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Abstract
The construction of the Berlin Wall posed a double challenge to the East German state monopoly film industry, the DEFA. Not only was it difficult for many of its employees to get to the DEFA's Babelsberg studios to the south-west of sealed-off West Berlin – they lived either in East Berlin and henceforth had to circumnavigate it, or actually in West Berlin itself. They also found it a challenge politically to explain the Wall to the GDR's population. The first feature film produced on the subject, …und deine Liebe auch, was only a partial success. Deliberately international both in its artistic inspiration and aspects of its content, it struck a highly poetic note, without fully achieving its aim of making its central figure, who failed to flee the GDR because of the Wall, appear either foolish or criminal. The lack of popular success of this film is symptomatic of the moral and philosophical dilemmas in which the GDR's intelligentsia found itself on account of the construction of the ‘anti-fascist rampart’.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Ute Klawitter and Maya Buchholz (Filmarchiv Berlin), Michael Müller (Bundesarchiv Berlin), Dr. Seán Allan (University of Warwick), Professor Patrick Major and Dr. Ute Wölfel (University of Reading) for their help. The excellent translation has been made by Dr. Sarah Poole, to whom I am especially grateful.
Notes
Cyril Buffet is a specialist on Cold War history, especially on France and Germany, the history of Berlin, and East German cinema. He holds a doctorate from the University of Paris IV Sorbonne, and is currently completing a Habilitation at the University of Paris III. His recent publications include books on East German cinema (Défunte DEFA) and on the End of the Cold War (Le Jour ou le Mur est tombé). With Beatrice Heuser, he has edited Haunted by History: Myths in International Relations (Oxford: Berghahn, 1998). He teaches at the University of Reading.
[1] CitationBradley, ‘A Different Political Forum’.
[2] CitationGersch, Szenen eines Landes, 90.
[3] CitationRenke, Konrad Wolf, 62–3.
[4] CitationByg, ‘Geschichte’, 97.
[5] CitationRülick-Weiler, Film- und Fernsehkunst, 198–9.
[6] ‘Bericht über die Lage im VEB DEFA-Studio für Spielfilme’, 5 September 1961. Bundesarchiv Berlin [henceforth Barch] DY30/IV 2/9.06/204.
[7] CitationMitter and Wolle, Untergang auf Raten, 360.
[8] Protokoll der Direktorensitzung, 3 August 1961. Barch DR1/4554.
[9] CitationFeinstein, Triumph of the Ordinary, 122–4; CitationBerghahn, Hollywood, 189.
[10] Aktennotiz, 5 April 1962. Barch DR1/4038.
[11] Quoted by CitationAllan, ‘Projections of History’, chap. 8.
[12] CitationPoss and Warnecke, Spur der Filme, 163–4.
[13] A paramilitary organization created in 1952 and based on the model of the Red Front Fighters of the KPD (Communist Party of Germany) and the Spanish Civil War, the ‘combat groups of the working class’ boasted 210,000 members, divided into centuries (Hundertschaften) and usually members of the SED. They swore to ‘defend, weapon in hand, the achievements of the State of workers and rural labourers’. They were equipped with pistols and AK-47 rifles. Their uniform comprised fatigues, a cap and a red armband. CitationKoop, Armee oder Freizeitclub.
[14] Quoted by CitationSchenk, Regie: Frank Beyer, 31; CitationBeyer, Wenn der Wind, 106–7.
[15] Protokoll der Direktorensitzung, 19 October 1961. Barch DR1/4554.
[16] Wilkening an Rodenberg, 19 October 1961, Barch DR1/8917.
[17] Zentrale Parteileitung (A. Schulz/Acker-This) des DEFA-Studios, Babelsberg, 1 September 1961. Barch DY30/IV 2/9.06/211. CitationFeinstein, The Triumph of the Ordinary, 122–3.
[18] Hannemann an Haus des Autos, 24 October 1961. Barch DR1/4038.
[19] Protokoll der Direktorensitzung, 3 August 1961. Barch DR1/4554.
[20] CitationSchenk, Eine kleine Geschichte, 132–4.
[21] ‘Lage im DEFA-Studio’, 29 March 1962. Barch DY30/IV 2/9.06/204.
[22] Rodenberg to Max Reuther, 12 May 1962. Barch DR1/8917.
[23] CitationSchenk, ‘Die besten Jahre’, 10–28.
