Why wasn't Upham shot by the German soldier?
In Saving Private Ryan Corporal Upham fails to save his comrades, due to fear. He freezes in the stairs and the German soldier comes from the top floor, sees him, and moves past him.
Why didn't the German soldier just point and shoot at him? It would seem like the safest move.
And would have actually saved his life.
Best Answer
The soldier had just fought for his life, brutally killing another man. He walks down the stairs and he sees an impotent combatant. He sees a man who just let his fellow soldier die. This guy is no threat to the soldier and, what's more, he's actually a potential danger to his fellow men.
Additionally, there's no reason to kill him - if Upham was going to kill the German, he would have done it to save his fellow soldier. The German knew that and was probably already traumatized by running a knife through someone.
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Why does Upham not help Mellish?
He believes people should act according to order and fairness, but others don't. For example, Willy, the German soldier Upham shows mercy to, doesn't reciprocate that mercy, and ends up killing both Mellish and Miller.What did Upham say to the German before he shot him?
To clarify what Upham said to the Germans here is a short passage of what he said in English. The words he says in German at the end of the film when conversing with the group of German soldiers are as followed: Upham: "Drop your weapons - hands up, drop your weapons!..... And shut your mouths!\u201dWhy did Upham shoot the guy?
Upham appeared out of a crater between the Germans and their escape route, shouting to put their weapons down. They obliged, and Willie recognized Upham, smiling and saying Upham's name. Upham pauses for a moment before executing him, revenge for killing Miller, finally understanding the horrors of war.What does the German soldier say when he killed Mellish?
For the first time in the fight, the shouts and screams turn to actual words as the German, forcing the downward aimed blade closer to Mellish's chest, shouts at him in German (the translation of which is \u201cGive up, you don't stand a chance! Let's end this here!It Wasn't Me
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Answer 2
It was not uncommon for peaceful one on one encounters like these in WW2 and wars before. The more human instincts often took over when it was one solitary soldier encountering a solitary enemy. This was at least the case with soldiers in Europe. I have heard the Pacific was an entirely different scenario. The Japanese were so aggressive and killing oriented that they would never spare an enemy soldier in such an encounter. It could have something to do with the ethnic divide although I've heard the Japanese were similarly ruthless towards the Chinese. There is something to be said of the mentality and culture of Imperial Japan in those years that made its soldiers and citizens behave in ways contrary to other nations at war.
Answer 3
I thought maybe when Upham was in the building without anyone else, he was confronted by the Germans. They quickly subdued him and threatened to kill him right then and there. They wanted info about his fellow soldiers. And even then, he almost changed his mind and wanted to go up there and kill him but he was still petrified with fear. The last soldier survived, and walked downstairs without even so much as a thought. So yeah, I think he was scared to death and helped set them up a bit.
Answer 4
The German soldier is the one who was captured and released blindfolded. He does not kill Upham because he simply remembers him, and Upham was the soldier who fought the most among them so they would not kill the German because he had given up.
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