Hell on Earth

"The war in the East was characterized by utter brutality".

The above quote came from a general history of World War II that I read in my youth; the books that had more pictures than words. As my reading grew more sophisticated my appreciation for this brutality grew as well. The city known as Stalingrad in 1942 (now Volgograd) became a feasting ground for the Grim Reaper as two evil dictators conducted a campaign of annihilation on the barren steppe of the Soviet Union.

The film is more or less a prequel to the excellent "Cross of Iron". As such, don't expect a movie filled with Hollywood glitz and political correctness. This film was designed with attention to historical accuracy in mind.
The film is very much character-driven. You will experience, for better or worse, what soldiers and civilians alike experienced during the battle.

The movie unfolds like a play; a Shakespearean Tragedy for the 20th Century. The story is told from the German perspective. We are introduced to our main characters lounging on a beach in Italy recovering from fighting the British in North Africa. Suddenly, they are called to attention by their commanding officers, and are sent to the East for a "special mission".

That mission, we soon learn, is to conduct the final assault on Stalingrad, and give the German Army it's great victory over the hated Bolsheviks. The train ride to the city shows the viewer the vastness of the space of Mother Russia. As the men disembark with their new Lieutenant, a young idealist from a noble German family, they begin their march to the interior of the city.

The real Battle of Stalingrad was a room-to-room, street-to-street, man-to-man struggle of will. Both suicidal bravery, and incredible acts of cowardice occurred. The movie presents the main battle scene with incredible accuracy. The city is exactly as I have imagined with ruins and devastation that looked more like a graveyard than a large, modern city. The assault is full of bravado and moments of terror that will truly satisfy.

The next act is more complicated as the battle begins it's stagnation before the onset of winter. The German soldiers are faced with the realization that they are all doomed. Cohesion and unit discipline broke down, and proud soldiers were turned into animals. I reckon it's like watching someone die a slow, agonizing death.

The most heart-breaking scene is no doubt when the last German plane leaves the city. While a doctor orders those who are trying to escape shot for self-inflicted wounds, we see starving, dying soldiers shuffle after the transport aircraft. It would be their last chance for escape, and their fate was now sealed.

The German Army in World War II fought for something that was evil; a man bent on the destruction of a people, and world domination. It is easy to condemn the Nazi Party in general, and Adolph Hitler in particular, for the destruction they brought into the world. And there the blame should stay. For the individual German soldier, it was simply a matter of survival. Atrocity was a way of life on the East Front, and "Stalingrad" does a great job of showing that fact.

I recommend this movie to history buffs, of course, but also to everyone else. While you won't get great special-effects or a stirring score, what you will get is human drama that is on par with any other war drama.

Z