300 STALINGRAD
scenes were shot in Prague and in Kurivody, Ceská Lípa District of Czecho slo va -
kia (now the Czech Republic), and in Kajaani and Kemijärvi, Finland. Additional
interiors were shot on sets at Bavaria Studios, Geiselgasteig, Germany. There was
no filming at Sta lin grad itself (now Volgograd); destroyed during the Nazi siege,
the city was completely rebuilt after the war so there were no period buildings.
Vilsmaier’s production team made every effort to ensure authenticity; they found
9,000 original World War II uniforms, period weapons, and a number of World
War II– era Soviet tanks that were still operational. In addition to the 40 actors
with speaking roles, the movie employed a production team of 180 technicians,
12,000 extras (mostly Czechs and Germans), and 100 stunt persons. Vilsmaier
also combed a veterans’ hospital near Prague for extras missing arms and legs.
The world’s largest snowmaking machine was used during the filming of the
winter scenes, some of which were shot in the dead of winter with temperatures
as low as −22° F (−30° C). The production bud get was an estimated 20 million
Deutschemarks ($13.2 million).Plot Summary
In August 1942, after the First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) ends in a stale-
mate, German soldiers who fought with Rommel’s Afrika Korps enjoy leave in
Cervo, Liguria, Italy. At an assembly of the battalion, some of the men are awarded
the Allgemeines Sturmabzeichen [General Assault Badge], including Unteroffizier
[Sgt.] Manfred “Rollo” Rohleder ( Jochen Nickel) and Obergefreiter [Se nior Lance-
corporal] Fritz Reiser (Dominique Horwitz). Both men meet Lieutenant Hans von
Witzland (Thomas Kretschmann), a platoon commander on his first leadership
posting, and the squadron travels by train to participate in the Battle of Sta lin grad.
Witzland’s unit links up with a group led by Hauptmann [Captain] Hermann Musk
(Karel Heřmánek), who takes them on an attack of a factory building, resulting in
a large number of deaths and injuries. During a ceasefire, the unit retrieves their
injured soldiers and manages to take a prisoner: Kolya (Pavel Mang), a young
Rus sian boy. However, Rus sian forces swarm the next day, and the boy escapes.
Without a working radio, von Witzland, Reiser, Rollo, Emigholtz (Heinz Emigholz),
“GeGe” Müller (Sebastian Rudolph), and Wölk (Zdenek Vencl) take to the sewers
to find their way back to the German front. Witzland is soon on his own, having
lost his unit underground, but is able to capture a Rus sian soldier named Irina
(Dana Vávrová), who lures him into a sense of safety by offering to help him, but
betrays him by pushing him into the water before running off. Witzland is saved
by his men, but Emigholtz is severely wounded when he unwittingly detonates a
booby trap. His comrades take him to a crowded aid station full of severely wounded
soldiers screaming in agony, and Reiser orders an aid worker to help his friend,
pointing a gun at the orderly. Emigholtz dies, despite their efforts. Hauptmann
Haller (Dieter Okras) captures the men and sets them up in a penal unit forced to
disarm landmines. By late November 1942, a brutally cold winter season has
arrived, and the Soviet forces have outflanked the Germans. Hauptmann Musk
sends the penal unit to the frontline, and Witzland’s squadron has some initial
success defending their position, but Wölk dies in the pro cess. Witzland, GeGe,