The Counterfeiters may be heir to the Schindler’s throne. Both tell true stories of survival in one of world ages’ most dire eras, and both pack sublime beauty and irrevocable impact between the shocking and the unsettling. Read my review of The Counterfeiters here.

12. The Eternal Jew (1940)

One of countless propaganda features commissioned in compliance with the Nazi party’s orders, The Eternal Jew, a strongly antisemitic work assigned specifically to German filmmaker Fritz Hippler by Joseph Goebbels, presents and condemns generalized personality traits of the Jewish population in Nazi-patrolled Poland (and everywhere). The film, whose DVD can be found—with a warning to the purchaser—at ihffilm.com, is upsetting for its hatred (many unaware Jews are incited) but recommended as a critical piece of the Nazi media propaganda puzzle that few have looked into. (World History professors, this is a must-see, must-own, and must-show.)

11. Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

The title character (one of three played by Peter Sellers) is a former Nazi specialist who’s called upon by fictional U.S. President Merkin Muffley (also Sellers) for advice amidst a nuclear crisis. Dr. Strangelove personally embodies the same eccentricities as the film: he’s “mad”, he satirizes the Nazi regime (he once addresses the President as “Führer”; and he has a case of “alien hand syndrome”, which occasionally forces his arm into a Nazi salute), and he proposes bombastic ideas that directly reflect the considerations of the American government at the time of the Cold War. One of the funniest products of all of cinema, Strangelove is at its best when it’s blasting both the Nazi party and the U.S. government at once.

Continue on to the top ten! Feel compelled to leave your thoughts on the comment board.