History Series / UnsereMuetterUnsereVaeter

* ChildByRape: Alina was repeatedly raped by the German farmer she was forced to work for as a Polish slave laborer, then got pregnant and gave birth to a girl. Her daughter was taken away by the farmer because he and his wife couldn't have children. After he stated his intent to sire a son by her as well, she threatened him with a knife, and was sent off to Auschwitz, though she escapes before there.

* DeathSeeker: Implied with Friedhelm; when a Russian bomber flies over the squad's position, his fellow soldier tells him to put his cigarette out. Instead, he takes a long, ostentatious drag.

* DirtyCommies: A couple of the Wehrmacht soldiers have this attitude. One of them is just plain terrified of communists.

* ParentalFavoritism: Both Winter parents indulge in this. Wilhelm is clearly his stern father's favorite, while younger Friedhelm is [[DotingParent doted upon]] by his mother, who makes Wilhelm swear to bring his little brother back safely. When Friedhelm returns for sick leave after a battle in which Wilhelm is believed to have died, their father barely conceals his wish [[YouShouldHaveDiedInstead that Friedhelm had died instead]].

** SS-Sturmbannführer Hiemer makes a Ukraine mob let go of a Jewish girl when Wilhelm intervenes, [[spoiler: then horribly subverts it by shooting her in the head.]]

* RapeAsBackstory: [[spoiler: Alina]] was repeatedly raped by the German farmer for whom she performed forced labour, giving birth to a girl who was taken away by the SS. When she decided to fight back against the farmer, she was immediately shipped off to Auschwitz.

* SexForSolace: When battle nurse Charlotte believes that her longtime friend and secret love Wilhelm has died in battle, she throws herself at her medical superior for comfort.

* ShiksaGoddess: Greta is this for Viktor. His parents are less than amused - mostly because they fear him falling foul of the law.

* StarcrossedLovers: Greta and Viktor as a German and a Jew.

* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Hiemer has a short but powerful one in the few minutes between Friedhelm shoots him and he bleeds out. He spends the whole time staring at Friedhelm in utter disbelief, seemingly not comprehending why the man he thought was an unquestionably loyal tool would suddenly turn on him]].

%%* WarIsHell: The message of the entire movie.

* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: The Polish Home Army is not portrayed as very heroic. Aside from Aline the others are openly antisemitic, leaving Jews bound for the concentration camp in a cattle car to die after they raid a German train. Viktor rescues them, revealing he's Jewish, and they want him killed for it. Their leader has softened a bit to him though by this point. [[spoiler: Instead of killing Viktor, he fakes it and lets him, with a good luck wish.]] This depictions caused protest by Poles. [[note]]In reality, though antisemitism indeed was common among Poles, many rescued Jews nonetheless, Home Army members included, more than any other nation in fact. More than 6,000 individuals have been awarded for having done so. It's estimated that thousands of Poles were executed for this by the Nazi German regime.[[/note]]

* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: The Polish Home Army is not portrayed as very heroic. Aside from Aline the others are openly antisemitic, leaving Jews bound for the concentration camp in a cattle car to die after they raid a German train. Viktor rescues them, revealing he's Jewish, and they want him killed for it. Their leader has softened a bit to him though by this point. [[spoiler: Instead of killing Viktor, he fakes it and lets him, with a good luck wish.]] This depictions caused protest by Poles.

* ChildByRape: Alina was repeatedly raped by the German farmer she was forced to work for as a Polish slave laborer, then got pregnant and gave birth to a girl. Her daughter was taken away by the farmer because he and his wife couldn't have children. After he stated his intent to sire a son by her as well, she threatened him with a knife, and was sent to Auschwitz.

* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: The Polish Home Army is not portrayed as very heroic. Aside from Aline the others are openly antisemitic, leaving Jews bound for the concentration camp in a cattle car to die after they raid a German train. Viktor rescues them, revealing he's Jewish, and they want him killed for it. Their leader has softened a bit to him though by this point. [[spoiler: Instead of killing Viktor, he fakes it and lets him, with a good luck wish.]]

