I have not seen a better film portraying civilian women in WWII. The daily sturggle between reality, morality and idealogy. Men on the other side pour their rage and revenge upon them. Men on their side cannot understand what they have undergone and cannot forgive what they have done. The women of Berlin had no one but themselves. Some chose to fight and die, and some, like the protagonist, chose to survive and kept her hope for the eventual reunion with her husband.
As she described, Russian men appreciated well-educated women, while German men were the opposite. The supposed savage and animal whom she chose as protector turned out to be something quite different, and he gave everything to save her, even wanted to take her with him after the war. This reality clashed with the long and endless waiting of her husband. The 30-minute promise was long overdue and she had to make a choice. Yet again, fate chose for her. The commander was taken away by NKVD for what he did to save her, and the returning husband was not the person she was waiting for anymore- bitter, broken, and alienated.
The woman at first was terrified and angered by the barbaric behaviours of the Red Army. As time passes, she began to understand their pain and realised the Germans also committed horrific atrocities against civilians. Her blind patriotism was unsettled by the accounts of the enemy, the feeling of betrayal by her own government, and worst of all, her own fellow German men, who left them defenseless. This was the beginning of post-war Germany- the rise of sexual equality and limited government authority.
As she described, Russian men appreciated well-educated women, while German men were the opposite. The supposed savage and animal whom she chose as protector turned out to be something quite different, and he gave everything to save her, even wanted to take her with him after the war. This reality clashed with the long and endless waiting of her husband. The 30-minute promise was long overdue and she had to make a choice. Yet again, fate chose for her. The commander was taken away by NKVD for what he did to save her, and the returning husband was not the person she was waiting for anymore- bitter, broken, and alienated.
The woman at first was terrified and angered by the barbaric behaviours of the Red Army. As time passes, she began to understand their pain and realised the Germans also committed horrific atrocities against civilians. Her blind patriotism was unsettled by the accounts of the enemy, the feeling of betrayal by her own government, and worst of all, her own fellow German men, who left them defenseless. This was the beginning of post-war Germany- the rise of sexual equality and limited government authority.