PREVIOUSLY
I expect you to do us proud.
This is about nothing less than the future of Germany.
- To us. - To us.
We were five, five friends.
We'd known each other all our lives.
Charly will serve her country as a nurse.
We represent the German woman.
She felt she had to do her duty.
A nurse Charlotte has reported a Jew hiding here.
I'm sorry.
- Charly. - Have you loved him long?
- Yes. - Does he know?
I don't think so.
- You're an asshole, do you know that? - I don't want to get her hopes up.
Wilhelm is dead.
Viktor. His father was a respected tailor.
Viktor was to take over the business,
until it was destroyed.
This is his girlfriend, Greta.
Jews are being sent east.
Have a good trip.
Viktor was arrested and deported,
but he managed to escape.
Run!
The Germans pay a premium for us. Why keep you alive?
I AM A GERMAN COLLABORATOR
Greta wanted to save Viktor.
I need papers. Can you help him?
And she wanted to be a star.
Would you like to go on tour?
You wanted me far away from your frigid wife.
You can't arrest me.
You'd be arresting your child, too.
My little brother, Friedhelm.
The war will make a man of him.
It will bring out the worst in us.
- Fire! - He became a warrior.
You kill them before they kill you, that's all.
You were right, it brings out only the worst in us.
And I am Wilhelm Winter,
Lieutenant in Windhund Company.
I left my comrades in the lurch.
Someone here thinks the war is over for him.
- I tried everything for you in court. - What's the sentence?
Death by firing squad at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow.
We were five, five friends.
Generation War
Part III A Different Country
Most people think that war is for the most part about fighting.
But that's not true.
It's the waiting.
For the next attack,
for the next meal,
the next morning.
Erika.
I AM A GERMAN COLLABORATOR
Stop.
- Is he dead? - I have no idea.
No.
- Do you speak German? - Yes.
Are you a German?
- Yes. - Shit. Cut him loose.
What's the matter? How long are you going to wait?
Until it becomes clear on whose side your friend is.
Who did this to you?
Partisans.
You can come with us.
- No. - We're not leaving you here.
We're staying here, all three of us.
If you put down your weapons,
then they might let you live.
There are ten heavily armed partisans over there,
all aiming at you.
He's warning them.
Shoot.
Shit, it's an ambush.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
- Shoot. - Shit.
- I said, shoot. - It's jammed.
Shoot.
Shoot!
Shit. What are you doing?
What's the matter?
Andrej, Marek, move it. Quickly.
Two less, another two less.
Calm down. Just collect the cartridge cases.
Watches, wedding rings,
gold teeth.
Not bad. Not bad, my boy.
Not bad.
I like you, my boy.
So, you felt the urge to shoot, did you?
Winter, out you come.
There are always a few...
who think that they can simply
shirk Germany's struggle for survival.
Your sentence has been changed.
The Führer has a special punishment for you,
and from now on,
you belong to me.
Probation Unit 500,
for the eradication of all the other garbage.
Defeatists,
communists, deserters...
So the Führer needs every man he can get for his final victory, does he?
The Wehrmacht doesn't waste bullets
on pieces of shit like you.
You will die,
just a little more slowly.
But before that,
there's something you can do for the Fatherland.
Come on, we're leaving.
Most people think that war,
for the most part, is about fighting.
That's not true.
Get on.
It's the waiting.
June, 1944.
I don't know if my brother, Friedhelm, is still alive.
And the others: Greta, Viktor, Charly.
150,000 Americans have landed in Normandy.
Rome has fallen,
the Wehrmacht has withdrawn from Tuscany.
Three years ago, we headed east to save our people. We thought.
Instead, we brought death, suffering and destruction to millions.
Back then we were heroes,
today we're murderers.
JANOW LUBELSKI, POLAND PARTISIAN SUPPLY DEPOT--BERLIN: 700 KM
We need butter,
flour, milk and eggs.
- Anything else? - Pigs.
Pigs. At least three pigs a month.
And some geese? For Christmas?
The Germans would just take it.
We'll pay.
After each of your operations,
the Germans take hostages.
And if the Russians return,
things won't get any better.
Show me your arm.
Come on, show it to me.
