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Ohm Krger
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Wikipedia article
'Ohm Krger' (English: 'Uncle Krger') is a 1941 German biographical film directed by Hans Steinhoff and starring Emil Jannings, Lucie Hflich, and Werner Hinz. It was one of a series of major propaganda films produced in Nazi Germany attacking the United Kingdom. The film depicts the life of the South African politician Paul Kruger and his eventual defeat by the British during the Boer War.
It was the first film to be awarded the 'Film of the Nation' award. It was re-released in 1944.
Plot
The film opens with a dying Paul Krger (Emil Jannings) speaking about his life to his nurse in a Geneva hotel. The rest of the film is told in flashback.
Cecil Rhodes (Ferdinand Marian) has a great desire to acquire land in the Transvaal region of the Boers for its gold deposits. He sends Dr Jameson (Karl Haubenreier) there to provoke border disturbances, and secures support from Joseph Chamberlain (Gustaf Grndgens). When Chamberlain seeks the support of Queen Victoria (Hedwig Wangel) and her son Edward, Prince of Wales (Alfred Bernau), she initially refuses but changes her mind when informed of the gold in the region. She invites Paul Krger to London, and believes she is tricking him into signing a treaty.
Krger, being suspicious of the British, has his own plans. Krger signs the treaty which gives the British access to the gold; however, he imposes high taxes and establishes a monopoly over the sale of TNT, forcing the British to buy explosives at high prices. Hence, ultimately, Krger tricks the British by signing the treaty. This impresses some of the British as they find Krger is their equal in matters of cunning, which is supposed to be the defining characteristic of the British. Having been outmaneuvered, Rhodes tries to buy Krger's allegiance. Krger and his wife Sanna (Lucie Hflich), however, are incorruptible. After being rejected, Rhodes shows Krger a long list of members of the Boer council who work for the British. Krger then becomes convinced that the Boers must fight if they are to keep their land, and he declares war against Britain.
Initially, the Boers are on the ascendancy, leading Britain to appoint Lord Kitchener (Franz Schafheitlin) as Supreme Commander of the armed forces. Kitchener launches an attack on the civilian population, destroying their homes, using some as human shields and placing the women and children in concentration camps, in an attempt to damage the morale of the Boer Army.
Krger's son Jan (Werner Hinz), who has pro-British sentiments due to his Oxford education, visits a concentration camp to find his wife, Petra (Gisela Uhlen). He is caught and hanged, with his wife watching. When the women respond in anger, they are massacred.
The flashback concludes in the Geneva hotel room. Krger prophesies the destruction of Britain by major powers of the world.
Cast
* Emil Jannings : Paul Krger
* Lucie Hflich : Sanna Krger
* Werner Hinz : Jan Krger
* Gisela Uhlen : Petra Krger
* Ernst Schrder : Adrian Krger
* Elisabeth Flickenschildt : Miss Kock
* Walter Werner : MP Kock
* Fritz Hoopts : Colson
* Ferdinand Marian : Cecil Rhodes
* Gustaf Grndgens : Joseph Chamberlain
* Eduard von Winterstein : Commandant Cronje
* Hans Adalbert Schlettow : Commandant De Wett
* Friedrich Ulmer : General Joubert
* Hedwig Wangel : Queen Victoria
* Paul Bildt : Dutch Foreign Minister
* Franz Schafheitlin : Lord Kitchener
* Harald Paulsen : French Foreign Minister
* Otto Graf : German Foreign Minister
