Os Filhos da Guerra

I have watched the series several times now, and I still find it pretty engrossing. 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. 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. 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.

Granted, the numerous chance encounters of the lead characters may be unlikely but they are an acceptable plot device. 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. 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 „Damn, 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?". 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.

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 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). 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.

Both camps, even the internet Nazis, have some points, I believe. 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. 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).

By the way, a legal fact which is apparently too unpopular nowadays to be mentioned ever is that customary international law at the time of WWII allowed quite far-reaching reprisal actions of occupying forces when attacked by irregular forces. Even the US Army field manual of 1937 deals in detail with the accepted practice of hostage shooting and the burning of villages as reprisals… Collective punishment had been commonplace in the soviet union since the revolution, and the British applied collective punishment in their colonial rearguard fights even throughout the 1950s. (Sadly, that list is far from complete: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_punishment). That doesn't undo German atrocities but it's not helpful either to view those completely out of historical context.

Polish criticims, as mirrored in several reviews here, centers on the fact that the show depicts the war against the Soviet Union and therefore leaves the Polish campaign of '39 and the subsequent German occupation of Poland largely out of the picture. What makes countless Poles then totally snap is the double dip of being once again portrayed as antisemites (remember the bitter reactions in Poland to a brief scene in Spielberg's Schindler's List or to the favorable reception in the US of books by the Polish-born author Jan Gross) and then, of all people, by Germans. While I believe that the subject of antisemitism among Poles could have been portrayed in a more balanced fashion, especially by blaming someone else than the AK who evidently helped Jews and even supplied weapons for the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto uprising, I think it's time people in Poland start to accept that todays's Germans have a right as anyone else on the planet to include Polish antisemitism in their renderings of history. As for brave Polish resistance to the Nazis not having gotten more screen time, it's the decision of the makers of the show what their story focuses on. I was also disappointed when AMC's Hell on Wheels reduced Plains Indians to mere plot devices but I guess that I just have to live with it that Hell on Wheels is about people building a transcontinental railway and not about the plight of the ethnically cleansed Indians. Same applies here.

Summing up, if you have seen enough comic-book Nazi villains on screen and are curious about the German experience in WWII, this mini-series is a pretty well-made, honest and quite engrossing attempt.

A brilliantly done three part episode from the Second World War and the Nazis. It's the sort of stuff you won't stop to watch. Based on true events. All the actors delivered an incredibly and convincing performance. Be prepared on very dramatic turns mixed with battles, escapes, adventure, Nazi psycho terror scenes. The locations and costumes all were well chosen and executed. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in history. Very solid 9/10.

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.

What characterizes the German perspective of this mini-series? The Wehrmacht's invasion into the Soviet Union defines Germany's memory of WW2. This campaign lasted the longest 1941-1945, covered the largest front-line, involved the most soldiers, it is where the Wehrmacht suffered 90% of its 2 million dead, it is where Germany was defeated.

Realistic or not? As a former German conscript soldier born 1968 I recognize the depiction of military behavior, group dynamics and everyday-life of soldiers in a German context. However, I would expect more vulgar language. Other than that, I lack authority to judge.

The question whether or not this series is authentic is twofold ? First, is it true to history? The Wehrmacht's invasion into Eastern Europe and Russia accounts for the majority of deaths by war or genocide in the European theater of WW2. Regardless of modern technology, this war was still predominantly fought by the common infantry man and suffered by civilians. The series reflects these facts. But it never establishes the Wehrmacht as the efficient and dangerous fighting force it was, even during defeat.

Second, is the narrative authentic ? The series illustrates the recollection of my grandfather's generation and their perspective as I heard it from them. In that sense, some undertones are both apologetic and authentic to that generation's testimony. As an ambition, the series aggregates many personal memories into one narrative.

The visual impact of the combat scenes feels intense. The stain of a period drama, costumes and uniforms, disappears into the spectator's excitement easily after 5 minutes. Cutting into black-and-white newsreel footage feels smooth and provides perspectives a film on a budget small compared against the actual event cannot. The staged shots create an illusion of conquering a large landmass and moving in foreign territory.

The dramatization follows the generation born in the 1920s: one German Jew, two soldiers and two women. The story reunites the five in fabricated coincidences. Does this overstretch the artistic license? No, for it serves to re-examine the change both of the individual characters and their relations to each other as a result of violent experiences. More frequently observed is the changing relationship of two brothers, different in character, different in response to shared hardship.

The series explores the nature of what in modern terms would be called war-2.0 . Traditional war was but a means to an end that, at least in principle, could be achieved otherwise. War-2.0 kills for the sake of killing. In this series you'll see the Wehrmacht routinely executing civilians with the SS or alone. War-2.0 applies traditional warfare to the goal of genocide.

The series remains silent about the motives. It shies away from showing the deep racism, antisemitism, the cool institutionalized execution of genocide. When Friedhelm yells at his brother "there is no purpose, no sense (Es gibt keinen Sinn) " to express his desperation he is obviously blind to the genocidal intent of the campaign. The Nazi criminals appear as people of bad character to which their genocidal beliefs are but an accessory. Nowhere do we see a German as an educated , sympathetic individual, whose only flaw were his racism and antisemitism. The series only presents this type as a Polish partisan.

Entering the third part, one is sucked into an ever closer marriage of survival and killing but gets trapped by Nazi patterns of thinking. The Nazis created the myth of the German people fighting for survival facing the Eastern peoples in order to legitimate the genocide, preplanned from day one. The film implicitly picks up that image of survival. Initially it were millions of men and women in Eastern Europe, millions of Jews who fought for survival - not the Wehrmacht. While the series appears apologetic on some subjects it completely refrains from accusing the Red Army.

What about guilt? The soldiers portrayed in their early twenties were not the generation who planned the genocide, nor did they cheer Hitler into office. The swift and easy Wehrmacht victories in Western Europe motivated German soldiers, the series reveals. The story leaves the spectator with the crucial question: what, given the circumstances, could one have done differently at the age of 23 ? The series suggests that the line of guilt separates the generations rather than the good from the bad combat soldiers. It is the older generation who abused the young generation as the instrument of war. The series offers an iconic scene to justify my interpretation. It shows a German soldier in an act of self-sacrifice and redemption (I shall not disclose the details here).

I cannot grant redemption. The act benefits only German soldiers but none of their victims. De- humanization and cruelty out of racism characterize WW2. Uncompromising loyalty to one's own ethnic group sits at the core of extreme racism. It is this exact loyalty the film upholds in part 3.

I recommend the series. "Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter / Generation War" entertains. Using 3x1.5hours, the vast scale of WW2, the nature of the violence and the depth of personal experience come alive. It opens the subject of WW2 to a female audience who can identify with the rich female characters. Poles, Ukrainians, Russians will find the German perspective accessible for it correctly places the horror of WW2 in their home-countries. The series provides substance to a serious debate by being historically accurate, though not representative.

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.