2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
American G.I.s Slave Laboring for Hitler..., January 17, 2007
This review is from: Berga: Soldiers of Another War (DVD)
Ordinary in production, but extraordinary in subject matter, Berga documents for posterity the little known part of WWII history about American soldiers that instead of being treated as POWs were separated for suspicion of being Jewish or "undesirable" and sent to slave labor in a Buchenwald satellite concentration camp called Berga.
Real photos and footage combine with reenactments and interviews from surviving G.I.s to tell the story that includes days confined and bombed in a train on the way to Bad Orb and later Berga; identity issues surrounding the German demand for info beyond name, rank and serial number; separation and disparate treatment from other captured Americans; the leadership of G.I. Hans Klasten about whom the Germans said "there's only one thing more despicable than a Jew--it's a German who betrays his country"; and the various coping mechanisms and responses of the soldiers to what one calls a "vision of hell" and to their later liberation and lives.
Berga is an unpleasant but needed reminder of the contrast of human potentials--the capability for sadism such as forcing starving humans to toil in mines breathing in quartz-dust that cut the lungs so that they'd cough up pieces of lung and blood, contrasted with the capability of others like Klasten who to his own detriment refused to provide the Germans a list of Americans who were Jewish and took beatings rather than exchange information for bread.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My grandfather was in this movie, April 24, 2009
This review is from: Berga: Soldiers of Another War (DVD)
I wanted to thank everyone who bought this and enjoyed it. My grandfather was a prisoner at Berga with these men. You can hear his voice as he talks about some of the horrific moments he witnessed while he was only 18. His name was John Griffin, and he passed away last month. He was not Jewish, he was of Irish descent. The Nazi's thought he was Jewish. Let me just say that if you like to watch real movies and documentaries about World War II then this is one of the best ones out there. It has the real life people that went through this ordeal on camera. Unfortunately, for my grandfather, Mr. Guggenheim did not bring his camera when he went out to interview my papa. But this is truly a remarkable story that needed to be told. Buy it, you will not be disappointed.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
FORGIVENESS?, February 19, 2008
This review is from: Berga: Soldiers of Another War (DVD)
This is an amazing movie.
It is impossible to understand the Holocaust, but to relate to American GIs who happened to be Jewish who underwent somewhat similar treatment, but not for as long a period of time, is somewhat easier. It is difficult to put it into it into words. That Germans were allowed to do this to Jews in general to the extent of six million, and to captured American POWs, and then to escape retribrution is very difficult to understand.
The project that these American POWs were working on with little foood, and water, subjected to horrendous conditions, to a great extent was German rocketry. The German scientists, including Verner Von Braun were overseeing the construction of underground tunnels to build their rockets in for both experiments, and weapons of destruction. After World War II, they were considered too important to America's future rocket program to penalise in any way. They were hailed as heroes.
The guards and officers who tortured, and murdered the GI's depicted in the film were also forgiven, because within a few years after the end of World War II, it was felt that they were to important as allies against the Russsians. Therefore, we were asked to forgive the Germans. If you check the history books after World War II, most of the high german officals were released after serving short amounts of time in prison.
Gestapo, and SS murderers, like the ones who tortured the prisoners of Berga never faced retribution.
Supposedly, we are now supposed to forgive and forget what Germany did in the 1930's, and early 1940's. It is difficult while watching a documentary like Berga to forgive and forget. If during the film, you have a tendency to feel sad or cry, there is nothing wrong with it. It's something that we should never let happen again!
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