Guerre de génération

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.

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!

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.

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.