Liberators Take Liberties, part 1 (1992)

• 69%
• 1992
• Documentary
• Helke Sander
• Helke Sander
• Hildegard Knef
• Lev Kopelev

Helke Sander interviews multiple German women who were raped in Berlin by Soviet soldiers in May 1945. Most women never spoke of their experience to anyone, due largely to the shame attached to rape in German culture at that time. She documents the pregnancies, abortions, illegitimate children that resulted, as well as the break down in family relationships, the stigmatization these women experienced, and mental and physical duress these women underwent at the time of the rapes and as treaties were passed between the German and Soviets that never mentioned reparations for the rapes. She also interviews Soviet and German soldiers who admitted to raping women during the war. Sander uses archival footage, re-enactment, personal testimony, and voice over commentary to describe the extent and result of wartime rapes. She also makes clear that her work is politically motivated to bring wartime rape to the attention of international committees, arguing that war rapes continue today. Her film convinced the UN to list wartime rape as a war crime.