* Otto Wernicke : British concentration camp commandant
* Gerhard Bienert : Brown
* Josef Dahmen : British Soldier
* Karl Martell : British Officer
* Jack Trevor : British Officer
* Walther Sssenguth : Sergeant
* Max Glstorff : Francis William Reitz
* Lewis Brody : Lobenguela
* Karl Haubenreier : Dr. Leander Jameson
* Alfred Bernau : Edward, Prince of Wales
Propaganda message
'Ohm Krger' was one of a number of anti-British propaganda feature films produced by the Nazis during the war, most of which focused on countries with troubled relations with Britain to show the "true British character", such as South Africa and Ireland.Fox, 'Film Propaganda', pp. 166, 171. Some of these productions, such as 'The Fox of Glenarvon' (1940) and 'My Life for Ireland' (1941), represented British relations with Ireland.Erwin Leiser, 'Nazi Cinema' p97 Other works focused on the Second Boer War, most notably Ohm Krger.Robert Edwin Hertzstein, 'The War That Hitler Won' p344-5 It used the Boer War to present the British as violent, exploitative, and an enemy to civilisation.Welch, 'Propaganda', p. 229. In doing so, it was able to complement the anglophobic views of the press, appeal to the German public's interest in regaining their colonies, and build upon Anglophobia in Germany that had grown with RAF bombing raids on German targets.Fox, 'Film Propaganda', p. 172; Welch, 'Propaganda', p. 230. It was one of a number of films intended to prepare Germany for a planned invasion of Britain.Welch, 'Propaganda', p. 230. Its somewhat crude attack on Britain is typical of later films, such as 'Carl Peters', after Hitler came to the conclusion that no separate peace with Britain was possible.Erwin Leiser, 'Nazi Cinema' p99 It depicts the British as seeking gold, symbolic of barrenness and evil, in contrast to the Boers who raise crops and animals.Richard Grunberger, 'The 12-Year Reich', p 380-1,
Publicity material which accompanied the film particularly drew attention to the role of Winston Churchill in the Boer War, during which he served as a journalist.Fox, 'Film propaganda', p. 173. Tobis also advised the press to emphasise 'what Churchill learnt in the Boer War':
'The same Churchill who in South Africa saw his ideas about exterminating the Boers followed throughout, as the English rulers, voicing polished humanitarian slogans, while driven by mere greed, unleashed the most contemptible actions on a people under attack. [T]he same Churchill is now Albion's prime minister.Quoted in Fox, 'Film propaganda', p. 173.
British concentration camps were portrayed in the film as intentionally inhumane. Meanwhile, major expansion of the German system of concentration camps was being implemented.Pierre Aycoberry 'The Nazi Question', p11 Pantheon Books New York 1981
Parallels were drawn between the Boer War and the Second World War, and between Paul Krger and Adolf Hitler.
Key British figures are demonised in the film, including Joseph Chamberlain and the then Prince of Wales (later Edward VII). Queen Victoria is presented as a drunkard and the British concentration camp commandant, responsible for the killing of female inmates, resembles Winston Churchill.
It also reflects German anger at the loss of all German colonies at the end of World War I, though less directly than 'Carl Peters'.Claudia Koonz, '[https://books.google.com/books?id=jASbCpN1CC8C&printsec=frontcover The Nazi Conscience]', p. 205
Production
The first outline for 'Ohm Krger' was begun in September 1940 by Hans Steinhoff and Harald Bratt.Welch, 'Propaganda', p. 230.
