#wwii documentary

Basic Story: The true story of 139 special prisoners of the SS that were kept to be used as bargaining chips until the end of the war.

Fan Thoughts: Normally I don't watch documentaries, however this has some short interview sequences amid mostly re-enactments that are filmed as if they are a stand-alone series.  Thanks to the excellent editing, there is a palpable sense of tension throughout the series, even though the interviews are cut into the re-enactments.  Nearly a third of the hostages were relatives of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and others involved in the assassination attempt on Hitler in July 1944.  The rest were collaborators, resistance fighters, Nazi politicians and Wehrmacht members who had fallen out of Hitler’s favor and members of Allied military forces; additionally relatives of others imprisoned  were also among the 139, including children.  In charge of the transport were Obersturmfürer Edgar Stiller (SS-TV, Death’s Head Unit) and Obersturmfürer Friedrich Bader (SD, Security Service and Gestapo Officer).  As the transport continues, both officers become increasingly aggressive, prompting Colonel Bogislaw von Bonin (imprisoned for authorizing a retreat from Warsaw in January 1945) to contact the Wehrmacht liaison office in Niederdorf to find safe custody for the group with Wehrmacht officers.  The Wehrmacht battalion faced off with the SS officers in the town square over the fate of the hostages.  A quick and gripping watch about a rarely covered portion of WWII history, definitely worth your time!

Warnings: some scenes in concentration camps