War without the glory

Rating: 10/10 (22 June 2011)

After watching dozens of documentaries and movies about World War II I realized I was missing the German viewpoint.
Movies and documentaries showing the German perspective realistically and objectively during World War II are far too rare outside of Germany; there is Das Boot and there is Stalingrad.
Perhaps misled by the title, one reviewer complained that Stalingrad did not show the Russian perspective. For that, short of a "Midway" type movie of dual nationality production, there are documentaries. But I think this movie gave some sense of the Russian experience.
I have already seen some documentaries on Stalingrad and the German invasion of Russia, so I understood what was going on here. At some point, you need some historical background, before or after watching it.
You can't expect any one movie to fully cover even a limited topic like the German-Russian battle in Stalingrad. Movies must focus. But they can also use this limited subject to convey some larger truths. That's what Stalingrad does.
Stalingrad is not about this particular battle. It is a proxy for the German soldier's experience in World War II. When all was going well, some were content to become the rulers of the world. But these were human beings, and Germany, before Hitler took over, was as civilized and cultured a country in the world. What were the soldiers thinking? How could they do it? Stalingrad attempts to answer these questions.
To say that "Hollywood" could not make a movie like Stalingrad is wrong, but this particular movie needed to be made by Germans. For anyone else to attempt to tell the story of the German experience would lack authenticity. We don't see the full, graphic German atrocities against the Russian people, though we see hints of it. And we see what happens to a German officer who protests. Protest too much and you won't be around to protest again. Don't shoot your victim in the firing squad, and next time you will be the victim.
But Stalingrad is not just about Nazi Germany's army. You could put a person of any nationality into this situation, and how differently would they behave? Not much. Why do any soldiers continue to fight for a cause and a leader they know to be wrong and insane? Sometimes they have no choice, but sometimes they really believe.
The old Germany was very authoritarian. The new Germany (and probably all of Europe) has been inoculated against such blind obedience. But how many other countries have an authoritarian streak? I see plenty in Asia and the Middle East. I can imagine certain countries dragging their military into war, and their soldiers obeying.
You want to see what war looks like, without the glory? Watch Stalingrad.
Stalingrad is a fine movie and a valuable contribution by Germany to understanding the war. But where are the German documentaries, produced with similar objectivity and honesty, available outside of Germany?