AT THE FRONT: COMMON TRAITORS IN WEST GERMAN WAR FILMS OF THE 1950s
Journal: The Modern Language Review
Year: 2015

This article looks at the figure of the traitor in West German films about the Second World War from the 1950s. It focuses on the representation of Wehrmacht soldiers who entertain relations with the Soviet enemy and are therefore seen to betray their nation. The discussion of three well-known films—<i>08/15, Der Arzt von Stalingrad</i>, and <i>Unruhige Nacht</i>—shows these ‘traitors to have a highly ambivalent function: their narrative punishment is part of German post-war exculpation, yet the