The Fall of Berlin

Yuli Raizman's "Berlin" is a summary of hundreds of yards of original footage taken during the war, specially of the last weeks of battle against Nazi Germany. The film is very impressive, it shows very accurately the seriousness and desperateness of the last battles for the freedom of Europe. The Germans fought to the last minute, trying to avoid surrender at any cost, making the liberation of Europe a difficult task even in these last months and days. The movie explains the strategy of the Red Army in taking Berlin, and shows this actually being done. The film is exceptional, for it shows on the one hand the absolute necessity to win the war against the Nazis - the very survival of millions of people were at stake - and at the same time, it transmits a deep sense of relief, and even joy about the fact that the battle was finally won. It is clear that this film was edited during the Stalin era, and is therefore tainted by Soviet ideology, but I would recommend the viewer to ignore this fact, for the film in itself is a valuable document of one of the worst catastrophes of our times.