The Adventures of Werner Holt

1964, rereleased in 2009

B&W

First Run Features

R1 DVD

Reviewer: Bob Estreich

In German subtitled with clear English

This great Joachim Kunert film is from the DEFA archives, the East German government archive. These films are being rereleased as time and resources allow.

The film opens with Werner, a radio operator, trapped in a bunker trying desperately to contact other German troops as the advancing Russians close in. In a series of flashbacks we follow his career in the Army that has got him to this point.

Werner and his best friend Gilbert are drafted into the German army during World War 2. Werner is cautious and retiring but Gilbert is all for the war – he wants to go into tanks, where all the glory is. Instead they are sent to an antiaircraft troop. The boredom of daily life is contrasted to the terror as the guns are bombed. The reckless Gilbert gets into enough trouble for both of them, especially with the other soldiers stationed at the battery. His escapades are often played down by his sympathetic sergeant and so he manages to keep going. Werner is noticing the bad side of the new Reich, especially on his brief leaves. People are being removed from responsible jobs if they have scruples about the work of the concentration camps, and Werner’s first love is a girl whose parents have been killed for expressing discontent with the regime.

Following the destruction of the guns by bombing the two friends are transferred to an infantry troop in Silesia. At first they think the idyllic country surroundings are going to be a wonderful place to see out some of the war but as they enter the town they see the carnage caused by the SS. Civilian bodies are scattered everywhere and the local sawmill has been the scene of some unforgivable acts. Even Gilbert, gung ho as ever, is revolted by what he sees. Idle soldiers tend to get into trouble and Werner saves a local girl from rape, then saves the girl and her father from execution. That night they are attacked by partisans and the war returns to them.

The Russians are advancing on Germany and their troop fights a rearguard action against a superior enemy. We see the numbers whittled down in a war of attrition. Support and replacement troops are no longer available and finally the troop is down to fifty men. There is talk of desertion and some of the senior officers have already removed themselves from the front. Gilbert, now a sergeant, is in his element. He takes control of the remainder of the men and plans a holding action. One of his senior officers is caught deserting and they restrain the officer by getting him drunk so they can hand him over to the SS. The SS is now hanging deserters.

During the next savage battle the officer sobers up and escapes and denounces Gilbert and Werner to the SS as mutineers. Werner returns from the action in time to see his friend about to be hung. It is ironic that the most dedicated soldier in the troop should be the one to be executed. Werner must make a decision – friendship or loyalty to the Reich?

Such a film could not have been made in Western Germany. It seems to be intended as a reminder of the atrocities of war, something the West Germans preferred to forget. The swastika, seen throughout the film, is proscribed in Germany. Only in the Communist-controlled East Germany were the circumstances right to allow such a plot.

The battle scenes are particularly well executed, giving the film a realism and sense of futility. No matter how many tanks the soldiers destroy, them are more behind them. No wonder desertion is becoming a popular option. In spite of this the propaganda element in the film is insignificant – the film is a reminder of the atrocities of war, not a propaganda exercise.

It is hard not to compare the film with All Quiet on the Western Front. Although this was set in World War 1, there are similarities in plot as the reality of war is brought home to the new recruits. Many of the characters are similarly stereotypical, such as the experienced sergeant who keeps the lid on the boys’ high spirits. Where The Adventures of Werner Holt excels is in its depiction of the less desirable parts of the war – its effects on the soldiers, the civilians, and the individuals who react in different ways to authority and power during the conflict.

The DVD also contains filmographies and biographies on the major participants and a short film on director Rolf Sohre.

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This review will appear in Volume 2 No.6 (2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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