Ich war neunzehn
Its April 16th, 1945. Soviet soldier Georg Hecker (Jaecki Schwarz) is announcing to German troops over a loudspeaker system that the war is over and they should surrender to the Russian army. Ich bin Deutscher (Im a German) Georg says. Georg and his parents left Köln, Germany when he was only 8 years old and Georg was raised in Moscow. He is now 19 and returning to the Fatherland as a Soviet soldier. Georg is traveling with his platoon through German towns on the way to Berlin.April 22nd 1945, the Russians are coming into the German town of Bernau. A section of troops are given the task of finding any Nazis in the town. The Russian General (Mikhail Glusski) makes Lieutenant Hecker the commandant and gives him control of the town. As soon as Georg and his troops are left alone, a very young German girl (Jenny Gröllman) appears. The girl is clearly in post traumatic shock from having lived through the war. She saw a woman commit suicide and feels that everyone is better off committing suicide. They girl lost her parents and his confused as to what she should do. She asks Georg if she should Stay in this town? Go home? Go west? They leave the girl and tell her to figure it out for herself.While in Bernau, the troops come across a house with a red flag. Checking if they are Soviet supporters, the troops instead find the towns Mayor (Erich Giesa) and his wife attempting to make a good impression on their new rulers by offering them wine and pretending to be communist sympathizers. The troops instead drink their wine and confiscate their house. As soon as the commandants quarters are set up, Georgs first order of business is to meet with a reverend who wants to hold a service in the town. We are not sure as to Georgs decision as the next scene is quickly ushered in. Georg is having a printer make copies of flyers that have been produced, and after he answers no to being either a Communist or Nazi party member, Georg appoints the old printer as the new mayor of Bernau.While in his quarters, Georg is fixing a tear in his uniform while a female Soviet soldier (Galina Polskikh) eats nearby. Soon thereafter, the same German girl that Georg spoke to briefly is brought into the room by one of the other Russian troops. The girl asks if she can sleep in Georgs quarters and he quickly tells her no. Through this act, the female soldier discovers that Georg can speak German. The girl expresses her fears of the Russian troops and, incensed, the female soldier begins to yell at the German girl about the terrible things that happened in her home town. The girl quickly replies I didnt do anything and its not my fault. Russian tanks arrive and continue through the town without stopping to assist the small number of troops in Bernau.Still in Bernau, Georg sleeps with the radio on and hears German news reports of 15 year old Hitler Youth and wounded soldiers carrying out the German counter offensive. Georg is awakened, given breakfast and then leaves. As he is leaving, he again comes across the German girl. They say nothing and only stare as the Soviet truck drives away.April 23rd 1945, trying to find a new place to set up headquarters, Georg and his troops find a Nazi supply unit. Being mostly officers, the unit does not believe Georg when he tells them the war is over and it is best that they surrender. The commanding officer says that he must file a formal request for permission to surrender.April 24th, 1945, driving farther into Germany, they come across a group of Russian soldiers about to execute a man who they believe to have been a Nazi camp guard. Georgs friend Wadim (Vasili Livanov) tries to convince them not to. After finding the German mans Nazi uniform, Wadim leaves and a gunshot is heard.At this point, the film shows actual footage of a Sachsenhausen concentration camp executioner explaining how he operated the gas chambers and the crematorium. A quick shot of Georg standing in a shower is shown, perhaps washing off the sins of his Fatherland. According to the executioner, 13,500 Russians were killed in this manner in only two months.Wadim and another soldier, Sascha (Aleksei Ejbozhenko), sit in a German mans apartment. They ask him how he could live under a Nazi regime, then the German explains to them the seduction of the Nazi party. Sascha takes records that belong to the man. As the German man explains the ideas of Germanness more, Sascha plays the records, while Gregor and Wadim look through German books to try and understand things better.April 30th, 1945, given a special mission as truce bearers, Wadim and Gregor approach Sandau fortress, which contains a number of SS officers. When they present themselves to the fortress, a rope ladder comes down and SS Colonel Lewerenz (Johannes Wieke) along with an adjutant (Jürgen Hentsch) greet Georg and Captain Heymann (Wadim). After being given the terms of surrender, Colonel Lewerenz says that the decision must be made by his fellow officers as a group. The adjutant returns with the news that the other officers refuse to surrender. Gregor and Wadim enter the fortress to try and