AllMovie

This well-made documentary follows a year in the life of Germany from December 1944. Hitler's last offensive results in the Battle of the Bulge as the nation collapses in the wake of the Allied invasions. The Russians are already in remote parts of Germany as they close in on Berlin, raping and pillaging. Diaries and first-hand accounts recall the hectic days when the Nazis fall as Russian, American and British troops converge on Berlin. In April of 1945, Hitler and Goebels commit suicide as the nation falls into chaos. The Russians exact their revenge on the enemy that has cost their nations tens of millions of lives. Berlin is divided into East and West for nearly 50 years before the Berlin wall would be torn down. Both Axis and Allied film footage is used, and competent narration strives to give only the facts, shying away from any propagandizing.