Cross of Iron (VHS, 1998)

The popular thinking is that the German soldier was a genocidal lunatic and while fantasy, this movie is more enlightening than most. Hard to see a WW2 movie that doesn't portray the German as a "Colonel Klink" or a "Sgt.Schultz' type. Truth is the Germans are very,very inventive and clever. The thing in WW2 is that the allies -namely the Brits-broke the Germans' secret codes which helped result in the loss of WW2. A very serious contributing factor.
But this movie is otherwise accurate with the Russian T-34 tanks and Russian behavior otherwise as well as German behavior here.
The idea that a German captain came to the Eastern front just to win the "iron cross' is a bit stretching it as after a point factually; anyone on the Eastern front would get one just for showing up as evidenced in the movie 'Stalingrad".
And yes there was factually a ton of politics involved in WW2 on the German side. This movie is accurate in so far as that goes with a jealous and resentful captain trying to get rid of Steiner; the sergeant, newly promoted who "hates all officers". But is still a soldier and acts accordingly. I love the relationship with that hot nurse and all the fight scenes makes this my favorite WW2 movie.