BAND OF BROTHERS: WHY WE FIGHT {EPISODE 9} (TV)

Summary

Part nine in this ten-part miniseries based on the experiences of Easy Company, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, United States Army 101st Airborne Division, during World War II, and featuring commentary from Easy Company veterans preceding each episode. This episode begins on April 11, 1945 in Thalem, Germany, as Easy Company surveys a city's overwhelming wreckage while several residents play Beethoven on violins to make the scene less painful. One month earlier, in Sturzelberg, Germany, Easy Company finds no resistance as they enter the country. George Luz tries to speak with a frightened German girl but struggles with the language barrier. The men find "good fraternizing" in Germany as they take over residents' houses and play "finders keepers" with their possessions. Meanwhile, a distraught Nixon has continued his heavy drinking after a disastrous combat jump. Winters tells Nixon that he got demoted, but Nixon is more concerned with what he should write to the parents of soldiers that have just died. Later, Nixon gives his men the latest current events news from America.

Then, word comes in that President Roosevelt has died. Watching for any sign of Germans, newcomer Patrick O"Keefe receives an onslaught of invective from Perconte when they compare combat experiences. That night, Nixon goes for a walk in the rain searching for some whiskey he can steal. The next day, 300,000 Germans surrender and Easy Company moves out to another German town where they believe a guerrilla war may begin. Many are disappointed to be heading to Bavaria rather than Berlin. Meanwhile, Nixon gets a letter informing him that his wife is divorcing him and he begins to lose it. En route, Luz and John Janovec discuss why they are fighting the war while Webster and Joseph Liebgott talk about their plans upon returning to America. Taking over the next town, Easy tosses residents from their homes in order to secure housing for the night. Also, Nixon and Winters's jeep passes a group of Nazis marching away in defeat. Webster taunts the German men for forcing him and the others to travel across the world to fight. Then, Winters orders his men to take over the town. One small group led by Randleman and including the gung-ho O'Keefe heads off into the surrounding forest.

They eventually stumble upon what appears to be a concentration camp abandoned by its guards. Countless emaciated and still imprisoned Jews, Poles, and Gypsies remain behind its locked gate. Winters is quickly brought by Percante to survey the harrowing scene and release its inhabitants, many of whom are overwhelmed at the sight of their saviors. Liebgott, one of the few Jews in Easy, tries to communicate with the prisoners to learn what happened to their captors. One Jew informs him that there is also a women's camp at the next railroad stop. As the soldiers tour the camp, they become increasingly shocked and appalled by what they witness, gradually comprehending the camp's purpose. The soldiers quickly get to work stealing provisions in the nearest town for the camp prisoners. Then, Sink arrives, telling Winters and Nixon that they aren't yet allowed to release the prisoners and must herd them back into camp. The actions upset the increasingly confused Jews, while bringing Liebgott and some of the other soldiers to tears. That night, Winters tells Nixon that concentration camps are being found all over Germany. Nixon notes that most Germans claim to not even have known of the camps' existence. Nevertheless, the locals of all ages are ordered to go to work cleaning up the camps and burying the corpses. Finally, as morale remains at an all-time low for Easy, news comes in that Hitler has committed suicide.

This selection from the Alan Gerry Cable Collection has been made available by the Gerry Foundation, Inc.

Details

• NETWORK: HBO
• DATE: October 28, 2001 Sunday 9:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 0:58:09
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: T:67908
• GENRE: Drama, historical
• SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, historical; World War II; United States Army
• SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 2001
• COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

• Tom Hanks … Executive Producer
• Steven Spielberg … Executive Producer
• Stephen E. Ambrose … Co-Executive Producer, Based on the book by
• Gary Goetzman … Co-Executive Producer
• Tony To … Co-Executive Producer
• Erik Jendresen … Supervising Producer
• Erik Bork … Supervising Producer
• Mary Richards … Producer
• Gene Kelly … Co-Producer
• Billy Fox … Co-Producer
• Ivan Schwarz … Co-Producer
• Bruce Everett … Co-Producer
• Terri DePaolo … Associate Producer
• Claire McGrane … Digital Lab Producer
• James Brett … Music Co-Producer
• Michael Price … Music Co-Producer
• Tim Field … VFX Producer
• Catherine Duncan … VFX Producer
• David Frankel … Director
• John Orloff … Writer
• Michael Kamen … Music by
• Doug Allen … Cast, Alton M. Moore
• Nicholas Aaron … Cast, Robert E. (Popeye) Wynn
• Eion Bailey … Cast, David Kenyon Webster
• Jamie Bamber … Cast, Jack E. Foley
• Philip Barrantini … Cast, Wayne A. (Skinny) Sisk
• Paul Bentley … Cast, Old German Man in Lansberg
• Dean Blanke … Cast, German Grandson
• Kristina Branden … Cast, German Girl with Eggs
• George Calil … Cast, James H. (Mo) Alley, Jr.
• Michael Cudlitz … Cast, Denver (Bull) Randleman
• Dale Dye … Cast, Colonel Robert F. Sink
• Michael Fassbender … Cast, Burton P. (Pat) Christenson
• Dexter Fletcher … Cast, John W. Martin
• David Forest … Cast, Prisoner Saying Danke
• Rick Gomez … Cast, George Luz
• Scott Grimes … Cast, Donald G. Malarkey
• Tom Hardy … Cast, John A. Janovec
• Ben Hecker … Cast, German Man in Fiat
• Nolan Hemmings … Cast, Charles E. (Chuck) Grant
• Matt Hickey … Cast, Patrick S. O'Keefe
• Mark Huberman … Cast, Lester Hashey
• Corey Johnson … Cast, Major Louis Kent
• Malcolm Kaye … Cast, Prisoner with Janovec
• Goran Kostic … Cast, Prisoner with Corpse
• Robin Laing … Cast, Edward J. (Babe) Heffron
• Martin Lawton … Cast, German Grandfather
• Matthew Leitch … Cast, Floyd M. (Tab) Talbert
• Damian Lewis … Cast, Richard D. Winters
• Ron Livingston … Cast, Lewis Nixon
• James Madio … Cast, Frank J. Perconte
• Christian Malcolm … Cast, MP at Lansberg
• Ross McCall … Cast, Joseph D. Liebgott
• Hans Georg Nenning … Cast, German Baker
• Kieran O'Brien … Cast, Allen E. Vest
• Suzanne Roquette … Cast, German Widow
• Will Rottgen … Cast, German Officer in Cart
• Simon Schatzberger … Cast, Joseph A. Lesniewski
• Isabella Seibert … Cast, German Girl in Bed
• Matthew Settle … Cast, Ronald C. Speirs
• Douglas Spain … Cast, Antonio C. Garcia
• Anatol Taubman … Cast, Otto Herzfeld
• Shane Taylor … Cast, Eugene G. Roe
• Gertrude Thoma … Cast, German Woman in Fiat
• Donnie Wahlberg … Cast, C. Carwood Lipton
• Rick Warden … Cast, Harry F. Welsh
• Youngblood Hills, Peter … Cast, Darrell C. (Shifty) Powers
• Maureen Younger … Cast, German Hausfrau
• Ludwig van Beethoven
• Adolf Hitler
• Franklin D. Roosevelt