Cross of Iron (1977) - Quotes

Survival Over Ideals in War

Taglines: On the Eastern Front in 1943 the German soldiers no longer had any ideals, they were not fighting for the stinking Party-but for their stinking lives!

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The Brilliance of Peckinpah's Vision

Taglines: The power of Peckinpah has never been so real... or so brilliant!

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Life on the Front Lines of War

Taglines: Men on the front lines of Hell

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The Value of Honor and Recognition

Sergeant Steiner: [shows Stransky his [[w:Iron Cross|Iron Cross] Why do you want it so badly? It's just a piece of worthless metal.

Captain Stransky: It's not worthless to me. Sergeant, if I do not return with the Iron Cross, I couldn't face my family.

Sergeant Steiner: Personally, sir, I don't feel you deserve the Iron Cross.

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Spreading Culture in a Desperate World

Unteroffizier Schnurrbart: Rolf, what are we doing here?

Sgt. Steiner: We are spreading the German culture throughout a desperate world.

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Command Tensions in a Military Setting

Colonel Brandt: Why the Hell wasn't I told of Steiner's return to the battalion?

Captain Stransky: My apologies for that, sir. There were more important things to do.

Colonel Brandt: I want him here at once, about a predicament of which I am sure you don't need to be reminded. Clear, Stransky?

Captain Stransky: [Brandt hangs up the phone; Stransky approaches Lt. Triebig; Triebig leaves] Quite clear, sir. I don't like the tone of his voice. I'm fed up with the whole situation. Well, it doesn't matter anymore. I know from reliable sources that headquarters have already written off the Kuban bridgehead. And soon the whole Crimea will be a cul-de-sac. Report to Brandt. If you have the choice, Triebig, between Biarritz and Siberia, what would you choose?

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Existential Views on God and Suffering

Ansel: Do you believe in God Sergeant?

Steiner: I believe that God is a sadist, but probably doesn't even know it.

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Contemplating Defeat and Future Conflicts

Colonel Brandt: What will we do when we lose the war?

Captain Kiesel: Prepare for the next one.

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Military Orders and Strategic Updates

Colonel Brandt: The cattle cars or whatever they're sending are due to arrive at 1200 hours, provided, of course, that the Russian sappers have not blown up the track. Any questions?

German Officers: No, sir.

Colonel Brandt: [the officers leave; the officers ignore him] Dismissed. Carry on probing and aggressive actions all along the front!

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Strategic Withdrawal from Kuban Bridgehead

Colonel Brandt: We're pulling back from the bridgehead in Kuban. No rear guards, not even Steiner's platoon. We're not retreating anywhere; we're running.

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A Call for Hope and Responsibility

Colonel Brandt: [...] For many of us Germans, the exterminator is long overdue. But I have decided that you are worth saving. You're a brave man. Braver than you think you are. One of these days there will be a need for brave civilians, had you thought of that? In the new Germany, if such a thing is allowed to exist, there will be a need for builders, for thinkers, for poets. I begin to see now what your job is to be. I will make this my final order to you. You will search out and contact all of these... "better people", you call them? And together you'll take on the responsibility that goes with survival.

Sergeant Steiner Commands Immediate Halt

Sergeant Steiner: YOU!!! STOP!

The Iron Crosses of Valor

Sergeant Steiner: And I will show you, where the Iron Crosses grow.

Sergeant Steiner's Reflection on Captain Stransky

Sergeant Steiner: Captain Stransky, you are the rest of my platoon.

Accidental Actions in No Man's Land

Sergeant Steiner: It's all an accident, an accident of hands. Mine, others, all without mind, from one extreme to another, but neither works nor will ever. Yet we stand here in the middle of no man's land. Me and you.

Reflections on Duty and Leadership in War

Captain Kiesel: I feel he thinks he is on some kind of special mission, that is, to achieve spiritual domination of his battalion, thereby symbolising the purity of the great German Wehrmacht itself, even when going down in defeat. If they're the last of us, Stransky and Steiner, then God help us!