Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter

July 1941. Five friends, three men, two women, meet in Berlin and, confident that the war is going Germany's way, promise to meet up again at Christmas. Two are soldiers, off to fight on the Eastern Front. One will be a nurse in a field hospital on the Eastern Front. One is an entertainer. One is Jewish. Their individual experiences of the war will vary somewhat but their aim is to one day be reunited.

Very gritty and engaging war drama showing WW2 from the German perspective. Not just the military point of view but also from a civilian aspect and a Jewish aspect. Quite original in this regard as it tries to capture a broad German experience.

Incredibly successful in this regard as we not only see the battles from the everyday soldier's perspective but home life and the persecution of Jews. Quite realistic and a harrowing ordeal, especially as the war goes on.

We also see how the war changes people. One soldier goes from coward to callous killer. One woman goes from fervently pro-Hitler to distinctly anti the Nazis and the war. The individual story arcs are incredibly interesting and plausible and are what holds the series together.

In between we have some good battle scenes, some great intrigue and some good human drama.

There are some scenes which do come off as being contrived, especially towards the end, but these are fairly minor blemishes in what is otherwise a superb series.

We follow the experiences of five young adult friends from Berlin during the second world war (WW2). To a certain extent this series can be seen as the German counterpart of Band of Brothers: parts of the series are about the combat of the German Wehrmacht (two of the five friends are Wehrmacht soldiers while one of them is a battlefield nurse). We are given a raw picture of how the German Wehrmacht operated, including the slaughter and sometimes humiliation of its enemies. The story is about German civilians as well: one of the friends tries to avoid the deportation of her Jewish boyfriend by seducing a German officer.

Overall, the story does not provide an excuse for the way that the Germans acted in WW2 ("Wir haben es nicht gewusst"). On the contrary: it points out that not only the Nazi's but also the Wehrmacht (the 'ordinary' army) was involved in the killing of Jews and other civilians. The story is about evilness as well as about the struggle of German soldiers with their conscience while following orders. Doing so the series seem to provide a genuine picture of what really happened.

The story is set at a very good pace and the different plots unwind nicely. But what really distinguishes this series from most other WW2 series is the quality of the footage and the excellent acting. You feel the fear of a German soldier who steps on a mine; you understand that the efforts of a soldier to prevent executions are deemed to fail.

Nothing short of excellent!

I watched this flying to & from LA and had to see it again properly. The series is set very differently than US or British shows and it speaks volumes to the producers & writers even if it offended the Polish (its not a documentary its drama). Many American & British WWII shows are factually incorrect.

To the show the five characters are well portrayed and acted and I liked the pace of the show and that it didn't duck certain issues like the killing of Jewish women & children by the Nazis or the brutality of the Eastern front. It showed how war changes people into something they were not before and how desperate you can become or fatigued. In the end it shows that regardless of nationality their is good & bad in all societies and the power of politicians and senior armed forces personnel over the rest of us and what they can make any of us do is frightening.

Just watched on SBS TV Australia and a very high quality and entertaining war perspective from Germans of WW2......I see it is on at movies in USA and at 4.5 hours too long for movies...but loved it on TV.....war is a no win for all sides so don't try and analyze the political ,racial or historical accuracy.Its not meant to be a documentary.....but you must feel empathy for all people that went through the horror of WW2...our worlds biggest disgrace with 50 million killed...my father was an Australian soldier for 6 years in WW2..and he was disgusted by the treatment of soldiers on both sides....well done German TV.

Being fed the usual US blockbuster TV series makes the viewer numb. Mindless rubbish that is sold to us as a"'Television Event 'is nothing more than marketing hype. But every now and then a quality television film comes along. Generation War is a bright light in an otherwise production line of poor offerings that seem to rate on commercial TV. This film was brilliant in so many ways. From the skillful direction and intriguing storyline to masterful character development, from magnificent set recreations to convincing performances from its actors, this film is a winner.

Having an interest in WWII history I would agree that some albeit minor inconsistencies in the retelling of history may be identified. But given that it is entertainment mixed with history it does an outstanding job of closely matching the attitudes and people of the time. Its easy for us to sit back in the 21st Century judging the people and attitudes of those living in a deceitful, cruel and secretive fascist state that was Nazi Germany. But times were different and all people that live through any war (whether good or bad) are in some way adversely affected by it. Generation War showed another side to the WWII story which shows no one is a winner. Needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed this offering from German TV.