Mein Krieg - Amateur WW2 Films by German Soldiers (1/7)

Mein Krieg - Amateur WW2 Films by German Soldiers
Amateur movies shot with small handheld cameras by six German infantrymen on the Eastern Front during World War II form the core of this documentary. The men who took the movies appear on camera as old men to provide narration (in German, with subtitles), and they provide a perspective not often heard. As might be expected, they distance themselves from atrocities, and as they were foot soldiers in the Wehrmacht, their denials of involvement are probably true. One of the men still owns the camera he carried in the war, and he demonstrates how its small size made it perfect for impromptu filming in the field. Clips of smiling troops on the move is accompanied by an old man talking about how happy they were to be going to an unknown destination, likening it to "the joy one feels when on a journey." It turns out the gleeful trip he recalls was actually the beginning of the invasion of Poland and thus the beginning of the war in Europe. Later footage shows combat conditions in Russia, and the grisly aftermath of vicious combat. The rarity of the film footage, some of which was shot in colour, makes this documentary worth watching. But the recollections of the amateur cameramen also provide an unusual insight into the German war machine, such as when one of the old veterans mentions how he eventually realized, "This was no defensive war forced upon us, it was an idiotic war of aggression.

There are many fine moments in the footage. The striking (colour) image of the ragged swastika flag flying over the barracks and the Nazi-style monuments is jarring because it looks so recent. One rarely gets such a sense of connection the historical past with B&W film. Similarly the colour shots of the soldiers make them look alive and real in a way B&W film does not. One gets a sense that indeed, all of this did really happen. Seeing bombed-out ruins of Polish and Russian cities in black-and-white is one thing, but in colour it is striking. The other scenes of the AA gun shooting down the Russian plane, the night tank scrap, the retreat in the mud sea and the unexpected arrival of Field Marshal von Manstein for dinner in the field are all very interesting, as is much of the narrative. To see men talking about the experiences they filmed themselves, fifty years later, is often moving.

Playlist for whole episode: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=B2B5380D15BED95F
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM5-eMZuusg
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B6lmNLFWL0
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItBnkLygOCc
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt-lu-hRvKg
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtLQgOkNQ3E
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k608MgsyJmg
Part 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhpE0nB0SNY

Visit my YouTube-channel for more documentaries about the Second World War, First World War and more or visit my website at http://sites.google.com/site/thegermanwarfiles/ for a better organized and easier access to all my YouTube documentaries and their descriptions.

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Tags:

• Amateur
• German
• Soldiers
• Mein
• Krieg
• Second
• World
• War
• Documentary
• private
• Eastern
• Front
• Leningrad

[P1B1U1H1]

@Teckomatorp Very old, as well! This is actually a superb program. I warn you your emotions will really become raw, but that;s the way it is with the best documentaries. These are not Nazi propagandists. Some of the films are almost impossible to watch for their brutality.. Maybe if more people watched them, fewer Jihadists would want to take over the planet. Goodness, it was the aggressive war that caused the Holocaust & all the other horrors. You reallly, really see that.

[Teckomatorp]

@P1B1U1H1 True. Hitler needed all the "men" he could get.

[P1B1U1H1]

@revolrz22 Also note an important point. The man was 14 when he was sent to the most dangerous war in history. That's how desperate Hitler was.

[P1B1U1H1]

@revolrz22 Still. The videos are important to see. Of course they are propaganda, but it is a vital record that we get to see. I only wish we could see Russian homemade videos. Unfortunately, Stalin got rid of everything he could.

[jole928gts]

Sehr beeindruckende Bilder! Danke.

[revolrz22]

@darkhellion

You are completely and wholly delusional if you think:

1) German war footage and propaganda films are in any way hard to find

2) That the Germans wartime news reels etc. aren't just as much patriotic/propaganda.

[darkhellion]

Thank you for this amazing footage.I have been looking for Axis war files for quite some time because most of it is over patriotic allies stuff.The majority of people it seems believe its so taboo to tell their side of the story they forget this shit is in history books.