Hold up your arm.
Better? Is this what you want?
The Russians will come, no matter what.
Stalin will overcome Hitler.
He beat him at Stalingrad and Kursk.
The Germans treat us like slaves.
So do the Russians.
Is that what we are? Slaves?
- Are there Jews among you? - Jews?
Are there any here?
Are there any Jews present?
No, no Jews. I can't stand Jews.
Three sacks of flour,
50 eggs and four chickens.
Ten.
Eight.
All right, eight.
And no Jews.
We drown Jews like we do cats.
BERLIN CHARLOTTENBURG NAZI PRISON
You're in cell 17 with Erika.
What's your name?
Greta.
Is it true that you were a singer?
They say you were Greta Del Torres.
ZAMOSC, POLAND WEHRMACHT HQ -- BERLIN: 750 KM
Winter.
Have you ever driven a Type 40?
- Yes. - Good.
Standartenführer Hiemer will lead the fight against the partisans.
He needs a driver who knows the area.
Will you do that?
- Yes. - Fine.
BUTSYN, UKRAINE PROBATION UNIT CAMP -- BERLIN: 850 KM
You.
Come with me.
You see that hut over there?
It's in the firing line of our artillery.
Burn it down.
Yes, sir.
That's crazy.
What did you say?
The fire will only draw the Russians' attention to us.
You can burn down the Bolshevist hut now.
Three years ago they welcomed us as liberators.
Burn it down.
If God doesn't hand us the victory,
we'll pay for what we're doing here.
Whatever God has in store for us,
it won't be victory.
Tea?
Please, sit down.
OSTROLEKA, POLAND FIELD HOSPITAL -- BERLIN 600 KM
- Good morning. - Good morning.
You're lucky, it's healing better than I expected.
You can be discharged in three or four days.
How many days' rehabilitation leave will I get?
What?
Has all leave been suspended?
Keep treating him the way you have been.
Nurse.
Strange, I don't smell anything burning.
That's refusal to obey orders.
You know what you get for that.
Sergeant!
Sergeant, a message from HQ.
- What? - We're not to start any more fires...
...otherwise the Russians will realize that we're withdrawing.
Attention!
- You have something for me? - Hiemer.
He led campaigns against Jews and partisans
in the Ukraine and White Russia.
He was thorough and ruthless.
He's arriving here tomorrow with orders to eliminate us.
Get everything ready. We'll attack tomorrow.
Stalin will prevail!
Try to sleep.
Hannes.
Oh, nurse Char...
- What? - Do you want to go back to the front?
But the doctor said...
Bite on this. Don't say a word.
How are...
What are you doing?
Nothing. Get out!
That'll give you two more weeks.
After that, rehabilitation at Berchtesgaden Hospital.
Drive.
What's going on, Corporal?
The partisans blew up the bridge.
Go left here and turn right
after three kilometers.
What are you doing?
How did you know we were driving into an ambush?
Instinct.
You've been here a long time, right?
Yes.
I recognized you straightaway. I never forget a face.
I had your file sent to me.
You have a brother.
- Wilhelm. - He's dead.
Desertion.
He isn't dead.
He was granted clemency.
Probation Unit 500.
Shall we drive on?
- I was just... - Please, remain seated.
Your name is Sonja?
Yes.
What are you reading?
"Confessions of a Hunter."
What's it about?
Poor people under Tsar Nicholas.
They are slaves.
The gentry do with them as they please.
Buy them, sell them.
Vasja is a farmhand.
The landowner beats him.
We treat our own people so badly.
Yes, we Germans are good at that, too.
I once knew someone. She was...
Hey, you. Empty the bedpans.
What's the matter with you?
Do you think I haven't noticed?
The corporal in A and the others?
Do you want to die?
You're undermining military morale.
I should report you.
Do you think the Russians will forgive you if they win?
I thought you still believed in the final victory?
What else is there to believe in?
The Russians are making gains everywhere.
Minsk has fallen,
and Warsaw is just 500 km away.
If we lose the war,
can you imagine what they're going to do to us?
Get down! Get down!
Men, don't shoot without being ordered to.
You're far too nervous.
Oh, hello.
Rabbit hunt!
