Charité

A great WW II movie from an angle I never thought about before. I enjoyed the entire series but it was difficult watching the parts where the little kids were in their beds or being transferred. Something to think about on this hot summer day.

But the task is well executed. While there is some telescoping of historical events, I have a degree in history and the story line I found to be artistically effective. Acting, pacing and production values exceed expectations. And to disagree with one reviewer, the Russians were barbaric in their ending of the war. If anything, that was downplayed.

I watched the original Charite', which was focused on the "competition" between Drs. Robert Koch and his developing treatment for tuberculosis, and Emil Behring, who discovers an effective cure for diphtheria. Both series are well produced and written, and capture the "zeitgeist" of both eras represented in this series. Both series set high standards for both production and performance, but I have to give the nod to this latest installment. It backs off the melodrama a bit more than its predecessor, and gives-- what I believe-- a more clear-eyed perspective of the political times and the trials and tribulations of the German people in WW2. It scores extra points in that this perspective is viewed through the eyes of non-combatants and non-political figures in Nazi Germany. This series and "Babylon Berlin" (really waiting for the next installment of this gem) are huge leaps forward for German television, threatening to not only becoming a peer of the BBC and other British programming, but shows signs the Germans are ready to assume the role of being the class of European exporter of "small screen" production. Good stuff.

Overall, good television. There are a few points that an American audience may find cloying, but I had no problem with it. It may be too "soapy" with the romantic entanglements woven into the story. I could have done without the melodrama-- less of it anyway-- but it has to be taken into consideration this is a "continental European" drama. In many ways, this can be attributed to the timeframe of the story. Late nineteenth century European society was more heavily church dominated in that era. So, what seems like quaint, outdated and even eyerolling concerns that weigh so heavily in this story can come off as silly, in that period these were issues that strongly impacted daily life. While these subplots may seem overly dusty to most viewers, it certainly is historically appropriate. There is also the fact that this was produced with a German audience first and foremost. As I've seen in other recent German productions (Babylon Berlin; Our Fathers, Our Mothers --aka "Generation War" outside of Germany) , the romantic subplots aren't presented in quite the same fashion as they are on this side of the Atlantic. As for myself, I find it a refreshing shift in presentation.

Production, writing and performance are all high standard. Well above what is typical German television. While it might not grab a huge audience in the U.S. because of its subtle but still distinctly different style in telling a story, I strongly encourage folks to give it a try.

"Charite at War" covers the German hospital during World War II.

The film focuses on Anni (Mala Emde), her doctor husband Arthur (Artjom Gilz), the brilliant surgeon Sauerbruch, and Anni's brother (Otto Jannik Schumann), an in-the-closet gay. Given Rule 175, homosexuals who were caught were arrested and worse.

The group at the hospital reflects the differing views of citizens under Hitler's restrictions, some of whom display delusional thinking. Artur works with disabled children who are wards of the state as he works to develop a new vaccine. These children are eventually sent to another hospital, where Artur believes the children receive treatment, though the truth is, they are exterminated.

Sauerbruch goes along with Hitler's restrictions, but he believes he has a duty to all patients, and that includes Jews. He himself spoke to the Minister of Justice to end the extermination of children - and believes it is no longer happening.

Anni is a would-be doctor studying with Sauerbruch. Anni is comfortable that she and Artur have the correct genes. However, their new baby, Karin, possibly has hydrocephalus. This means she has to be reported and transferred, and that they may be sterilized. Instead, they treat the baby at home and then appeal to Sauerbruch for help. She and Artur face a crisis in their beliefs and in their marriage.

Otto falls in love with a male attendant at the hospital. There is a young nurse after him, who presses him for a commitment before he leaves for the service. When she doesn't get it, trouble ensues.

A cruel doctor accuses soldiers in the infirmary of faking their illness or wounded themselves, and they are sent for execution.

Meanwhile Germany is losing the war, and everyone hopes it will be over soon. Nobody seems to like Hitler. Sauerbruch thinks he's crazy. But they all live with terror.

Toward the end of the film, we see what Hitler sent out to fight - teenage boys. Pathetic.

An interesting cross-section of those who are secret spies and just plain keeping secrets as they try to get through their lives and survive Hitler.

"Charite at War" is depressing, and we see how the German people suffered. Toward the end of the war, there was no water, no supplies at the hospital, nothing, as doctors use liquor to sterilize their hands and anesthetize the patients.

And that's what happens when someone tells you that some people are superior to others, and anything that goes wrong with the country is the fault of these lesser people.

I'd say never forget, but it seems as though we have.