At least 2 decades ago, here on FR, this movie and the original book came up on a thread/was a thread and what I wrote was what some poster had written back then. Yes, I should have looked it up myself ( which I just did );you're correct, he was NOT a Nazi, but an Hungarian Jew, living in Austria.
I saw the movie when I was 5, never saw it again, but DO remember it. I wasn't crazy about the movie ( didn't hate it/didn't love it ) and was NOT frightened by the fire nor any other part of this film.
And yes, the book is really NOT a children's book!
As a child ( and now ), I loved FANTASIA, THE SONG OF THE SOUTH, and the cartoon movies that were NOT fairy tale based. And that's it; I've never really been a fan of the majority of Disney stuff...and for good reason! Once you've been read/read yourself, the original material, Disney's adaptations STINK!
In 1940, my father hitchhiked from Loma Linda, Calif. to LA to see “Fantasia” at the Carthay Circle Theater, where first-run blockbusters were often shown (sadly, it was torn down in 1969). He said that the final scene alone made the trip worthwhile. I would see the film for the first time in 1963.
I was lucky to have seen “Song of the South” in 1958. If you want to see it today, you need to consult a dealer in bootleg DVDs.