Ich war neunzehn (1968)

Director:

Konrad Wolf

Writers:

Wolfgang Kohlhaase (writer)
Konrad Wolf (writer)

Release Date:

1 February 1968 (East Germany)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | War

Plot:

April 1945: Gregor Hecker, 19 years of age, reaches the outskirts of Berlin as part of the Red Army's scouting team...

Plot Keywords:

Episodic | Army | 1945 | Bernau | Soldier

Cast

Jaecki Schwarz	...	Gregor Hecker
Vasili Livanov	...	Wadim
Aleksei Ejbozhenko	...	Sascha
Galina Polskikh	...	Sowjetisches Mädchen
Rolf Hoppe	...	Etappenmajor
Wolfgang Greese	...	Landschaftsgestalter
Dieter Mann	...	Willi Lommer
Jenny Gröllmann	...	Deutsches Mädchen
Kalmursa Rachmanov	...	Dsingis
Anatoli Solovyov	...	Starschinka
Johannes Wieke	...	Festungskommandant
Mikhail Glusski	...	General
Jürgen Hentsch	...	Adjutant
Kurt Böwe	...	Sturmbannführer
Klaus Manchen	...	Blinder Soldat

Also Known As:

Heimkehr (East Germany) (working title)
I Was Nineteen (USA) (video title)
Ich war 19 (East Germany) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

Germany:115 min (TV version)

Country:

East Germany

Language:

German | Russian

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:12 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Bernau, Brandenburg, Germany

Company:

Deutsche Film (DEFA)

Trivia:

The film was produced with the support of the Soviet Army and of the People's Army of the GDR.

Excellent WWII flick

WWII yarn filmed in black and white that gives it an authentic sheen. It is the war seen from the vantage point of Lt. Hecker, a 19 yo German born Russian as he copes with his feelings of ambiguity concerning his birth origins and his sympathies which lie with his adopted homeland. If his adventures cast the Russian troops in a exceedingly favorable light , it would be well to consider that the picture was filmed in East Germany before re-unification. Director Wolf too was born in Germany and like Lt. Hecker, was relocated to Moscow at age 8 with his parents and enlisted at 18 in the Russian Army. How much of the film is autobiographical is unknown to me. That said, Jaecki Schwarz does an excellent job as the attractive, if bemused Lieutenant doing his best do deal with his situation. The film captures what must have been the confused situation at the end of the war with ordinary German soldiers surrendering while the Nazis fight to the end. Well worth a look if interested in this genre. .