Mein Krieg - Amateur WW2 Films by German Soldiers (4/7)

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

[P1B1U1H1]

The logistics failure is well seen at 11:30. That was absolutely critical.

[P1B1U1H1]

What a horrific war. It is almost impossible to watch this. And for a stupid ideology, Russia was invaded & untold millions killed. This is in some ways just as shocking as the Holocaust, simply because it is less well know & because the brutality was so great, beyond almost any other war.

[jan1035]

@jole928gts Da hasst du recht. Aber ich habe immer noch deselbe meinung wie eine monat herr

[popper504]

5:19 hear how excited he was to see his younger days . Sadly , these men are dying at a rate of 1,000 per day. Truly sad all these men will no longer be able to share their stories

[jan1035]

@badwitch99 Nein alte nazi's. fascistische mörder

[badwitch99]

Gut. Alte Kamerade. Nicht Nazi.