Review of Die letzte Schlacht

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS (DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU CALL SPOILERS...) This Docutainmentfilm was aired on German TV in the wake of "Der Untergang (Downfall)", but it does not stand in the bigger production's shadow. Instead, it delivers a more, how can one put it, overall view of the last days of the battle for Berlin. The Führer is only shown once or twice, but that doesn't matter. "Die letzte Schlacht" is more about the fate of ordinary people anyway. You have acted scenes juxtaposed to interviews with the "real" people portrayed. We have Berlin women, telling of the arrival of the Russian troops, including some of the atrocities they committed as well as pointing at the decent Russians, who treated the defeated Germans well. We have one German Jew, who joined the Red Army and came back to Berlin as a Lieutenant, and another one, who luckily was released from the SS Prison shortly before the Battle ended. The film ends with some of the actors telling us about what became of the people they portrayed.

All in all, quite interesting, and an excellent counterpart to "Downfall".