Erwin Geschonneck portrait as Oberst and later General Petershagen is authentic. As a German I can testify to that. Considering the fact this movie was made under communist rule, this takes very little away from "how people behaved ". The acting is superb in all respects. This movie honors Germans with an active conscience, and they where few. I grew up in west Germany, in a country that had it's pains dealing with the past. A lot of it remained unresolved. Now it is time, after the iron curtain has fallen, for the movieindustrie to take another look at hidden treasures like this one. I believe the intelligent public should be made aware of this masterpiece of a movie. It definitely deserves restoration and a DVD release. So at least schools and university's could use it. Because for the powerful content, people might actually learn from the past.