reason with the other officers. Gregor and Wadim tell the officers that not only is Sandau surrounded, but so too is Berlin. The officers do not believe them and say that their intelligence says otherwise. Disregarded as Goebels propaganda, Wadim still tries to convince them it is best to surrender. They are told that those who surrender will be given extra rations and will be taken care of.Deeper into the fortress, a teenage soldier tells his commanding officer (Kurt Böwe) a harrowing story of how he single handedly destroyed a tank and its driver with a bazooka. The boy says that he was given a chocolate bar for his efforts. Disgusted that he only received sweets, the commanding officer gives the boy his own Iron Cross. Approached by one of the officers who talked to Wadim and Gregor, the commanding officer and he discuss matters, suggesting even killing Gregor and Wadim. The other officers along with Colonel Lewerenz decide that they will surrender only with the unconditional surrender of the German Army. Wadim and Gregor give them until 7am to surrender, or the Soviet army will storm the fortress.Gregor and Wadim are blindfolded and escorted out of the fortress a different way than they came. When they reach the exit, the same officers that escorted them to Sandaus exit, escape down the river on a raft. Gregor continues to warn the Germans of the impending attack via loudspeaker. They surrender only 5 minutes before 7am.May 1st, 1945 Gregor, Wadim, Sascha and their driver Dshingis (Kalmursa Rachmanov) speed down the autobahn swerving around the flaming wrecks of German automobiles. Celebrating the surrender of the German Army, soldiers dance and sing as officers sing, drink and make tiny meat filled pastas called pelmeni. The soldiers decorate the courtyard with lights and a band of German firefighters plays music. While enjoying their meal, the Soviet General comes into the officers dining hall and brings with him former concentration camp inmates who are to be their guests of honor for having resisted the Nazis. A coincidence, one of the inmates actually turns out to be an old family friend of Gregors. Sadly, Gregor does not remember him.Having had too much to drink, Gregor falls and hurts himself. He hears the voice of his mother who tells him that he is always doing things too early. He smoked when he was 8 and was drinking schnapps when he was fifteen. Wadim is discussing with one of the camp inmates and asking him how he should explain the war to children. Being a school teacher, Wadim is very confused as to what he should do. The inmate tells how Hitler came into power and Wadim still asks how he should clarify that Goethe and Auschwitz are both German names.May 2nd, 1945, the troops come to a small town in the countryside and appoint one of the former inmates as the new mayor. As they dive away, they play the war ballad about Jamara. While driving, Gregor discusses things with one of the other inmates. Gregor asks about how things were in Germany before the war. The inmate asks Gregor what he is planning to do after the war, Gregor ponders that maybe school is an option. The inmate jumps onto another truck as he tries to make his way home and Gregor whistles Jamara as they drive away.Gregor and his troops reach a clearing in a small valley and find a whole platoon of troops playing dominoes, volleyball and soccer, cooking and sunbathing. Gregor finds another soldier who is just as young, if not younger than he is. They talk briefly and then encounter a German counter offensive in which the German troops were disguised as Russians and using a Russian tank. In the exchange, the young soldier is killed. Gregor and his troops are able to get away.May 3rd, 1945, Russians discover that there are counter offensives going on all over Germany. The General reports that in every counter offensive, the Germans are disguising themselves as Russians. Gregor, Wadim, Sascha and Dshingis are stationed at a small farmhouse and are setting up a surrender site. The young children at the farmhouse dont like or trust the Russian troops, even though Gregor is a German. Along the road are wounded and weary German soldiers. Again over the loudspeaker, Gregor tells them to surrender. Slowly, one by one the troops cross over the river and the small footbridge that separates them from the road.Among the surrendered is the same young boy from Sandau who received the Iron Cross for his valiant efforts. The farm family then offers to take him in. Gregor begins to make friends with one of the German soldiers (Dieter Mann). While packing up to leave, they are attacked by a group of SS resistance soldiers from across the river. They begin to fire back and Gregors German friend even joins in. After the exchange, it turns out that Sascha has been killed. Enraged, Gregor announces over the loudspeaker that he will have vengeance and kill all of the troops for having killed his friend. They finish packing up, along with all of the German prisoners. Gregors German friend asks him to mail a letter for him, everyone packs up and leaves.
autobiographical, murder