* AllGermansAreNazis: Averted - none of the five main characters are Nazis and are depicted as normal people living in Nazi Germany. Interestingly, this actually became one of the most prominent points of criticism, within Germany and without - the series was accused of going too far the other way and whitewashing German history by suggesting "''of course'' none of these regular, lovely young folks actually supported the Nazi agenda, they were just victims of history!" Obviously they would be far less sympathetic then. Even so, Charly turns in a Jewish nurse to what she knows will be certain death (though the woman survives), and Friedhelm executes numerous unarmed people, including a little boy.

* AllGermansAreNazis: Averted - none of the five main characters are Nazis and are depicted as normal people living in Nazi Germany. Interestingly, this actually became one of the most prominent points of criticism, within Germany and without - the series was accused of going too far the other way and whitewashing German history by suggesting "''of course'' none of these regular, lovely young folks actually supported the Nazi agenda, they were just victims of history!" Obviously they would be far less sympathetic then. [[spoiler: Even so, Charly turns in a Jewish nurse to what she knows will be certain death (though the woman survives), and Friedhelm executes numerous unarmed people, including a little boy.

* DeathSeeker: Implied with Friedhelm; when a Russian bomber flies over the squad's position, his fellow soldier tells him to put his cigarette out. Instead, he takes a long, ostentatious drag. [[spoiler: At the end he gets the Soviet soldiers to kill him.]]

* DirtyCommies: A couple of the Wehrmacht soldiers have this attitude. One of them is just plain terrified of communists. The Polish partisans of the Home Army also hate the communists.

* ParentalFavoritism: Both Winter parents indulge in this. Wilhelm is clearly his stern father's favorite, while younger Friedhelm is [[DotingParent doted upon]] by his mother, who makes Wilhelm swear to bring his little brother back safely. When Friedhelm returns for sick leave after a battle in which Wilhelm is believed to have died, their father barely conceals his wish [[YouShouldHaveDiedInstead that Friedhelm had died instead]]. He thus returns to the front despite his mother's tearful plea.]]

** SS-Sturmbannführer Hiemer makes a Ukrainian auxiliary cop let go of a Jewish girl when Wilhelm intervenes, [[spoiler: then horribly subverts it by shooting her in the head.]]

* RapeAsBackstory: [[spoiler: Alina]] was repeatedly raped by the German farmer for whom she performed forced labour, giving birth to a girl who was taken away by him because he and his wife couldn't have children. When she decided to fight back against the farmer after he wanted to father a son on her, she was immediately shipped off to Auschwitz.

* SexForSolace: When combat nurse Charlotte believes that her longtime friend and secret love Wilhelm has died in battle, she throws herself at her medical superior for comfort.

* ShiksaGoddess: Greta is this for Viktor. His parents are less than amused - mostly because they fear him falling foul of the law (having sex with an "Aryan" was punishable by death for Jews.

* StarcrossedLovers: Greta and Viktor as a gentile German and a Jew.

* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Hiemer has a short but powerful one in the few minutes between when Friedhelm shoots him and he bleeds out. He spends the whole time staring at Friedhelm in utter disbelief, seemingly not comprehending why the man he thought was an unquestionably loyal tool would suddenly turn on him]].

%%* WarIsHell: The message of the entire series.

* AllGermansAreNazis: Averted - none of the five main characters are Nazis and are depicted as normal people living in Nazi Germany. Interestingly, this actually became one of the most prominent points of criticism, within Germany and without - the series was accused of going too far the other way and whitewashing German history by suggesting "''of course'' none of these regular, lovely young folks actually supported the Nazi agenda, they were just victims of history!" Obviously they would be far less sympathetic then. Even so, Charly turns in a Jewish nurse to what she knows will be certain death (though the woman survives), and Friedhelm executes numerous unarmed people, including a little boy.