Please. Your rabbit.
On three.
One...
two...
Take them into town.
Every cowardly and underhanded attack
on German soldiers
by criminal and insidious gangs
will continue to be met
with merciless retaliatory measures.
Let this be a warning
to those considering resistance.
Do you understand?
Give that to me.
Friedhelm. Come along.
On my command.
And... now.
Those were our friends.
You're right about that.
But what now? Do you have any alternatives?
Agnieszka had two small children.
Do you have any ideas, Stanisu? I'm asking you a question.
Do you want to give up the fight?
- But Poles are dying because of us. - Us?
What do you mean?
Do you put the noose around their necks?
Does Krystyna cut children's throats?
Do you, Krystyna?
One of them was Agnieszka. We know them all.
If they kill us, we have to kill them
until Poland is free once more.
- Shut up! - Calm down!
I've had enough! Not another word!
It's not about the fact that we're going to die,
but rather how.
Did you hear that?
And that from the German ass.
Very good, Viktor.
With the Russians, we'll get along somehow.
But if the Germans win the war,
then that means the death sentence for us all.
What?
A transfer?
You can return to Germany.
I don't underst...
Am I to leave everyone here in the lurch?
The war will probably be over soon.
Just a few more months.
You... you could wait for me.
Hildegard wanted to report you
for sabotaging the healing of soldiers.
That's undermining military morale.
Probation Unit, cowards and traitors.
We're to stay away from them.
- I belong there, too, do I? - I warned you.
You've informed against me?
I'm just doing my duty, like you did with Lilija.
Wilhelm.
You know one of them?
Charly.
No, I don't understand.
Friedhelm said that you...
I know. Come here.
It's all right.
No!
You should be dead!
You should be dead.
All this time, I've...
I love you.
Charly...
Don't worry, nurse, he'll die soon.
Charly!
Wilhelm.
Here, eat.
Eat it,
no matter how horrible it is.
Like Arthur here.
You were good.
Do you know that I met my husband thanks to you?
I...
I took the train to Bernau
with some friends of mine.
From there we walked to Liepnitzsee.
There was a dance in a beer garden.
They played your song.
He kept looking over at us.
He was big
and quite good-looking.
When he came towards us,
I thought he meant Inge,
but he had his eyes on me.
He was dragging his right leg along.
The Assault Division had broken it.
He could still dance, though.
From that evening onwards, I knew he was the man for me.
We got married two months later.
They're coming to collect me
early tomorrow morning.
July, 1944.
We're back where we started three years ago.
The Army Group Center is completely worn down,
half a million men.
The Red Army has reached the Vistula.
Warsaw will soon fall.
The war has long been lost,
but it just goes on and on.
My brother was right: we're human livestock in a huge slaughterhouse.
A gang of cowardly traitors
has attempted to assassinate the Führer.
But there's divine providence for Germany
in the form of Adolf Hitler.
BIELSK PODLASKI, POLAND FRONTLINE -- BERLIN: 700 KM
The Führer is alive.
Is there anyone here
who is overly disappointed?
With him, we will never give up.
We will fight for each town,
each village, each house, until the end.
Well, we'll have to hurry.
To a German,
an order is sacrosanct.
During the last war, we didn't give up either.
No, it was the Jews back home
who betrayed us,
and that isn't going to happen this time.
Collect the corpses.
German soldiers,
the war has been lost.
Hitler and his generals have deceived us.
I was a German soldier, too.
Colonel Brandlmeier of the 11th Infantry.
I fought bravely and honorably for four years,
until I realized that we were being deceived.
The Red Army will conquer Hitler's Germany,
but Stalin extends us his hand.
Put down your weapons and come to us.
The Russians are not subhuman,
as we've been led to believe.
They guarantee you honorable treatment,
three meals a day,
- safe passage to your mothers... - No way.
...sisters and wives as soon as the war is over.
Good luck.
Good.
The field hospital may soon be moved again.
What will you do?
Will you come with us?
They will...
...see me as a traitor.
I couldn't get any closer.
Most of them are women, Jews.
They make munitions packaging
and uniforms for the Wehrmacht.
That's our target, the weapons depot.
