Movies and Books about Germany

All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel

Author: Erich Maria Remarque and Arthur Wesley Wheen

Genre: Fiction, Classic, War/Military

Places Featured: Germany

You might have heard of this one, because it’s pretty popular on high school English class reading lists…for good reason. It’s a fascinating look at life for German soldiers during World War I. (It’s fiction, but Eric Remarque was a veteran, so there is certainly some truth to it.) It’s a deep look at war and its effects on the people expected to fight it. (It was also made into an Academy Award winning movie in 1930 which didn’t quite make the list below, but should definitely be considered.)

All the Light We Cannot See

Author: Anthony Doerr

Genre: Fiction, War/Military, Romance

Places Featured: Germany, France

I almost didn’t include this one because a good part of it is set in France, but there are flashbacks to Germany and it is just such a beautifully written story. (Seriously, in three years, the book has accumulated almost 36,000 reviews on Amazon and averages out at 4.5/5 stars.) It’s the story of a blind French girl and a German boy who meet in occupied France during World War II–their stories weave together and turn into a story of love, triumph, and heart.

Berlin Alexanderplatz

Author: Alfred Döblin

Genre: Fiction, Classic

Places Featured: Berlin, Germany

This novel was published in 1929 and is still considered one of the top books of all time. The basic plot is about a murderer who has recently been released from prison…his friend murders one of his closest allies (a prostitute) and he realizes that he’s in an underworld that he doesn’t want to be in. It is a tough read for modern day readers, but it’s one that’s worth the effort, especially if you’re interested in Berlin.

Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family

Author: Thomas Mann

Genre: Fiction, Classic, Historical

Places Featured: Germany

Thomas Mann is one of the most famous German writers of all time; he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. This was his first book–it covers four generations of a mercantile family in Northern Germany and their decline from prosperity to bankruptcy and all of the drama that comes with that. The story is roughly based on his own history.

Peeling the Onion

Author: Günter Grass

Genre: Nonfiction, Biography/Memoir, Historical

Places Featured: Poland and Germany; Paris, France

I struggled with including this one for a few reasons: first, it’s mostly set in Danzig, which is actually now Gdansk, Poland and second, Grass is a German author actually known for his fictional novels full of magic realism (the movie Tin Drum, based on his book of the same name is included below). But I chose to include his autobiography, because in it, he reveals that he had been a member of the Waffen-SS. So it goes on to address what Germany and its citizens were like during the rebuilding years after WWII. He also touches on some interesting thoughts on memories and how fragile they can be.

Stones from the River

Author: Ursula Hegi

Genre: Fiction, Historical

Places Featured: Germany

This is a beautiful story by a woman born in Germany that emigrated to the United States when she was 19. She uses her writing to explore her background and this beautiful book was chosen as one of Oprah’s Book Club selections in 1997. Trudi Montag, the main character, is struggling with all of life’s usual troubles…while also being a dwarf…with difficult parents…and World War. It’s a challenging, but ultimately heartfelt read.

The Book Thief

Author: Markus Zusak

Genre: Fiction, Classic, Historical, War/Military

Places Featured: Germany

I’m not quite sure how to describe The Book Thief–you just need to read it (really). It’s the story of young Liesel, an 11-year-old foster child living with her foster parents in a small town outside of Munich in 1939. The life of a foster child is difficult and when you throw in a World War going on around you, it gets even more challenging. It’s a story of the war told with the innocence of a child…but the narrator is Death. (It was made into a movie in 2013; enjoyable, but not as good as the book.)

The German Girl: A Novel

Author: Armando Lucas Correa

Genre: Fiction, Historical, War/Military

Places Featured: Berlin, Germany, New York City, New York, United States, and Havana, Cuba Based on a true story, The German Girl is the story of two 12-year-old girls–one living in Berlin in 1939 (Hannah) and one living in New York City in 2014 (Anna). Anna never knew her father, because he was killed in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. So she is intrigued by a package of old family photographs from her great-Aunt Hannah, whom she has never met. She and her mother then travel to Cuba to learn more–it is there that she learns Hannah’s story of growing up in Nazi Germany and then being forced to flee her country as a refugee. It’s a well-written untold story.

They Divided the Sky: A Novel

Author: Christa Wolf

Genre: Fiction, Historical

Places Featured: Berlin, Germany

On 13 August, 1961, the Berlin Wall (a guarded concrete wall that divided Berlin–and Germany–for more than twenty years) was erected, separating families and friends almost immediately. They Divided the Sky tells the story of the Wall’s construction and the devastation it caused to the citizens of East Germany. (Christa Wolf was one of the most popular authors to emerge from the former East Germany.)