* DeathSeeker: Implied with Friedhelm; when a Russian bomber flies over the squad's position, his fellow soldier tells him to put his cigarette out. Instead, he takes a long, ostentatious drag.

* DirtyCommies: A couple of the Wehrmacht soldiers have this attitude. One of them is just plain terrified of communists.

* ParentalFavoritism: Both Winter parents indulge in this. Wilhelm is clearly his stern father's favorite, while younger Friedhelm is [[DotingParent doted upon]] by his mother, who makes Wilhelm swear to bring his little brother back safely. When Friedhelm returns for sick leave after a battle in which Wilhelm is believed to have died, their father barely conceals his wish [[YouShouldHaveDiedInstead that Friedhelm had died instead]].

** SS-Sturmbannführer Hiemer makes a Ukraine mob let go of a Jewish girl when Wilhelm intervenes, [[spoiler: then horribly subverts it by shooting her in the head.]]

* RapeAsBackstory: [[spoiler: Alina]] was repeatedly raped by the German farmer for whom she performed forced labour, giving birth to a girl who was taken away by the SS. When she decided to fight back against the farmer, she was immediately shipped off to Auschwitz.

* SexForSolace: When battle nurse Charlotte believes that her longtime friend and secret love Wilhelm has died in battle, she throws herself at her medical superior for comfort.

* ShiksaGoddess: Greta is this for Viktor. His parents are less than amused - mostly because they fear him falling foul of the law.

* StarcrossedLovers: Greta and Viktor as a German and a Jew.

* TokenMinority: Viktor is the only Jew between the boys.

* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Hiemer has a short but powerful one in the few minutes between Friedhelm shoots him and he bleeds out. He spends the whole time staring at Friedhelm in utter disbelief, seemingly not comprehending why the man he thought was an unquestionably loyal tool would suddenly turn on him]].

%%* WarIsHell: The message of the entire movie.

* AlliterativeName: Wilhelm Winter
* AllGermansAreNazis: Averted - none of the five main characters are Nazis and are depicted as normal people living in Nazi Germany. Interestingly, this actually became one of the most prominent points of criticism, within Germany and without - the series was accused of going too far the other way and whitewashing German history by suggesting "''of course'' none of these regular, lovely young folks actually supported the Nazi agenda, they were just victims of history!"

* InfantImmortality: Averted in the first episode when Hiemer shoots a little Jewish girl in the head.

''Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter'' (literally ''"Our Mothers, Our Fathers"'', titled ''Generation War'' in the US, UK and France) is a 2013 German miniseries. Sort of ''Series/BandOfBrothers'', but with Germans. And [[CrapsackWorld extra grim]], since it's primarily set on the Eastern Front and involves UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust.

''Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter'' (literally ''"Our Mothers, Our Fathers"'', titled ''Generation War'' in the US, UK and France) is a 2013 German miniseries. Sort of ''Series/BandOfBrothers'', but with Germans. And [[CrapsackWorld extra grim]], since it's primarily set on the Eastern Front, and UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust shows up.

''Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter'' (literally ''"Our Mothers, Our Fathers"'', titled ''Generation War'' in the US and the UK) is a 2013 German miniseries. Sort of ''Series/BandOfBrothers'', but with Germans. And [[CrapsackWorld extra grim]], since it's primarily set on the Eastern Front, and UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust shows up.

%%* GirlishPigtails: Charlotte.
%%* GlamorousWartimeSinger: Greta

* NaiveNewcomer: [[WideEyedIdealist Charlotte]] as a nurse at the Eastern Front. The freezing look that the chief nurse gives her speaks for itself.

* AllGermansAreNazis: Averted. None of the five main characters are Nazis and are depicted as normal people living in Nazi Germany.

%%* AnyoneCanDie: Naturally.