There are four guard towers with searchlights.
The fence is electrified and will kill you.
Sometimes, prisoners simply walk into it
when they can't take any more.
The guards are Ukrainian SS.
We don't stand a chance.
What's that?
The train brings food and weapons.
As soon as it's unloaded,
it returns with packaging and uniforms.
We'll attack in open country.
Find out when the next transport is.
Do you understand?
We'll attack the train.
Take care of Arthur.
You can use pork,
beef, or venison.
That's so nice.
No, the sausage is the most important thing.
With garlic.
And sauerkraut.
Mushrooms and sauerkraut.
It doesn't matter what you put into bigos,
as long as you leave it to stand overnight.
My grandmother always said,
"A good bigos is like a good marriage,
the longer it lasts, the better it tastes."
What do you think?
Since when does a German know anything about bigos?
It sounds like a good goulash.
- Goulash? - Goulash?
- Bigos isn't goulash. - Bigos is Poland.
You said the train would pass here at nine.
So? Am I responsible for the Germans?
Maybe they've already capitulated.
What if they ignore the stop sign and keep going?
They won't.
A German train driver doesn't ignore German signs.
Not yet.
Now.
Now!
I think we got all of them.
Group One, come with me.
Stop!
Where did that come from, damn it?
There's one left.
Did we get him?
On three.
One...
two...
three.
Let's go.
What are we going to do with them?
What do you mean, "with them"?
Most of them are Jews.
Jews are just as bad as communists and Russians.
Better dead than alive.
You want them to croak like that?
Yes.
Right, move it.
Come on, get off.
Get off.
Come on.
Get off.
Walk.
Get out of here.
What are we going to do with the Jew?
Leave him to me. Understood?
Colonel?
There has been a series of attacks in the hinterland.
What else?
New reports are coming in all the time.
Some 60 bridges and about 150 kilometers of track.
We're launching an attack tomorrow.
We've received a tip-off.
Make all the preparations.
Get dressed.
Stop.
I knew it the first time I saw you.
The others said,
"He's one."
"He looks like one."
Yes, Viktor,
now I know.
You're a German...
and a Jew.
You've been a good comrade.
But now there is nothing I can do for you.
Go.
Viktor.
The war won't last much longer.
I wish you luck
and hope that you survive it.
Leave us alone.
Greta Del Torres.
3246.
What do you want?
I want you to sign this.
That I helped your Jewish friend.
Are things so bad for your Führer
that you need a Jew now?
Why do you think you're still alive, eh?
And you can stay alive.
How does it feel...
to know that he's left you in the lurch
and is now in New York?
Good.
Don't bother hoping that they're going to save you.
Before one Allied soldier gets here,
you'll all be gone.
This was the last time.
We'll never see each other again.
Get out of here, while you still can.
- Heard anything about my parents? - Just get out of here.
- The others? Greta? - Get out of here.
How is she?
She was arrested! Are you deaf? Get out of here!
Arrested? What for?
What for?
Defeatism.
Defeatism? Greta? That can't be.
Be careful, Friedhelm.
On three, okay?
One...
two...
Get out of here.
You won't get a second chance.
What's wrong with you? The war is lost. It's pointless.
It was pointless from the very start.
February, 1945.
The Red Army has crossed the Oder.
They're now just 100 kilometers from Berlin.
The war won't last much longer.
I am fearful that hope will return,
so close to the end.
RACIBORZ, POLAND FRONTLINE -- BERLIN: 500 KM
- Russians! - Get down!
What do we do now?
Get on with it!
That bastard wants us to die here!
What's his name?
I don't know. He arrived today.
- Ready? - Yes.
Let's go!
Retractor.
Tweezers.
The Russians have broken through the lines.
We're crumbling everywhere.
Swab.
They're just five kilometers from here.
- Sew him up and apply a splint. - But...
Evacuate everyone.
And those who can't be moved?
They stay here.
That our soldiers,
whether they embark upon an offensive here
or there on the Eastern front,
will no longer know mercy,
nor show mercy.
That's right, on the back.
The divisions who have embarked upon small offensives
and in the coming months
will embark upon large offensives...
Those who can't come get morphine.
Okay.
