5 best movies and shows leaving Netflix in February 2021

5. Alone in Berlin

As a big World War II fan, Alone in Berlin is one of the better World War II films.

While many World War II movies focus more on the war fronts – Fury, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, The Pacific, etc – Alone in Berlin focuses on the culture in Berlin during 1940s war-torn Germany and the dangers of the Gestapo.

War films are some of my favorites, but I really enjoy non-fiction war films, specifically. And, to say I’m obsessed with World War II is an understatement. Many people claim their favorite books are fiction books based on fantasy stories such as The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, but mine isn’t. My favorite book of all time is The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, a 1,900-page behemoth chronicling the fall of Nazi Germany and Hitler’s rise to power. The book provides a brutal and unapologetic insight into the brutality of the Nazi regime and how the Gestapo were ruthless in their bigotry and antisemitism.

Alone in Berlin captures this. The story follows a couple in 1940 whose son died after conscription was introduced. Their only child was sent to France to fight a war he nor his parents supported in the first place. One scene, in particular, is when their neighbor is arrested for being a Jewish woman and is dragged out of the apartment building kicking and screaming as the main characters do nothing to stop it. After their son dies, they start writing postcards urging people to rise against the Nazi’s and petition other countries for help.

Catch Alone in Berlin before it leaves on Feb. 14.