The emblematic salutes, the aggressively defiant rallies, the Hugo Boss-designed uniforms, the abhorrent slaughter of Jewish Europeans, the swastika. All are symbolic of Nazism, and the tyrannical reign of Adolf Hitler. Traditionally, cinema in the west has laid bare the war crimes and evil that the powers that be in Nazi Germany were responsible for. Us good guys vs those bad guys.
Updated January 4th, 2021: Curious about World War II movies from a German and Axis perspective? You’ll be pleased to know we’ve updated this article with new entries.
Yet many a historian will attest to this not being strictly the case. The black and white rhetoric utilized by popular films typically depicts all those from the foot soldiers to Hitler himself as the root of all evil. It’s a given that the crazed, profoundly immoral Hitler, his cabinet, the Gestapo, and Nazi officers displayed a total disregard for a moral compass, and everything they represented was pure, uncontaminated evil.
However, there have been some masterful screenplays that highlight the trials and tribulations of the average soldier, obscured by blind allegiance, fear, and the very real threat of death should they not abide by Nazi command. In these movies, we are offered a rare glimpse into the lives of soldiers from a German and Axis perspective, allowing for a fuller historical perspective and even more humanity. Here are some of the best…
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10 Generation War (2013)
Beta Film
In this melodramatic World War II TV miniseries in three parts, five German friends in their early twenties (two soldiers, off to fight on the Eastern Front, a nurse, a singer, and a Jew) promise each other to meet up again the following Christmas.
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Philipp Kadelbach’s Generation War, aired on German television under the title Our Mothers, Our Fathers, represents an attempt to humanize German history. The New York Times stated, “In effect, it is a plea on behalf of Germans born in the early 1920s for inclusion in a global Greatest Generation, an exercise in selective memory based on the assumption that it’s time to let bygones be bygones.”
9 13 Minutes (2015)
NFP marketing & distribution
2015’s 13 Minutes (not to be confused with the natural disaster film) is the intense war drama from Oliver Hirschbiegel, the director of Downfall. The film tells the true story of a carpenter Georg Elser (played by Christian Friedel), Hitler’s would-be assassin. In 1939, Elser planted a homemade bomb and attempted to kill the leader of the Nazi Party – but the bomb, which did kill eight people and injured 62 others, went off after Hitler left just 13 minutes before.
13 Minutes explores the first unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Hitler, while 2008’s historical thriller Valkyrie depicts the 1944 attempt by several high-ranking Nazi officers to overthrow Hitler. Both stories should be remembered.
8 Lore (2012)
Piffl Medien
Cate Shortland’s Lore is a grim, slow-building drama about Germany at the end of World War II. The film follows five destitute siblings making a 500-mile trip to their grandmother’s home after their Nazi parents disappear. Along the way, 16-year-old Lore (played by Saskia Rosendahl) and her siblings see a country in an almost apocalyptic state and understand that everything they were taught about the world is a lie.
7 The Captain (2017)
Music Box Films
Released in both the shortened studio format and the four-hour director’s cut, Robert Schwentke’s Der Hauptman (The Captain) follows the true tale of a German soldier’s efforts to flee his war-torn country by impersonating a high-ranking Nazi officer. Shot in black and white, the movie’s composition perfectly encapsulates the chilling narcissism of deserter Willi Herold (played by Max Hubacher) and his devilish disposition.
6 Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Clint Eastwood was at the directorial tiller for 2006’s Letters From Iwo Jima, the first installment of two films on the bloody battle for the Japanese island of Iwo Jima. The sister films (the other being The Flags of Our Fathers) offer opposite perspectives from both the Japanese and American sides.
It follows the story of the massively outnumbered Japanese soldiers who attempt to stave off the oncoming American bombardment as they seek to preserve their occupancy on a key stronghold. From an archetypal American patriot in Eastwood, it comes as somewhat of a welcome surprise how heart-rending, empathetic, and sensitive the film is towards the Japanese troops and the hardship they endured while trying to defend their homeland.
5 Stalingrad (1993)
Strand Releasing
The infamous Battle of Stalingrad was perhaps the most bloodstained battle of the Second World War, with an estimated 20,000 deaths per day. The Germans, under-prepared and ill-equipped to deal with the extreme conditions on the Eastern Front, sustained massive losses via both warfare and the freezing climate.
Joseph Vilsmaier’s Stalingradis a devastating illustration of an army battalion’s hellish experience of the noxious conditions in the Russian city. Outnumbered by a staggeringly vast Soviet army, and pilloried by the glacial elements, the German soldiers must fight for their survival.
4 Land of Mine (2015)
Nordisk Film
Inspired by real events, following the end of WWII, the once Nazi-occupied Denmark has been left riddled with millions of undetonated shells upon its shores. Predominantly baby-faced German prisoners of war are forced to embark on a treacherous mission to dispose of every shell left on Danish beaches, and all just by hand. Land of Mine provides a deeply emotional depiction of a group of frightened, anxious German foot soldiers who gradually form a bond with their Danish commander-in-chief.
The film restores a sense of humanity, soul, and relatability to a group of young men paying for the callous actions of their former dictator. With a budget of just $4 million, Land of Mine is a truly outstanding piece of filmmaking, and the stunning performances from its young stars are touching tributes to those who lost their lives while working on what was essentially a suicide mission.
3 Downfall (2004)
Constantin Film
Downfall documents the final days of Hitler’s sovereignty as the chancellor of Nazi Germany. As the Russians close in on Berlin and Hitler’s bunker, the fascist dictator becomes increasingly unhinged, losing his grip on reality. Surrounded by leading Nazi officials from Himmler to Goebbels and his pining lover, Eva Braun, the end is nigh for this despicable episode of villainy. The story is all told by the tongue and hand of Hitler’s secretary Traudl Junge, whose book inspired the film, and whose voice can be heard narrating the final scenes.
2 Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Studio Ghibli
1988’s Grave of the Fireflies is a heartbreaking, semi-biographical, animated movie from Studio Ghibli following Seita and his sister, Setsuko, who are separated from their parents after an American firebomb rips through their area, killing their mother. The pair navigate themselves through troubled waters, watching over one another as they face emotionally challenging situations that test their resolve.
The harrowing movie serves as a lesson in survival, compassion, and the human instinct to care, depicting the Japanese side of the war and countless casualties in an emotionally devastating way.
1 Das Boot (1981)
Columbia Pictures
Arguably, one of the best war films of all time, Das Boot affords the frightfully lucid experience of what it was like on board the German submarine U-96. Accompanied by war correspondent Werner (Herbert Grönemeyer), the submarine’s crew contends with everything from mind-numbing lengths of boredom, perilous underwater patrols that put the lives of the shipmates at risk, and rapidly diminishing rations that threaten to starve those on board, all while submerged 300 meters below the sea’s surface and embroiled in oceanic warfare.
For a low-budget film, Das Boot is remarkably accomplished; the authenticity of the sound effects really adds to the palpable tension, suspense, and permanent sense of danger felt within the tight confines of the boat. Arguably no film has depicted the monotony of waiting for combat, combined with the painful tension of anticipation, that soldiers experience as well as Das Boot.