- ...will go into this battle... - Sonja!
...like a religion.
And when they raise their rifles to their shoulders
and get into their tanks
they will only avenge
their lost children and humiliated...
Sonja?
- Have you seen Sonja, the Russian? - No.
We've got to go right now.
- Where is Sonja? - I don't know.
The Russians are just 500 meters away!
- Sonja! - Charlotte!
Come on, faster! Faster, we're leaving!
Sonja?
Nurse.
The Russians.
- Please. - Take these.
- What's your name? - Sonja Michailowa.
Sonja!
No!
We're Soviet soldiers.
Liberators, not rapists.
Get out of here, unless you want me to shoot you.
Lilija.
Spasiba.
Get out. All of you!
No...
Sonja!
Sonja... What's going to happen to her?
She's a traitor. Come on.
Come on.
Breslau has been surrounded.
We're to ensure...
Careful, he's looking for a reason.
- Get out of here. - What?
Get out of here.
How many lives does an asshole like you have?
I have just one left.
I wanted to say goodbye.
Do you know what I'm going to do with you?
My war is over.
And so is yours.
Come on, give me a hand!
And now get out of here.
You didn't see a thing.
They wouldn't believe me anyway.
Martin, please.
Get on with it.
Field Gendarmerie.
We'll wait until it's dark.
She's a nurse.
She can care for our wounded.
She can make up for her sins.
We'll have won the war soon.
With whom else are we going to build a better Germany?
The girl, the nurse...
Charly.
What's the probability
of making it home alive as a soldier?
- So I figured... - You'd spare her the pain.
Us.
Did you count them?
The ones you killed?
No.
Twelve,
I killed twelve.
And saved no one.
To begin with, we were heroes,
and now, just assholes.
Campaign in the East decided
This way was quicker for you.
You were to be shot.
Why are you helping me?
Because otherwise it'll never stop.
I'll see you in Berlin.
Did you think we were going to forget you?
Attention.
Aim.
Fire.
KLODZKO, POLAND BERLIN: 350 KM
Wilhelm.
That's my direction.
Farewell.
May, 1945.
Four years ago we said goodbye.
We were five friends
and thought the war would be over by Christmas.
Now it's ending where it was started.
In Berlin, or what's left of it.
Soon there will be only Germans
and not a single Nazi.
And what about us?
Yes?
Hey, what are you doing?
What are you doing in my apartment?
Your apartment?
Yes.
Has it always been?
Yes, why not?
Is that a fact?
Apparently, Jews used to live here,
but they moved away.
Right, that's enough!
Yes, I put my own picture in there.
I never had anything against...
I only ever tried to help them!
There, Jews.
BOHEMIAN FOREST THREE DAYS BEFORE THE CAPITULATION
Take cover.
Stop it!
Stop it, damn it!
Stupid idiots.
Germans, give yourselves up.
The war is over.
German soldiers should surrender.
The war is over.
Those bastards are lying. It's propaganda.
If we surrender, they'll shoot us.
The Führer promised that we'd win.
We still have bullets.
How can we look our mothers in the eye if we surrender?
You'll be lucky to ever look her in the eye again.
You're an old, cowardly swine.
- How old are you? - Twelve.
You are children.
The Russians will send you home.
Send this to the address on the back here.
He's going to attack them.
"Missing"
Next.
Next, please.
We need people with experience in administration and policing.
Do you have any?
Certainly, lots.
But not quite as much as you, Sturmbannführer.
Have we met before?
I can't believe you're working here.
They need my experience.
You mean twelve years' experience
in torture and death?
Help me, I can't remember everybody.
Captain.
This is Sturmbannführer Dorn of the Gestapo.
You know that?
Do you know what happened to Greta?
Viktor Goldstein.
I arranged papers for you.
I arranged papers for this man
so that he could escape to Marseille.
Greta, yes.
It's such a shame.
I did everything I could to save her.
I very nearly lost my own family, too.
I'm glad to see that you survived.
Next.
"Swing Dancing prohibited"
We don't need to wait for Friedhelm.
Perished for Führer,
people and fatherland.
Has anyone heard anything from Greta?
I'm glad you're alive.
To Friedhelm and Greta.