Ernst Wiltmann The people who disliked this movie had a political agenda. My mothers family also lost their estate by leaving it behind, in front of the rushing red army, in 1945. Our estate was considerable, just like in this movie, and all of my family was under the 3rd-reich spell, meaning they where believing followers. They witnessed atrocities on both sides. Some people in Germany, never understood how terrible the Russian people suffered under German occupation. And some members of my family still do not make even an attempt to understand. Each time something educational (dokumentation on the HISTORY channel for example) is voted away by the remote control, and being dismissed as red propaganda. I'm by no means a communist or even socialist, but I have my frustrations with people that simply do not want to confront issue's of the past. It's time that we reach out to our former enemies and view them as human beings just like ourself. There is no good purpose to remain in ignorance. This movie does a really good job in portraying the social fabric of Germany and his citizens and of the Russian soldiers, they where confronted with. The acting was absolutely superb and gave the characters real 3-dimensional life. Something way above the usual light entertainment you are used to see in Germany. Yes, this movie does know how to deal with issues and it deserves to be internationally recognized as a masterpiece. The sets are well photographed and a lot of attention was paid to the historical details.