Sylvester Groth, Fred Düren, Matthias Günther, Klaus Piontek, Hans-Uwe Bauer, Alexander van Heteren, Horst Hiemer, Günter Junghans, Andrzej Pieczyński. From the novel by Hermann Kant. Originally produced as a motion picture in 1983. Issued as part of the Frank Beyer collection published by Icestorm. Bonus features: "Der Augenzeuge" berichtet über die Filmschaffenden; Photo Galerie; Biographies and Filmographies, Trailer.
Summary:
This story of mistaken identity was taken from the experiences of writer Hermann Kant when he was a 19-year-old soldier in the German Wehrmacht. In the film, the soldier is drafted into the army just after the siege of Stalingrad in 1943 and is taken prisoner in Poland, where a mother has accused him of being the SS man who killed her daughter earlier in the war. While in prison he is given dangerous work in the prison yard but survives intact. Eventually, the soldier hears about the extermination camps of Lublin, Auschwitz, and other sites and changes his feelings toward the army. Meanwhile, his case is coming up for review and even a jail companion from his same army unit is afraid to come to his defense because of possible repercussions.
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