At the time the film starts, Stalin and his countless henchmen still had much more blood on their hands than the Nazis and their helpers – which was going to change, however For a good account on this, read Timothy Snyder's Bloodlands). When Friedhelm says in the first part that the Russians are learning from us" about atrocities, it's a fair objection to point out that Stalin's mass-murdering terror regime in fact didn't need any lessons from the German invaders about committing atrocities, be it politically motivated mass-murder, genocide by famine, ethnic cleansing, etc. Both camps, even the internet Nazis, have some points, I believe. The latter were upset that a German show about WWII in the east doesn't center on the suffering of Poles at the hands of Germans and even portrays Polish civilians and partisans as ardent antisemites. The former were foaming at the mouth about just another installment of guilt-worship and defilement of the supposedly heroic and noble German soldier of WWII (and the millions of German civilians who got killed, raped and expelled from their homelands). I came across two major groups of audiences who got all worked-up and downright mad about the show: German internet-Nazis and patriotic Poles. The overall approach is not a conversation stopper between the generations but an outstretched hand, not a tone of indictment and condemnation but one of empathy. The dominant question looming in the background is not so much the well known question, asked in the comfortable situation of a stable post-war order How could you be such a criminal tool of Hitler's genocidal war?" but rather ⁍amn, what would I have done in their position and where do I take the smug conviction from that I would have done so much better?". What can't be seriously disputed is that the mini-series takes great pains to put the audience in the shoes of the five young Berliners on their journey through the madness of total ideological war.
Granted, the numerous chance encounters of the lead characters may be unlikely but they are an acceptable plot device. In the end, everything is in ruins, countless are dead and the survivors emerge as deeply scarred personalities, each of them having to live with personal guilt and the ghosts of the past.
Unsere mutter unsere vater dvd series#
The series has a whole lot on it's platter, arguably more than enough to cover in a meaningful way in 4.5 hours: the enthusiasm of youngsters for Hitler's war the obvious persecution of Jews and the developing genocide in the East the nature of the Nazi regime, the unprecedented savagery of the war, the commissar order, taking casualties from partisan ambushes, savage counter insurgency warfare, the dehumanization of the populations of the conquered territories at the hands of the Germans, plans of colonization and ethnic cleansing, battle trauma, the disillusionment of the soldiers, what it was like to fight a losing total war, denunciation, finally the savagery of the soviet troops. It was made by German filmmakers for a German audience, ostensibly to nudge the fast passing away generation of eyewitnesses and veterans and the generations of their children and grandchildren to use the last chance time will give them to break the wall of silence and talk about their wartime experiences.
I have watched the series several times now, and I still find it pretty engrossing. They and millions of others wanted to be heroes but none of them could imagine what the war would ultimately do to them and to the rest of the world. Greta obtains papers for Viktor's escape by selling herself to an SS colonel. Charlotte's Nazi ideology crumbles when she betrays a Jewish nurse helping the German army. Wilhelm deserts his troops and is court-martialed. Friedhelm turns into a soulless killing machine. Valor and courage come to the fore, but also betrayal - of values, beliefs, humanity.
While Greta is a talented singer who longs to become another Marlene Dietrich, her Jewish boyfriend Viktor still cannot convince his parents to leave Germany. Deeply in love with Wilhelm is Charlotte, a young nurse who looks forward to serving in the Wehrmacht, also on the eastern front. Level-headed, highly decorated officer Wilhelm is off to the eastern front with his younger brother Friedhelm, a sensitive dreamer more interested in literature than warfare. Five friends eager to become heroes in an adventure that will change the face of Europe - and that will forever change them as well.
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