Today, Our Nation Saw Evil.
“I know it's either this... or the Army now. And I like saving lives, I don't like taking them. But after what I saw... if my country decides to send me... to go kill... I'll... I'll do it now.”
- Tony Benetatos, rookie firefighter, Ladder 1.
On September 11, 2001, two French filmmakers realized that their documentary on the life of a rookie New York City firefighter, would become more than just any other documentary. What was supposed to be a regular documentary about a firefighter, became the only known footage from inside the World Trade Center when two planes hit the building. The rare footage the filmmakers captured allows the audience to see the incident from a firefighters perspective.
Jules and Gedeon Naudet intended to create a film documentary about the ”probie” Tony Benetatos, and his first months at Ladder 1, a firehouse not far away from the Twin Towers. Longing for a fire, the city seamed to be quite for Tony and the other firemen the first months. Little did they know that things would change drastically only a few weeks ahead, more precisely, on September 11. The day started out like any other day in New York City, when suddenly a plane is captured on camera overhead, hitting the second building of the World Trade Center. What started out like an ordinary day, quickly become the most challenging day in the life of a firelighters at Ladder 1.
9/11 is probably one of the most memorable dates in American history. In European history as well for that matter. Almost everyone suffered in one way or the other from the attack, either economically or emotionally. In contrast to the European countries, the suffering hit the American people instantly, in a way Europeans can’t even begin to imagine. The terror attack which took the life of many American citizens, started an emotional “thunderstorm” supporting rapid revenge against Iraq. In Europe, such a quick decision to “revenge” in form of war, would seam irrational, partly due to the fact that the attack didn’t hit Europeans as personally as it did the American people and partly due to different philosophical and political views. Economically, both Americans and Europeans felt the damage. Airlines struggled like never before, especially in the Untied States. Nonetheless, companies in Europe struggled with the economy damage as well, however, this damage didn’t hit as quickly as it did in America. Some would say that 9/11 hit Unites States , like a tidal wave, slowly damaging the economy trough a longer period of time, before the effects hit Europa. Many companies in Europe are still struggling today, even though it's been more than eight years since the incident.