[24] Mättig to Röder, Abteilung Kultur im ZK der SED, 14 April 1962. Barch DY30/IV 2/9.06/204.
[25] Rechenschaftsbericht des Studios, 21 September 1963. Barch DR1/4490; VEB Progress (Plischek), 14 August 1962. Barch DR1/4166; Leiter der Abteilung Kultur beim ZK, 1963. Barch DR1/8669.
[26] CitationKersten, Filmwesen, 360–1; CitationPrommer, Kinobesuch, 132–3.
[27] Mückenberger, ‘Verbesserung der DEFA-Spielfilmproduktion im Jahre 1961/62’, 18 September 1962. Barch DR1/8917.
[28] CitationEckert, ‘Die Volkswirtschaft’, 21; CitationZubok, ‘Khrushchev’, 9, 27.
[29] CitationSchütte, ‘ABC-Berichterstattung’, 9–24.
[30] CitationStöver, ‘Das ist die Wahrheit’, 50–2.
[31] CitationHanisch, ‘Nachricht’, 203–10.
[32] CitationWehrstedt, ‘Das Genre-Kino’, 91.
[33] Quoted by CitationAgde, Maetzig, 58–9, 112.
[34] Quoted by CitationStöver, ‘Das ist die Wahrheit’, 60–1.
[35] E. Quett, ‘Filmografie der künstelrisch-technischen und ökonomischen Daten’, Band 4, Babelsberg, 1986. Barch DR117.
[36] ‘Film zeigt Fluggangster’, Neues Deutschland, 13 August 1961.
[37] On 9 September 1948, in front of the ruined Reichstag, the mayor of West Berlin, Ernst Reuter (1889–1953) delivered a speech to more than 300,000 Berliners subjected to the blockade of the city: ‘Peoples of the world … Look at this city, and concede that you must not and cannot abandon it!’
[38] CitationRother, ‘Auftrag: Propaganda’, 93–117.
[39] VEB-Progess-Filmvertrieb 1957–63. Barch DR1/5792.
[40] Wischnewski, Citation‘Die zornigen jungen Männer von Babelsberg’, 176.
[41] A member of the SED since the age of 17, Frank Vogel (1929–99) studied at the Moscow School of Cinema (1952–56) under veteran filmmaker Serguei Youtkévitch.
[42] Paul Wiens (1922–82) was an author and scriptwriter who notably took part in writing the banned film Sonnensucher (Sunseekers, 1958) directed by Konrad Wolf, whose assistant was Vogel.
[43] Quoted by Poss and Warneke, Spur der Filme, 192.
[44] Tribüne, 6 October 1962. Bundesarchiv Filmarchiv Berlin [henceforth Filmarchiv] Pressemappe 17552.
[45] Quoted by Liberal-Demokratische Zeitung (Halle), 3 September 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[46] Wilkening to Rodenberg, 6 September 1961. Barch DR1/8917.
[47] Mückenberger to Rodenberg, 24 September 1962. Barch DR1/8917.
[48] Sonntag, 26 August 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[49] Rodenberg to Wilkening, 19 September 1961. Barch DR1/8917.
[50] Sonntag, 26 August 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[51] Mückenberger to Rodenberg, 24 September 1962. Barch DR1/8917.
[52] CitationVogel, ‘und deine Liebe auch’.
[53] Berliner Zeitung, 4 October 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[54] CitationVogel, ‘und deine Liebe auch’.
[55] Sächsische Neueste Nachrichten, 18 March 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[56] Stuttgarter Zeitung, 19 October 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[57] Berliner Zeitung, 7 October 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[58] CitationRichter, ‘Zwischen Mauerbau’, 167; CitationWalther, Sicherungsbereich, 709–22.
[59] Der Spiegel, no. 42, 17 October 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[60] Quoted by Liberal-Demokratische Zeitung (Halle), 3 September 1962. Filmarchiv 17552.
[61] Quoted by Tribüne, 6 October 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[62] Born in 1930, Armin Mueller-Stahl is one of the favourite actors of the German cinema-going public. After studying music, he began his acting career in 1952. Discovered by Frank Beyer, he played parts in four of Beyer's films, and in more than 70 DEFA productions. In 1980 he left the GDR for the FRG and an international career.
[63] Wilkening to Rodenberg, 6 September 1961. Barch DR1/8917.
