Stalingrad: Dogs, Do You Want to Live Forever? (Hunde, wollt ihr ewig leben)
Directed by Frank Wisbar
Written by Frank Dimen, Heinz Schröter, and Frank Wisbar from a novel by Fritz Wöss
1959/West Germany
Deutsche Film Hansa
First viewing/YouTube
Surrender is forbidden. Sixth Army will hold their positions to the last man and the last round and by their heroic endurance will make an unforgettable contribution toward the establishment of a defensive front and the salvation of the Western world. — Friedrich Paulus
This is the story of the German 6th Army’s defeat at Stalingrad told from the perspective of a young officer. It’s quite watchable.
Oberleutnant Gerd Wisse is an attractive man with a bright future. Then he gets assigned as liaison to the Romanian army at Stalingrad. He distinguishes himself there to the chagrin of his superior officer, Major Linkmann. Linkmann plots to have him transferred to his command at the heart of the fighting in the city. Wisse becomes increasingly disillusioned by the pointless, endless fighting, the dwindling supplies, Linkmann’s cowardice and the callousness of Hitler, who will not countenance retreat.
This is a straightforward historical movie that kept my interest all the way through. I learned a lot about conditions at Stalingrad. Immediately after I watched the movie, the next thing on the YouTube AutoPlay was a documentary about Field Marshall Paulus. Oddly, he is presented much more sympathetically in the movie than his quote or the documentary would indicate.
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