Confessions of a German Soldier. Between the Cross and the Swastika

Description

During World War II, a decorated German infantry officer named Dietrich Karsten was killed in action on the Eastern Front. More than six decades later, Dietrich's granddaughter Lena Karsten was handed a stack of his letters - and a mystery: how could her grandfather, who she had known of only as a soldier who died in 1942, also have been a Protestant pastor in the 1930s who had vigorously resisted Nazism at the risk of his own life? This film follows Lena and British historian Gabriel Fawcett as they travel into rural Russia in search of her grandfather's grave and an answer to that disturbing question. Readings from Dietrich's letters and period footage appear throughout. "This film should appeal to anyone who has asked themselves what it felt like to live in Nazi Germany and why even decent, honest Germans went to war in 1939," says Confessions director Tony Wilson. A very personal story with broad historical, psychological, and sociological implications.

Runtime

78 min

Subjects

Geography

Genre

Date of Publication

[2012], c2008

Database

Films on Demand

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