Charité at War

[Lianachan]

We’re very much enjoying Charité at War, a German language Netflix production. It’s an historical drama set in the Charité hospital in Berlin between 1943 and 1945. We particularly like the use of actual archive footage for establishing shots, showing war time Berliners going about their lives, rather than filming short sequences for that.

I can’t comment on the historical accuracy, there are others around here vastly more qualified than me to do so, but it seems at least very authentic. It’s very interesting to see the impact of the Nazi regime on ordinary Germans, who are very much also victims. Coupled with the impact of wartime inconveniences such as air raids and rationing, it all combines to provide a depiction of war time Germans that we very rarely see (certainly here in the uk).

Wholeheartedly commended to the house.

[Arneb]

It was on Free TV here, and I watched a few snippets. I liked what I saw but never got around to wathcing the entire show. Maybe I should go and watch it.

The Charité at War series you refer is actually Season Two of the series, the first dealt with the Golden Age of Charité in the lat 19th century, when Robert Koch, Rudolf Virchow, Emil von Behring and Paul Ehrlich made medical history in a Germany that was ascending fast after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71.

[Lianachan]

Found out about that first series when googling the one we’re watching. Certainly going to watch that too.

[Heid the Ba]

Duly noted.

[Richard A]

Rudolf Virchow - that explains it! I remember when I was in Berlin in the mid 80's that there was a Rudolf-Virchow-Krankenhaus in Wedding. So it was named after a pioneering doctor.

[Arneb]

Oh, was hea pioneer!

The Rudolf-Virchow Klinikum still exists. It houses the renowned Deutsches Herrzentrum Berlin. In the eighties, it was a University Hospital affiliated with Freie Universität Berlin - West Berlin, of course. Together with Klinikum Benjamin Franklin it became integrated into the Charité Universitätsmedizin (affiliated with Humboldt University) after re-unification. It's one big hunk of a hospital.