** [[Spoiler:Lilija]] helps Charlotte at the military hospital with her expertise, but gets reported as a Jew and taken away.

** Charlotte take a time in the evacuating time to find Sonja. They left without her.

* BigDamnHero: As written above [[spoiler: Charlotte is rescued just in time by Lilja from being raped by a Soviet soldier.]]

** Lilija helps Charlotte at the military hospital with her expertise, but gets reported as a Jew and taken away.

* EvilVersusEvil: UsefulNotes/NaziGermany versus the [[SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn USSR]]. One of the [[LaResistance Polish partisans]] puts it correctly;

''Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter'' (literally ''Our Mothers, Our Fathers'', titled ''Generation War'' in the US and the UK) is a 2013 German miniseries. Sort of ''Series/BandOfBrothers'', but with Germans. And [[CrapsackWorld extra grim]], since it's primarily set on the Eastern Front, and UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust shows up.

[[CaptainObvious Of course, it doesn't quite work out like that]]. And as the months and years drag by, and the fighting becomes ever more brutal, for these young people the war becomes a desperate struggle not only to survive, but to retain their humanity even while serving an inhumane regime.

"''Our Mothers, Our Fathers''" (aka ''Generation War'' in the US and the UK). Sort of ''Series/BandOfBrothers'', but with Germans. And [[CrapsackWorld extra grim]], since it's primarily set on the Eastern Front, and UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust shows up.

* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Tragically, Mr. Goldstein, a veteran of WorldWarI who is a proud German and determined to remain loyal to his country even as the persecution of Jews intensifies.

* ParentalFavoritism: Both Winter parents indulge in this. Wilhelm is clearly his stern father's favorite, while younger Friedhelm is [[DotingParent doted upon]] by his mother, who makes Wilhelm swear to bring his little brother back safely. When Frieldhelm returns for sick leave after a battle in which Wilhelm is believed to have died, their father barely conceals his wish [[YouShouldHaveDiedInstead that Friedhelm had died instead]].

* DadTheVeteran: Viktor's father fought in WorldWarI [[spoiler: but this won't save him from being deported as a Jew.]]

* ActionGirl: Alina [[DoNotGoGentle out of a train bound for a concentration camp]] with just a knife and sheer grit. With a bit of help.

** When [[BearerOfBadNews Friedhelm]] tells Charlotte that [[spoiler: Wilhelm]] died, she goes and has an affair with [[spoiler: [[MayflyDecemberRomance the old doctor]]]].

"''Our Mothers, Our Fathers''" (aka [[AdaptationNameChange ''Generation War'']] in the US and the UK). Sort of ''Series/BandOfBrothers'', but with Germans. And [[CrapsackWorld extra grim]], since it's primarily set on the Eastern Front, and UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust shows up.

"''Our Mothers, Our Fathers''" (aka ''Generation War'' in the US and the UK). Sort of ''Series/BandOfBrothers'', but with Germans. And [[CrapsackWorld extra grim]], since it's primarily set on the Eastern Front, and UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust shows up.

* Irony: Wilhelm, a respected lieutenant, becomes so disillusioned with the war and the suffering it brings that he deserts. Friedhelm, a draftee who has known this all along, keeps serving the army until the very end.

* AllGermansAreNazis: Averted, none of the five main characters are Nazis and are depicted as normal people living in Nazi Germany.
* AloofBigBrother: Wilhelm, who has previous experience from the invasions of Poland and France, and who has attained the rank of Lieutenant, considers his bookish brother, a new recruit, to be too soft for the work of a soldier, and confesses to feeling ashamed of him on occasion. On the other hand, he also admires Friedhelm's wit and intelligence.

%%* MoralityKitchenSink

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Wilhelm tells a superior officer that partisan activity has increased, and the officer drily replies "Thanks to our far-sighted policy of treating these people as inferiors."

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Seeing as this is fascist Nazi Germany, it's not surprising.