The Bridge (1959)

Rating: N/R

Genre: Drama, War/Military

Places Featured: Bad Tölz, Germany

Based on a book of the same name by Bernhard Wicki (which was based on a true story), The Bridge is an award-winning film about a group of teenage boys who must quickly grow up when they are conscripted into the German military and must fight in World War II…even though they don’t really understand why they’re there or what they’re supposed to be doing. It’s a meaningful story.

Cabaret (1972)

Rating: PG

Genre: Drama, Musical

Places Featured: Berlin, Germany

I love a good musical and do believe that music can sometimes convey emotions that words alone can’t capture, which is exactly what Cabaret does. It somehow manages to take a somewhat crazy story (an American nightclub singer looking for her break ends up in a relationship with a British man who is also sleeping with a rich homosexual playboy, all set against the start of the Nazi regime) and turn it into a relatable emotional story. (I highly recommend reading up on the true story, too.) It was a major Award winner and was directed by the always impressive Bob Fosse.

The Tin Drum (1979)

Rating: R

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, War/Military

Places Featured: Germany

This one is a unique one–it’s based on a book by the famous German author Günter Grass (whose bio is included above) and it won several awards. The Tin Drum is about a young (really) smart young boy who decides he doesn’t want to grow older (we all wish that, honey) and he gets his wish. Then the war comes to Germany and he creates his own form of protest: a tin drum that he won’t stop beating. It’s (obviously) fantastical and a little odd, but it’s an important one in German film history.

Wings of Desire (1988)

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance

Places Featured: Berlin, Germany

Although the movie clearly has a fantasy spin on it, it’s a beautiful way to see Berlin and the people in it. Damiel is an angel in Berlin who can hear the thoughts of the people living below–he observes their lives, their highs and their lows. Then he himself falls in love with a beautiful trapeze artist and decides he is willing to give up his immortality to be with her. I love that it was inspired by some of the art on the Berlin Wall that depicted angels.

Goodbye, Lenin! (2003)

Rating: R

Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance, Historical

Places Featured: Berlin, Germany

This is one of those movies with a seemingly far-fetched storyline that ends up being very real and touching and relatable. In October 1989, a single mother, loved by her two children despite her fervent belief in the power of socialism, suffers a heart attack and falls into a coma. When she awakens eight months later, the Berlin Wall has fallen and the world (especially the world in East Berlin) has completely changed. Her children are warned, though, that any kind of shock would have a devastating effect, so they attempt to hide the fall of the Wall and the rise of democracy from their socialist mother. It’s a somewhat light-hearted look at the devastation the division caused with love at its center.

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005)

Rating: R

Genre: Drama, Historical, War/Military

Places Featured: Munich, Germany

Sophie Scholl was a young German student and anti-Nazi activist (part of the “White Rose” non-violent resistant group) who was convicted of high treason and executed by guillotine in 1943 at the age of 21 after distributing anti-war leaflets. This movie is based on her last days. It is well done, very interesting, and inspiring.

The Lives of Others (2006)

Rating: R

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Places Featured: Berlin, Germany

This one is a little creepy and scary, but fascinating–it’s clear why it won an Academy Award. Set in 1984, a famous playwright and his lover, an actress, are believed to be involved in “subversive activities”…and every moment of their lives becomes monitored by the Secret Police. It reveals the difficult reality for those living in East Germany.

Lore (2012)

Rating: R

Genre: Drama, War/Military

Places Featured: Germany

This one is a good one for an overall look at Germany and Germans…though it is another one with World War II as a major plot point. It’s the story of five siblings in southern Germany whose (Nazi) parents have disappeared. In order to survive, they must somehow travel over five hundred miles to their grandmother’s house near Hamburg–this movie is about that journey and the people they meet along the way. It’s not an easy film to watch, but it wasn’t an easy time.

Barbara (2012)

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Drama, War/Military

Places Featured: Berlin, Germany

Barbara is a doctor in Berlin who applies for an exit visa to leave Berlin–she feels suppressed and stifled–but instead she is banished to a clinic in the country. She’s unhappy and upset about her transfer…and not sure she can trust her coworkers, even her boss–whom she becomes especially close to.

Eddie the Eagle (2016)

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Sports & Recreation

Places Featured: Bavaria, Germany

I might be a little biased on this one–it stars Hugh Jackman, it’s an inspiring sports film based on a true story, and it was filmed in a small German town where I lived for eleven years (so I know a few of the extras and I can DEFINITELY say I have spent some time in some of the filming locations). It is based on the true story of Michael Edwards, a (surprising) skier who became the first British ski jumper to compete in the Olympics in sixty years–and eventually became known as Eddie the Eagle. Without the bias, it really is just a fun feel-good film with the scenery of beautiful Bavaria as the background.