“Stalingrad” (1993), directed by German filmmaker Joseph Vilsmaier, follows the tradition of top American Vietnam War films. Similar to Oliver Stone’s “Platoon” or Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket,” “Stalingrad” focuses on a group of relatable everymen caught in a hellish situation beyond their control. The film begins in sunny Italy, introducing us to Lieutenant Hans von Witzland, an aristocratic young man from a Prussian family, and Sergeant Manfred “Rollo” Rohleder, a seasoned Africa Corps veteran. Initially, von Witzland appears to be a Nazi, refusing to award a medal to Rohleder for not buttoning up his collar during inspection, stating, “Heroes aren’t late.

” However, once the setting shifts to the frozen steppes along the Volga, it becomes clear that von Witzland’s strict Prussian militarism is actually in opposition to Nazi ideology. He is a traditional German conservative who vehemently opposes the mistreatment of Russian prisoners and despises the Nazis. Corporal Fritz Reiser, played by French actor Dominique Horowitz, is portrayed as a pragmatic realist determined to survive at any cost. The casting of the Jewish-looking Horowitz as Reiser sends a strong message: not all of von Paulus’s soldiers were Nazis. Like American soldiers in Vietnam, they were ordinary soldiers led by corrupt leaders.