Gregor Hecker, who fled Germany with his parents, returns to Germany as a lieutenant in the Red Army.Gregor Hecker, who fled Germany with his parents, returns to Germany as a lieutenant in the Red Army.Gregor Hecker, who fled Germany with his parents, returns to Germany as a lieutenant in the Red Army.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Mikhail Gluzskiy
- General
- (as Mikhail Glusski)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- Trivia"Ich war neunzehn" is for the most part based on the diary director Konrad Wolf kept throughout his time with the Red Army in 1945 and is thus a very personal, authentic, autobiographical account of the last days of World War 2. However, some scenes, e.g. the one in which a blind German soldier mistakes Gregor for an fellow German, had no basis in Wolf's journal and were included for their cinematographic value.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Century of Cinema: Die Nacht der Regisseure (1995)
Featured review
Communist propaganda in a human way
Shot in Eastern Germany in 1968, 'Ich war neunzehn' (= German for 'I was nineteen years old') is among the better films from the former Communist part of Europe.
Set in the last days of Adolf Hitler, 'Ich war neunzehn' deals with Stalin's Red Army invading Germany from the East. To avoid the countless atrocities committed by both sides in the most savage war in history of mankind, the East German filmmakers choose to show events through the eyes of a nineteen year old boy. A logical choice: this introduces innocence, as well as hope for the future.
The rest of this enjoyable film is propaganda, sold in a friendly and human way. The Red Army is presented as liberating the German common people from Hitler's rule. Its victorious soldiers show themselves eager to make friends with them.
In reality, after three terrible years of German occupation in the Soviet Union, Stalin's soldiers applied a fearful revenge when invading Germany. A revenge encouraged by steady Communist propaganda. It resulted in many crimes, such as the free rape of German women. You will understand that 'Ich war neunzehn' ignores this.
Set in the last days of Adolf Hitler, 'Ich war neunzehn' deals with Stalin's Red Army invading Germany from the East. To avoid the countless atrocities committed by both sides in the most savage war in history of mankind, the East German filmmakers choose to show events through the eyes of a nineteen year old boy. A logical choice: this introduces innocence, as well as hope for the future.
The rest of this enjoyable film is propaganda, sold in a friendly and human way. The Red Army is presented as liberating the German common people from Hitler's rule. Its victorious soldiers show themselves eager to make friends with them.
In reality, after three terrible years of German occupation in the Soviet Union, Stalin's soldiers applied a fearful revenge when invading Germany. A revenge encouraged by steady Communist propaganda. It resulted in many crimes, such as the free rape of German women. You will understand that 'Ich war neunzehn' ignores this.
helpful•2410
- wvisser-leusden
- Jul 28, 2009
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Ich war neunzehn
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 55 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content