The film had very high production costs of over 5.5 million Reichsmark.Welch, 'Propaganda', p. 231. At the time, Joseph Goebbels had been encouraging film-makers to have lower production costs, but he made an exception for 'Ohm Krger', declaring it to be 'reichswichtig' (important for the State) due to its propagandistic and artistic value; in his 'Diaries' Goebbels - at the "first showing of the completed 'Ohm Krger'" at his house - wrote: "Great excitement. The film is unique. A really big hit. Everyone is thrilled by it. Jannings has excelled himself. An anti-England film beyond one's wildest dreams. Gauleiter Eigruber is also present and very enthusiastic".'The Goebbels Diaries, 1939-1941', edited and translated by Fred Taylor, Hamish Hamilton, 1982, p. 293Welch, 'Propaganda', p. 231. The production used 4000 horses, about 200 oxen, 180 ox wagons, 25,000 soldiers and 9000 women.Berlynsche Tydingen No 1941, 4 April 1941 p.4
Reception
Publicity and press coverage
Directives were issued to the press by the RMVP about how to cover the film. They were instructed to draw attention to the significance of the film, but to emphasise its aesthetic rather than its political content.Welch, 'Propaganda', p. 234.Audience response
The film had its premire on 4 April 1941, two days after being passed by the Censor.Welch, 'Propaganda', p. 229. It was well-received, attracting a quarter of a million viewers in four days upon its initial release, largely as a result of the high expectations generated by the propaganda press campaign, with word-of-mouth recommendations also being important in the film's popularity.Fox, 'Film propaganda', p. 182.The 'Sicherheitsdienst' (SD; Nazi intelligence service) reported that the film exceeded expectations, with audiences particularly praising the 'unity of political conviction, artistic expression and acting performances'. The public were also reportedly impressed by the fact that a film of 'Ohm Krger's quality could be produced in wartime.Fox, 'Film propaganda', p. 182. The film was particularly popular with young audiences, according to both SD reports and film surveys.Fox, 'Film Propaganda', p. 184; Welch, 'Propaganda', p. 235.
Some, however, did question the authenticity of the film.Fox, 'Film Propaganda', p. 183.
Internationally, the film was officially released in only eight independent states (including Italy), all of which were closely linked to Nazi Germany, and in France (first in the occupied zone, later also in Vichy France).Vande Winkel, 'Ohm Krger's Travels', pp. 116-120.
Awards and honours
'Ohm Krger' won the Mussolini Cup for best foreign film at the 1941 Venice Film Festival, at which the Italian Minister for Popular Culture, Alessandro Pavolini, praised particularly the film's propaganda value and the role of Emil Jannings.Fox, 'Film Propaganda', pp. 183-184.Within Germany, the film was the first to be given the honorary distinction 'Film of the Nation' ('Film der Nation') by the Reich Propaganda Ministry Censorship Office.Welch, 'Propaganda', p. 229. Only three other films received this rating, namely 'Heimkehr' (1941), 'The Great King' (1942) and 'Die Entlassung' (1942).Hake, 'German National Cinema', p. 63. Joseph Goebbels also presented Emil Jannings with the 'Ring of Honour of the German Cinema'.Welch, 'Propaganda', p. 229.
Re-release
The success of the film led Goebbels to re-release it in October 1944, as inspiration for the 'Volkssturm'.Fox, 'Film Propaganda', p. 184; Welch, 'Propaganda', p. 235. On 31 January 1945, the film was banned, for fear that the morale of German audiences would be harmed by images of Boer refugees whose houses had been destroyed - 'images that by the time replicated the harsh realities of everyday life in Germany'.Vande Winkel, 'Ohm Krgers Travels', p. 121.Further reading
* Bowles, Brett; Vande Winkel, Roel (2022). "A Hard Sell: The Nazi Film Ohm Krger in Wartime France". 'Journal of Contemporary History'
Citations
References
*
Bibliography
* Fox, Jo, 'Film Propaganda in Britain and Nazi Germany'
* Hake, Sabine, 'German National Cinema'
* Hallstein, C.W., 'Ohm Kruger: The Genesis of a Nazi Propaganda Film', 'Literature Film Quarterly' (2002)
* Klotz, M, 'Epistemological ambiguity and the fascist text: Jew Sss, Carl Peters, and Ohm Krger', 'New German Critique', 74 (1998)
*Taylor, Richard, 'Film Propaganda: Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany'
* Vande Winkel, R, 'Ohm Krger's Travels: a Case Study in the Export of Third-Reich Film Propaganda', 'Historical Reflections / Rflexions Historiques', 35:2 (2009), pp. 108124.
* Welch, David, 'Propaganda and the German Cinema, 1939-1945'
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