Four-part docudrama about the events of late 1943 until May 1945, concentrating on the "liberation" of Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Hungary by the Red Army and local "supporters" from the yoke of Nazi Germany. All the major communist players at the time are shown ad nauseum, including Brezhnev, who played a minor wartime role, but, it just so happens, was the leader of the Soviet Union at the time the film was made. It's the usual, heavyhanded approach: the Communists are everywhere; they are brave, clever, smart, cool AND hot. The future leaders of Soviet Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia are all depicted in a very flattering way: as smart and wise thinkers, extremely brave soldiers and admirable men. Of course, the Western Powers are portrayed in not-so-quite a flattering light. Thus, one should question everything they see. There's just enough truth mixed with the distortions to make one question who's telling the real history of the war in the East. 

Als monumentales Filmepos angelegte Chronik, die entscheidende Phasen und Prozesse des Befreiungskampfes der Völker Ost- und Südeuropas in Zweiten Weltkrieg nachzeichnet. Die beiden Teile umfassen die Jahre 1943/44, die Kriegswende und die Entscheidungsschlachten an der sowjetisch-deutschen Front.