It is the spring of 1945. Berlin, the capital of Germany, lies in ruins, counting the last hours of the Nazi regime that has plunged the world into chaos. The streets where the once-proud and mighty German Wehrmacht paraded are now swarming with Red Army soldiers.
Amid this chaos, a young German girl runs from one corner to another. She leaves the safety of the bunker to get some water for her family. She does her best to stay hidden from stray bullets and grenades, especially from the eyes of Soviet soldiers. She has heard all sorts of things about them and is not eager to find out if they are true. Suddenly, as she turns a corner, she finds herself face to face with a group of Soviet soldiers. Exhausted by months of heavy combat, the soldiers’ faces light up as they begin to surround her. This is the moment that will scar her forever - a day she learns what it means to be a woman in the horrors of war.
Our story begins in late 1942 when rumors began circulating in Germany that the Red Army had encircled General Paulus’ Sixth Army at Stalingrad. People, accustomed to their soldiers' great victories, found it hard to admit that the largest formation in the Wehrmacht was doomed. Joseph Goebbels announced a "German Christmas," painted in austerity and ideological determination.
Two years later, Berliners had little to celebrate at Christmas in 1944. Bombing raids had reduced much of the capital to rubble. People were exhausted from short rations and stress.
What seemed like innocent dark jokes had turned to gallows humor. One joke went, "Be practical: give a coffin."
Messages were scrawled on the walls of collapsed buildings to tell family members they were staying elsewhere. Above them, Nazi Party notices warned, "Looters will be punished with death!" Air raids were so frequent that Berliners spent more time in cellars and shelters than in their own beds. The shelters, lit with blue lights, were claustrophobic. People pushed in, bundled in their warmest clothes, carrying small cardboard suitcases with sandwiches and thermos. Ceilings were painted with luminous paint for when the lights failed. Berlin did not have enough shelters for its population of 3 million, so they became overcrowded. The initials LSR for Luftschutzraum, or air-raid shelter, were said to stand for "Lernt schnell Russisch" – "Learn Russian quickly." Most Berliners had stopped saying "Heil Hitler!" and instead greeted each other with "Bleib übrig!" – "Survive!"
Berliners feared the invaders from the east. Goebbels’s propaganda repeatedly mentioned atrocities at Nemmersdorf, where Red Army troops raped and murdered hundreds of inhabitants. Their fear was immense, as their arrival seemed inevitable. The Ardennes offensive in December 1944 somewhat revived the morale of the German population. They believed in the Führer and the miracle weapons, thinking they could hold the world to ransom.
The high command, however, did not share this enthusiasm. General staff officers rightfully feared that the offensive in the West would weaken the Eastern Front at a decisive moment. Yet, Hitler was obsessed with reversing the fortunes of war and forcing the Allies to come to terms. He rejected any overtures to the Soviet Union. Guderian warned Hitler about the Red Army’s build-up for a massive offensive. Hitler dismissed the estimates, convinced that Soviet divisions were weak. Hitler stubbornly kept his focus on the West, despite the impending threat in the East.
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