Who does the research for the BBC? (OK, I should know better than to ask that...)
Germany in WW1 was one of the former 'Great Powers' of Europe and went to war because of misunderstandings and paranoia. I am assuming that the objection to having German war heroes on the box is due to an association with Naziism - which wasn't really a player until the 1930s.
In any case, war movies are about people, usually ordinary people, in extreme situations. I don't see that they're any less valid than any other type of film. In fact, I'd rather sit down to a well-researched film about a German war hero than any 'Die Hard' type movie with one-dimensional 'goodies' and 'baddies'.