25 May 2013 | JackC_32

10 | Simply amazing

The most significant thing for me about World War 2 is that it was an extraordinarily huge moment in human history, it's still in living memory and bitter rivalries have yet to die. That being said, the dust may finally be settling and it's now time to look upon the Second World war much like any other period of history with an unbiased and impartial view that does not emphasize nor downplay the atrocities or achievements of either party involved. This is how we look at every period of history and it seems we can finally begin to look at the Second World War the same way.



This TV series is visually stunning, it aims for historical accuracy while still having decent amounts of action and excitement. It doesn't feel so much like the war propaganda from the earlier post-war years or even more recent films like Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers where the Germans are depicted as evil Jew hating monsters with no compassion. Those films themselves were not bad, but "unbiased" is not a word that could ever be used to describe them.



Another wonderful aspect of this series is simply that it's taken from the German perspective, with German actors speaking German instead of American or British actors with some speaking with German accents and some not. It adds to the overall look and feel of the series. It also doesn't constantly have sad violins playing to black and White images of the holocaust. as if to say that anyone living in the West has not heard about the holocaust at least once every single day of their lives. Band of Brothers for example has an entire episode dedicated to just the holocaust.



Overall this series is deeply engaging and a breath of fresh air, you're not constantly beaten over the head with reminders that Hitler and the Nazis were cartoon super-villains and the holocaust was the single most important event in human history, completely overshadowing mush less significant events like the Holodomor, the Soviet massacres and the Communist Chinese massacres to name a few. It also gives a rare glimpse into the German side of the story, remember what I said about being impartial?



For similar films I would recommend Das Boot, Cross of Iron and Stalingrad.