what becomes of the sgt pfluger character . have watched it again and again and can't pick him out after the scene where they are resting after the assault on the factory and before witzleben and co go down into the sewers. .
shareProbably ended up on the cutting room floor.
His character disappears because of editing as he was not critical to the rest of the story.
That's a fate that befalls hordes of soldiers -- they vanish into anonymity and then the question is wondering what ever happened to them.
For a German soldier on the Eastern Front the possibilities are:
1) Survives the War
2) Killed during the war
3) Captured POW and imprisoned as slave labor or political pawn by the Soviets
4) Missing In Action -- nobody knows
Just seems strange that they went to the trouble of developing his character then. He being the most ardent Nazi and being formally introduced to Von Witzland and playing a prominent part in the factory assault. ???
shareI just watched the movie on German television. I own the North American DVD and was surprise to see that a non-trivial portion of the film (perhaps 10-20 minutes) did not make it to the western DVD.
Of particular interest is the fate of Pflueger. He is immediately killed in the surprise shelling of the forward position (just after Rolledor learns his wife is involved with a French POW). Recall that Pflueger had tied a rope between his wrist and radio operator Edgar Emigholz, so that he could keep him from nodding off. In the chaos following the attack, von Witzland is trying to restore order and organize a defense amid the smoke and flying debris. He frantically calls for Pflueger at which point Emigholz retrieves the rope and looks in horror as Pflueger's dismembered arm is attached to it.
Isn't Pfluger in the scene later in the movie while the men are in the penal battalion? I thought he was the soldier who says something like "since it is Christmas I am going to give you each a piece of bread, but only if my former Lieutenant says please". He's in the next scene as well, right before the men go on the mission to destroy the Russian tanks to get reinstated he is seen hitting the men with a weapon as they get out of the truck. Captain Musk then tells him to "get out of my face".
Or is the guy I'm talking about (the soldier who gives the men bread on Christmas and makes the Lt. say please) the soldier who fired the shot while Reiser and Von Witzland were trying to rescue the injured soldiers after calling a truce with the Russians? The guy who says it is against regulations to call a truce? The guy Fritz spits in his face?
Your first paragraph is incorrect -- the second paragraph is right. This guy is also named Mueller. Pflueger is killed in the surprise attack, as I noted in an earlier post.
It's obvious Wenk perishes when he is run over by a T-34, but you'll also note that Mueller does not survive that scene. Both Wenk and Mueller were squad commanders at that point. I'm fairly certain Mueller is the German soldier who is blown in half by the tank round.
No that is the over zealous Muller, dude that shot at Russians during cease fire. Him and Wolk (fat guy) are the only members of the unit to avoid punishment for the hospital incident. Presumably promoted.
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