For Band of Brothers, Spielberg filmed in Switzerland

In the early 2000s, Steven Spielberg made a series on the Second World War. A youtubeur wanted to visit the places of filming and his curiosity led him, not in Germany, but in Switzerland.

HBO Minister Band of Brothers (“Brothers in arms”, in French) is inspired by real facts. The last episode takes place in Nazi Germany in 1945. In reality, central scenes were carried out in the Bernese Oberland.

A YouTubeur recently set out to find the series of the series. He gathered the fruit of his work in a documentary to see absolutely.

What is it?

The award-winning mini-series Band of Brothers tells the story of young Americans who fight against the Nazis in Europe.

The Easy Company of the 101st American airborne division carried out first -line missions during the Second World War, from 1942 to 1945.

Men jump over Normandy on the day of the landing and fight until Germany under the direction of their charismatic leader, Richard Winters.

Until south-eastern Bavaria, in the border region between Germany and Austria, to be precise. It was there that Nazi figures had settled in the 1930s, in an idyllic nature where they also established a second government seat for Adolf Hitler.

In May 1945, the men of the Easy Company reached this area and began to “denazify” the region. The tenth and last episode of Band of Brothers Returns on historical events that occurred in Berchtesgaden and its surroundings.

Nazis in the Bernese Oberland

Fans of Band of Brothers Perhaps ignore that it is the Bernese Oberland which serves as a setting for the last days of the Nazi regime. The surrender of the Hitler mountain house, which American troops call “Eagle’s Nest” (the eagle’s nest), was not filmed in the south of Bavaria, but at the Col du Grimsel.

The Austrian city of Zell Am See occupies a leading place in the series. But in reality, these are images of the small town of Unterseen, between the lakes of Thoune and Brienz, that the spectator has in front of him.

We are witnessing a military parade of American troops with approximately 300 extras and around forty original vehicles, reported Swissinfo.org in 2000. “For reasons of authenticity”, all street names and traffic signs were removed from the town hall. The lampposts were replaced by period models.

Hofstetten Bei Brienz and Grandhotel Giessbach also served as idyllic filming places.

What makes this video youtube so special?

The German Christoph Aufgebauer testifies:

Thanks to Google Street View, Maps and other tools on the Internet, he ended up locating each place, which he visited in June 2025.

The weather was unfortunately not there at the time of its passage. It liked a lot, so that he couldn’t make enough images.

His modesty honors the filmmaker, his work indeed testifies to a great concern for detail. He designed his documentary while respecting the tone of the mini-series and inserting the corresponding scenes each time.

Here it is, the video

What relationship with You have to save soldier Ryan?

Band of Brothers (2001), production at 125 million dollars, is based on the eponymous novel of the American historian Stephen Ambrose. The book had already inspired the feature film You have to save soldier Ryan (1998) by director Steven Spielberg.

Each of the ten episodes is accompanied by comments from the surviving veterans of the Easy Company. They advised the shooting team.

(Translated from German by Valentine Zenker)