I cannot remember another German mini-series since "Das Boot" that was as extensively discussed as this one - not only publicly in the media (TV talk shows, newspaper articles and internet blogs and forums) but also privately (within the families, between the generations). Whether you like "Unsere Mütter, Unsere Väter" or not, you cannot deny that Nico Hofmann (the producer) was successful with his expressed intention to initiate such a discussion.
Of course, it was not the first time that the question "Dad/Grandpa, what did you do in the war?" has been asked in Germany; in the past this question has been triggered for example by the rearmament discussion in 1955, by the student movement in 1968, by the American TV-series "Holocaust" in 1979 or by the Wehrmacht exhibition in 1995. The difference is that on these occasions the (grand-)children of the Nazi generation rigorously DEMANDED that their (grand-)parents break their silence and confess their collective and individual participation in the atrocities of the 3rd Reich. By contrast, "Unsere Mütter, Unsere Väter" invites the last remaining men and women of this generation to get ALL their wartime memories off their chests - not only the crimes they may have committed but also the traumata and suffering they experienced.
In my opinion the three-part series gives a great and relatively balanced depiction what the war on the Eastern Front probably was like. This is achieved by great acting (Tom Schilling is brilliant, but all the other actors are also very, very good) and excellent production values. In spite of the low budget (14 million Euros; very high for German TV but pretty low in comparison to "Saving Private Ryan" or "Band of Brothers") the combat scenes look quite realistic and the set design, costumes and makeup look very authentic. A big step forward for Teamworx compared to their previous TV productions with WWII themes ("Dresden", "Die Flucht", "Nicht alle waren Mörder" - not too bad itself - or "Rommel").
For international viewers it might be of interest what kind of criticism was brought forward against "Unsere Mütter, Unsere Väter" in the aforementioned discussions in Germany. In typical German fashion I will try to orderly ;-) list SOME of these arguments in ascending order from not-to-be-taken-seriously to pretty valid and sound. I will also give my personal opinion on these arguments.
1) The criticism from military nerds and uniform fetishists "In 1941 the MG 42 machine gun was not yet in use, in the fight for the telegraph station the Russians use a German Panzerfaust, etc." My 2 cents: Seriously, who cares? Apart from these nerds no one even notices these mistakes.
2) Some strange mistakes in the timeline and/or geography "When Friedhelm is sent to get provisions from behind the main front line in episode 1 he reappears BETWEEN the German and Russian lines. Nobody can get THIS lost!". Or: "When Wilhelm goes AWOL after the Kursk battle he is caught by German military police quite some time later. At this time the front line had already moved >100 km to the west, so that the MPs would have been operating far behind enemy lines!" My 2 cents: IMHO this really seems to be lazy writing.
3) Chance encounters "There are far too many chance encounters of the five protagonists in the course of the war. Realistically they would have met again - if at all - only after the capitulation and captivity (and Wilhelm and Friedhelm would not have been in the same unit in the first place)." My 2 cents: Of course, this is a valid argument, but you have to remember that each of the five main characters stands exemplarily for the war-time experiences of a whole lot of Germans. Therefore I can ignore the improbability of the coincidences and accept them as necessary dramaturgical devices (except for the reappearance of Lilja, which is still very unrealistic).
4) Authenticity of the characters "The five main characters are too modern/not in their time. In reality they would have been a product of a very authoritarian upbringing: uptight, guarded and much less outspoken." My 2 cents: That's probably true but it's a common mistake. Most American period movies have the same difficulties at creating characters who are truly a product of their time.
5) Scope of the story "The mini-series does not show what the five friends did before 1941, how they grew up (in the HJ/BDM) and how their views evolved after 1933. It also does not show what happens after 1945 and how they lived on with their conscience." My 2 cents: As a writer only you decide where you want to start your story and where you want it to end. A prequel or a sequel would be possible but it would be a different film with a different focus. The purpose of "Unsere Mütter, Unsere Väter" was to explain why many (most) of the perpetrators (and also the victims) of the Nazi regime could not talk about their experiences even with their families for years/decades (sometimes until their death).
6) Fair balance of the story "The suffering of the Germans is overemphasized while the suffering of the Jews, Russians, Ukrainians and Poles is belittled. The fate of the Russian POWs (2 million starved/died of epidemics in German captivity) for example is completely left out. The antisemitism within the Polish resistance and the atrocities of the Russian soldiers are exaggerated and completely blown out of proportion." My 2 cents: This is such a difficult subject that I won't even try to discuss it here. But I will say that I find it commendable that the mini-series never mixes up cause and effect and never questions the responsibility of Nazi-Germany for the Holocaust and for its war crimes during WWII.