[64] Ulrich Thein (1930–95) was one of the most popular actors in the GDR. At the age of 18 he went on the stage, first in the West and from 1951 in the East. A year later he began a prolific collaboration with the DEFA, often playing positive heroes. In 1963, he became scriptwriter and director at the state-television. CitationRichter, ‘Ulrich Thein’.
[65] Kati Székely was born in 1941 in New York where her father, a Hungarian writer, had emigrated. In 1956, the family settled in Potsdam where the father worked as scriptwriter for the DEFA. Székely became well-known for playing Anne Frank. She made films for the cinema and the television. She later became a psychotherapist.
[66] Wilkening to Rodenberg, 6 September 1961. Barch DR1/8917.
[67] Wochenpost, 17 March 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[68] Neuer Tag (Francfort/Oder), 14 September 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[69] Brandenburgische Neueste Nachrichten, 29 September 1962. Filmarchiv 17552. In the 1950s, before becoming a renowned filmmaker, Mexican Alfonso Arau (born in 1932) appeared on television in his country in a song and dance programme, as well as in several films. From 1959 to 1964 he hosted a show on Cuban television.
[70] Wochenpost, 17 March 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[71] Junge Welt, 6–7 October 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[72] One DEFA film deals specifically with Cuba. This is Preludio 11 (1964), directed by Kurt Maetzig, scripted by Wolfgang Schreyer and starring the inevitable Armin Mueller-Stahl. Making reference to the invasion of the Bay of Pigs, it was in part shot during the Cuban missile crisis.
[73] Wiens to Wilkening, 29 October 1961. Barch DR1/8917.
[74] CitationBahr, Mauerstadt Berlin.
[75] Sonntag, 16 September 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[76] Sonntag, 16 September 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552
[77] Märkische Volksstimme (Potsdam), 26 September 62. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[78] Quoted by CitationAllan, ‘Projections of History’, chap. 8.
[79] CitationHoerning, Zwischen den Fronten.
[80] Quoted by CitationStöver, ‘Das ist die Wahrheit’, 57.
[81] Junge Welt, 6–7 October 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[82] Märkische Volksstimme (Potsdam), 26 September 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[83] Berliner Zeitung, 7 October 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[84] Quoted by CitationStöver, ‘Das ist die Wahrheit’, 57.
[85] Betriebsparteiorganisation, ‘Problemspiegel zu Aktivierung der KAG’, 5 December 1962. Barch DY30/IV 2/9.06/211.
[86] E. Quett, ‘Filmografie der künstelrisch-technischen und ökonomischen Daten’, DEFA-Kinospielfilmproduktion 1946–66, Babelsberg, 1967. Barch DR117.
[87] ‘Rechenschaftsbericht’ (Mückenberger), 26 February 1963. Barch DR1/4490.
[88] Kulturministerium/VVB Film, s.d. Barch DR1/4166.
[89] VEB-Progess-Filmvertrieb 1957–63. Barch DR1/5792.
[90] Presseabteilung DEFA to Sekretariat Rodenberg, 5 November 1962. Barch DR1/8917.
[91] CitationGersch, Szenen eines Landes, 91.
[92] E. Quett, ‘Filmografie der künstelrisch-technischen und ökonomischen Daten’, Band 4, Babelsberg, 1986. Barch DR117.
[93] Neues Deutschland, 30 September 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[94] Wochenpost, 22 September 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[95] Presseabteilung DEFA to Sekretariat Rodenberg, 5 November 1962. Barch DR1/8917.
[96] Der Tagesspiegel, 28 September 1962; Das Freie Wort (Suhl), 22 September 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[97] Heinz Kersten, ‘…und Deine Liebe auch’, Der Tagesspiegel, 16 October 1962. CitationPrinzler, Kalter Krieg, 285–7.
[98] Volksstimme (Magdeburg), 5 October 1962 and 12 October 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[99] Deutsche Zeitung (Stuttgart), 20 November 1962. Filmarchiv Pressemappe 17552.
[100] CitationStöver, ‘Das ist die Wahrheit’, 57, note 43.
[101] E. Quett, ‘Filmografie der künstelrisch-technischen und ökonomischen Daten’, Band 4, Babelsberg, 1986. Barch DR117.
[102] Wischnewski, ‘Die zornigen jungen Männer’, 176.
[103] Quoted by Richter, ‘Zwischen Mauerbau’, 220.