When I saw the DVD on sale I had no idea what I was buying, but it was cheap and I hoped it could be interesting. I got much more then my money's worth! It's a story of a German family (father, mother and three sons). In the years of the depression the oldest son joins the Nazi union - simply to get a job. He feels it's the right thing (the Germans having jobs in Germany, even if it meant they'd have to get rid of the foreigners). The other son is strongly against it (but then again he doesn't have to work, he's going to study and be an intellectual).
But at the time that Hitler took power and he decided to deal with the brown-shirts the oldest son realizes just what the Nazi regime is all about. As many other common men he is disillusioned and when the war comes, he's sent to the Russian front (where he simply wants to perform his duty).
The other son (who's studying now) was very much against the Nazi regime, but one of the tutors shows him that the Nazi way of thinking is the right was, that the goal justifies the means. He becomes an SS officer and s firm believer in the worst parts of the Nazi ideology.
The war is nearing the end, the Germany is on its knees. Two brothers meet. Their little brother (still just a child) just became one of the kid soldiers defending the Raich. Only after he blindly goes and attacks a tank the older brother (the SS officer) realizes what the blind hatred of the Nazi ideology is doing to people, and how they have virtually brainwashed him as well.
This is just the main part of the story - following the lives of this particular family. There are also many other sub-stories, which really make this film more then just a family drama.
All in all it will help you understand how a common man in Germany was overwhelmed by the Nazi propaganda and how the common man had virtually no choice but to do what he did. It will also show you how important it is for any leadership to have a strong opposing critical voice - otherwise the society can easily be doomed (which is not completely unlike what we are witnessing today in many parts of the world).
But at the time that Hitler took power and he decided to deal with the brown-shirts the oldest son realizes just what the Nazi regime is all about. As many other common men he is disillusioned and when the war comes, he's sent to the Russian front (where he simply wants to perform his duty).
The other son (who's studying now) was very much against the Nazi regime, but one of the tutors shows him that the Nazi way of thinking is the right was, that the goal justifies the means. He becomes an SS officer and s firm believer in the worst parts of the Nazi ideology.
The war is nearing the end, the Germany is on its knees. Two brothers meet. Their little brother (still just a child) just became one of the kid soldiers defending the Raich. Only after he blindly goes and attacks a tank the older brother (the SS officer) realizes what the blind hatred of the Nazi ideology is doing to people, and how they have virtually brainwashed him as well.
This is just the main part of the story - following the lives of this particular family. There are also many other sub-stories, which really make this film more then just a family drama.
All in all it will help you understand how a common man in Germany was overwhelmed by the Nazi propaganda and how the common man had virtually no choice but to do what he did. It will also show you how important it is for any leadership to have a strong opposing critical voice - otherwise the society can easily be doomed (which is not completely unlike what we are witnessing today in many parts of the world).