History is important as it’s the story of our past, who we are, who we were, and who we never hope to be again. We can look back and remember the course of events that helped shape us as people or as a society. Society has a dark past rooted in fear and hate. People are often afraid of what they don’t understand or what is different from them. This is evidenced by the many wars throughout the world’s history. Who really wins in wars? Ultimately, the answer is often no one, as the result can be millions of casualties on both sides, thousands of families ripped apart, and countless hearts broken by the absence of deceased loved ones.
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While every country has experienced its own share of tragedies and hardships, perhaps one of the countries with the darkest pasts is Germany and its Nazi era of terror. This is a dark memory for Germany as well as the rest of the world. Besides their involvement in World War II, Germany was also heavily active in World War I. With such a big presence in two of the biggest and bloodiest wars in history, Germany has seen its fair share of death and destruction. As a result, the country has produced some of the most chilling and heartbreaking war movies in the history of cinema. Here is a collection of some of the best throughout the years.
Coup de Grâce
Cinema 5 Distributing
Many of the films on this list explore the horrors of the battlefield and combat. However, the 1976 war drama Coup de Grâce explores a different avenue, using the war as a backdrop for passion and obsession with underlying political tones. The story takes place in 1919 in Latvia and follows Countess Sophie von Reval (Margarethe von Trotta) as she tries and fails to win the love of her childhood friend, German officer Erich von Lhomond. Not only does Erich not return her romantic affection, but he is also her downfall.
The Captain
Music Box Films
Several films on this list are based on real people, and the first of these is the 2017 war drama The Captain, which is based on the events of a German war criminal, Willi Herold. During the final weeks of World War II, German paratrooper Willi Herold (Max Hubacher) has experienced enough of the war, and decides to desert the military.
After escaping German military police, he discovers an abandoned Nazi captain’s uniform, dons the clothing, and assumes the position. While many believe his charade, some question his authority. Will Willi be able to keep up the act? Find out in this riveting film.
The Ninth Day
Kino International
This 2004 war The Ninth Day drama tells the story of Roman Catholic priest, Father Henri Kremer (Ulrich Matthes), who is imprisoned at the Dachau concentration camp. While there, he experiences many horrors such as the crucifixion of some of his fellow prisoners.
After he receives an unexpected leave of nine days, he returns to his home city in Luxemburg and is faced with a difficult decision from SS Officer Gebhardt (August Diehl). Should he convince his bishop to cooperate with the Nazis and gain his freedom, or should he continue to stand with the resistance? The Ninth Day is a haunting exploration of one man’s struggle between doing what is morally right and what is easy.
Munich – The Edge of War
Netflix
Munich – The Edge of War is a 2021 German-British spy thriller starring Jeremy Irons, George MacKay, and Jannis Niewöhner. This fact-based historical fiction film follows the lives of two former classmates, a British civil servant and a German diplomat, who travel to Munich to discuss peace but quickly find themselves in over their heads. Succeeding means defying the odds, but losing means catastrophic consequences. Full of compelling characters and real-life dilemmas, this suspenseful, finely crafted movie is a stirring World War II tale unlike any other.
Downfall
Newmarket Films / Momentum Pictures
As its name implies, Downfall is the story of the downward slope and the end of Adolf Hitler’s reign of terror. The film starts in November 1942. Hitler (played by Bruno Ganz) is on the hunt for a personal secretary and chooses Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara), much to her delight.
Two and a half years later, the tides have finally turned and Hitler finds his world crashing down around him. He must choose: flee or die? This historical drama gives audiences a close look at one of the most hated men in history. Ganz gives a layered performance as this German Nazi tyrant full of hate and anger, but who quickly turns from towering to cowering when the end is near.
The Counterfeiters
FilmladenUFA
The Counterfeiters is a 2007 Academy Award-winning film that is based on the memoir The Commando of Counterfeiters by Adolf Burger, telling the incredible true-life story of Salomon Smolianoff, renamed Salomon “Sally” Sorowitsch for the film. Salomon was a counterfeiter and Holocaust survivor who used his skills to earn himself protection while imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, and was later forced to aid the German war efforts in a secret forgery operation. This war drama explores themes of what is morally right and wrong, and what one must do to survive.
Europa Europa
Orion Pictures
Based on the 1989 autobiography of Solomon Perel, Europa Europa recounts his amazing story of survival admits the chaos of World War II. Jewish teenager Solomon “Solek” Perel is separated from his family and finds himself in a Russian orphanage for two years.
When Nazi troops reach Russia, he convinces them that he is a German Aryan and must go to great lengths to keep up his fabricated persona. Europa Europa is a tale of one teenager’s strength and perseverance in a world full of hate and intolerance and features a bittersweet ending that will linger long after the credits roll.
Land of Mine
Nordisk Film
The 2015 war drama Land of Mine is a heartbreaking story that is based on true events. After the conclusion of World War II and the liberation of Denmark from Germany, a German prisoner of war group consisting of young men was forced to remove land mines that had been previously planted by the Germans and are buried along the west coast of Denmark.
Land of Mine follows this sad tale of a group of weary teenagers who survived the horrors of the war only to be killed in the removal of thousands of land mines. The film is a suspenseful, emotionally explosive watch that will have you holding your breath and on the edge of your seat. It’s a survival story of boys tasked with the nearly impossible, and persevering due to the promise of freedom.
Das Boot
Columbia Pictures
What happens when a German submarine patrols the Atlantic Ocean during World War II? Tension, conflicts, and the fear of never knowing whether the U-boat will survive to see another day. Das Boot is an intense, Academy Award-nominated film about the perils and turmoil of war, as well as shining a light on the monotony, boredom, and confusion which accompanies the lives of so many people on military assignments.
All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front is a remake of a 1930 antiwar film, which was based on the novel of the same name by German novelist Erich Maria Remarque. The year is 1917 and World War I is in full swing. On the cusp of becoming men, 17-year-old Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer) and his schoolmates Albert Kropp (Aaron Hilmer), Franz Müller (Moritz Klaus), and Ludwig Behm (Adrian Grünewald) eagerly enlist in the Imperial German Army after listening to a riveting recruiting speech by a school official.
However, their enthusiasm quickly turns to terror as they discover just how horrific war really is. Full of strong but necessary violence, All Quiet on the Western Front is a grim portrait of the reality of war, a chilling and realistic film that makes a clear message: there is no glory in war, only death and destruction.
