Der Hauptmann (4½ Stars)

Bones. Skeletons. Dumped in the forest to decay, the flesh eaten by wolves and other wild animals.

In most films about the Second World War the skeletons would be the bodies of Jews slaughtered by the Nazis. "Der Hauptmann" (engl. "The Captain") is different. Jews aren't mentioned once in the film. The bodies in the picture are German deserters, killed by their fellow soldiers.

If I'd been fighting for Germany in the Second World War, I would have deserted. If I were a Russian conscripted to fight Putin's war in Ukraine, I'd look for a way to surrender as quickly as possible. Ukraine has even set up surrender hotlines to advise Russian soldiers how to give themselves up. That's wonderful. The quality of a country can be seen in how it treats its deserters and others who refuse to fight. In the 1940's England had many conscientious objectors who refused to fight. The assumption (not always correct) was that they were afraid to fight, so they were offered non-combat roles at home, such as working for the fire brigade. They were only imprisoned if they refused the jobs offered or made it obvious that they didn't oppose Hitler, and they were never, never executed.

There's a big difference between Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine is a free democratic country. Russia is a Fascist state ruled by a dictator who won't quit until he's killed. Fascist countries kill those who refuse to fight, because they're scared of opposing voices. Russia isn't a bad country in itself. It has a long history of literature and the arts. The problem is its vile leader who pretends to love Russia, but is only pursuing his own glorification. He thinks he will be revered as a man like Stalin who's made Russia great again. (I'd be ashamed to be compared with a mass murderer like Stalin, but I shan't go into that here). History will be written differently. Vladimir Putin will be remembered as the man who ruined Russia, wrecking the economy and sending millions of young men to die in a futile war.

The only hope for Russia is that Putin will die soon. He needs a bullet in the back of the head, so that a new leader can save Russia and make it a beautiful free country again.

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