us-005578-irn1001963
scope and content: Reel 1 The opening title indicates that the film was written and begun in 1942 and that it is based on historical events. The first scene takes place in Breslau in 1813. General Wilhelm von Gniesenau bursts into the chambers of King Friedrich Wilhelm III and chastises him for refusing to enlist the citizenry to aid in the war effort against Napoleon. Gniesenau reminds the King of the perfomance of the citizens and especially the Mayor of Kolberg. The film flashes back to Vienna in 1806, where Franz II renounces his throne under the peace imposed by Napoleon. Veit Harlan, the director of Kolberg, was allowed to use the actual crown, orb, and scepter of the Holy Roman Empire in this scene. The scene changes again, this time to Kolberg, where the citizens are enjoying a festival with music and dancing.
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn1001963/alternateIDs/2
has end date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1945-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
identifier: irn1001963
type: RecordSet
has or had some members with language: deu
title: Idealized picture of Prussia to garner German support for total war
has or had subject: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/vocabularies/ehri-terms/986
note: Kolberg is a Prussian city on the Baltic coast that was besieged by Napoleon's victorious army in the Franco-Prussian War in 1806-1807. Under the command of the patriotic Mayor Nettelbeck, ordinary citizens prepare to set up a civilian militia while the local army commander Colonel von Lucadou plans to surrender. With the help of the young General von Gneisenau, the people's army succeeds in holding their city despite heavy shelling. This film was produced in 1944 during the last stages of the war. With this"Durchhaltefil" [film to keep up the spirit], based on a highly idealized picture of Prussia, Goebbels hoped to convince Germany's population to engage in total war and fight to the finish. Goebbels believed that only complete mobilization of the civilian population could keep Germany from being defeated. In the war years, the depiction of obedient heroism and unconditional self-sacrifice generally shifted from the Hitler Youth or SA-man towards the soldier and brave citizen. By exaggerating the audacious defense of a German city by its own citizens, this historical drama was intended to strengthen the bond between battlefront and home front. After preliminary plans going back as far as 1940, Goebbels ordered this"Staatsauftragsfil" [movie commissioned by the state] from Veit Harlan in June 1943 and he instructed Harlan to spare no expense in its production. Although the prologue claims that the film was"based on historical facts" at several points historical evidence is distorted, most strikingly by turning the actual final surrender of Kolberg into a fictitious victory. Goebbels intervened several times to change the script on his favorite movie project especially by cutting demoralizing battle scenes and rewriting speeches. The speeches of Gneisenau in parts closely resemble Goebbels' own speech of February 18, 1943 on total war:"Volk steh auf, Sturm brich los", which itself was based on a 1813 poem of Theodor Koerner, a martyr of Prussia's wars of liberation.…
note: Also known as:"Burning Heart" (USA),"Entsagun" (Switzerland),"Brinnande Hjaerta" (Sweden). The film was shot from October 22, 1943 until August 1944 in Ufa-city Babelsberg, Berlin and environs, Kolberg, Koenigsberg. Further distinctions:"staatspolitisch und kuenstlerisch besonders wertvol" [state-politically and artistically especially valuable];"kulturell wertvol" [culturally valuable];"volkstuemlich wertvol" [folks valuable];"anerkennenswer" [creditable];"volksbilden" [educating the people];"jugendwer" [of value for the youth]. The film also screened in Berlin, Breslau, Danzig, and Hamburg. The movie was re-released in 1965 by Erwin Leiser under the title"30. Januar 1945 (Kolberg" "30th January 1945 (Kolberg"] with an added commentary, scenes from speeches by Goebbels, and the entire Deutsche Wochenschau [German weekly newsreel] 3/1945, but was withdrawn shortly thereafter. Kolberg was evacuated on March 21, 1945 by the German troops and is today the Polish city of Kolobrzeg. Actors: Heinrich George (Mayor Nettelbeck), Kristina Soederbaum (Maria), Paul Wegener (Colonel Loucadou), Horst Casper (General Gneisenau), Gustav Diessl (Lieutenant Schill), Otto Wernicke (peasant Werner), Irene von Meyendorff (the Queen), Kurt Meisel (Claus), Jasper von Oertzen (Prince Ludwig Ferdinand), Jakob Tiedtke (Reeder), Hans Herrmann Schaufuss (Zaufke), Paul Bildt (school principal), Franz Schafheitlin (Fanselow), Charles Schauten (Napoleon), Heinz Lausch (Friedrich), Claus Clausen (King Friedrich Wilhelm III), Joseph Dahmen (Franz), Franz Herterich (Emperor Franz II), Greta Schroeder-Wegener (Miss von Voss), Fritz Hoopts (Timm), Werner Scharf (General Teulié), Theo Schall (General Loison), Herbert Klatt, Margarete Schoen, Inge Drexel, Paul Henckels, André Saint-Germain, Betty Wald, Herbert A.E. Boehme Actress Kristina Soederbaum was the wife of director Veit Harlan. Beside some scenes missing at the end of Film ID 979 (between the French attack on the farm and its deliberate burnin…
has record set type: Item
has or had identifier: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005578-irn1001963/alternateIDs/1
has beginning date: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/dates/1945-01-01