See this mini-series, it's worth it!
Of course, it was not the first time that the question "Dad/Grandpa, what did you do in the war?" has been asked in Germany; in the past this question has been triggered for example by the rearmament discussion in 1955, by the student movement in 1968, by the American TV-series "Holocaust" in 1979 or by the Wehrmacht exhibition in 1995. The difference is that on these occasions the (grand-)children of the Nazi generation rigorously DEMANDED that their (grand-)parents break their silence and confess their collective and individual participation in the atrocities of the 3rd Reich. By contrast, "Unsere Mütter, Unsere Väter" invites the last remaining men and women of this generation to get ALL their wartime memories off their chests - not only the crimes they may have committed but also the traumata and suffering they experienced.
In my opinion the three-part series gives a great and relatively balanced depiction what the war on the Eastern Front probably was like. This is achieved by great acting (Tom Schilling is brilliant, but all the other actors are also very, very good) and excellent production values. In spite of the low budget (14 million Euros; very high for German TV but pretty low in comparison to "Saving Private Ryan" or "Band of Brothers") the combat scenes look quite realistic and the set design, costumes and makeup look very authentic. A big step forward for Teamworx compared to their previous TV productions with WWII themes ("Dresden", "Die Flucht", "Nicht alle waren Mörder" - not too bad itself - or "Rommel").
For international viewers it might be of interest what kind of criticism was brought forward against "Unsere Mütter, Unsere Väter" in the aforementioned discussions in Germany. In typical German fashion I will try to orderly ;-) list SOME of these arguments in ascending order from not-to-be-taken-seriously to pretty valid and sound. I will also give my personal opinion on these arguments.
1) The criticism from military nerds and uniform fetishists "In 1941 the MG 42 machine gun was not yet in use, in the fight for the telegraph station the Russians use a German Panzerfaust, etc." My 2 cents: Seriously, who cares? Apart from these nerds no one even notices these mistakes.
2) Some strange mistakes in the timeline and/or geography "When Friedhelm is sent to get provisions from behind the main front line in episode 1 he reappears BETWEEN the German and Russian lines. Nobody can get THIS lost!". Or: "When Wilhelm goes AWOL after the Kursk battle he is caught by German military police quite some time later. At this time the front line had already moved >100 km to the west, so that the MPs would have been operating far behind enemy lines!" My 2 cents: IMHO this really seems to be lazy writing.
3) Chance encounters "There are far too many chance encounters of the five protagonists in the course of the war. Realistically they would have met again - if at all - only after the capitulation and captivity (and Wilhelm and Friedhelm would not have been in the same unit in the first place)." My 2 cents: Of course, this is a valid argument, but you have to remember that each of the five main characters stands exemplarily for the war-time experiences of a whole lot of Germans. Therefore I can ignore the improbability of the coincidences and accept them as necessary dramaturgical devices (except for the reappearance of Lilja, which is still very unrealistic).
4) Authenticity of the characters "The five main characters are too modern/not in their time. In reality they would have been a product of a very authoritarian upbringing: uptight, guarded and much less outspoken." My 2 cents: That's probably true but it's a common mistake. Most American period movies have the same difficulties at creating characters who are truly a product of their time.
5) Scope of the story "The mini-series does not show what the five friends did before 1941, how they grew up (in the HJ/BDM) and how their views evolved after 1933. It also does not show what happens after 1945 and how they lived on with their conscience." My 2 cents: As a writer only you decide where you want to start your story and where you want it to end. A prequel or a sequel would be possible but it would be a different film with a different focus. The purpose of "Unsere Mütter, Unsere Väter" was to explain why many (most) of the perpetrators (and also the victims) of the Nazi regime could not talk about their experiences even with their families for years/decades (sometimes until their death).
6) Fair balance of the story "The suffering of the Germans is overemphasized while the suffering of the Jews, Russians, Ukrainians and Poles is belittled. The fate of the Russian POWs (2 million starved/died of epidemics in German captivity) for example is completely left out. The antisemitism within the Polish resistance and the atrocities of the Russian soldiers are exaggerated and completely blown out of proportion." My 2 cents: This is such a difficult subject that I won't even try to discuss it here. But I will say that I find it commendable that the mini-series never mixes up cause and effect and never questions the responsibility of Nazi-Germany for the Holocaust and for its war crimes during WWII.
See this mini-series, it's worth it!
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