Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1951
The Axe of Wandsbek (1951 film)
Buy The Axe of Wandsbek (1951 film) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'The Axe of Wandsbek' (German: 'Das Beil von Wandsbek') is a 1951 East German film, directed by Falk Harnack.
Plot
1934, Hamburg. Adolf Hitler is about to visit the city. Hamburg's executioner falls ill, and is unable to deliver the sentence of four communists who are awaiting capital punishment in jail. Fearing that this would spoil Hitler's visit, SS leader Footh offers a local bankrupt butcher, Albert Teetjen, 2,000 Marks in order to carry out the verdict. The broke Teetjen agrees and follows suit. When his neighbors hear of the execution, they shun him. His wife cannot tolerate her husband's deed and puts an end to her life. Eventually, Teetjen also commits suicide.
Cast
* Erwin Geschonneck: Albert Teetjen
* Willy A. Kleinau: Hans Peter Footh
* Kthe Braun: Stine Teetjen
* Gefion Helmke: Dr. Kthe Neumeier
* Arthur Schrder: Dr. Koldewey
* Ursula Meiner: Annette Koldewey
* Helmuth Hinzelmann: Colonel Lintze
* Erika Dannhoff: Lene Prestow
* Fritz Wisten: Siegfried Mengers, convict
* Albert Garbe: Otto Merzenich, convict
* Hermann Stvesand: Friedrich Timme, convict
* Gert Karl Schaefer: Willi Schrter, convict
Production
The film's script was adapted by Wolfgang Staudte from Arnold Zweig's novel by the same name, which the author wrote at 1943, while in exile in the British Mandate of Palestine. Director Falk Harnack, whose own brother Arvid was executed by the Nazi regime and who in December 1943 escaped from the 999th Penal Battalion to fight with the Greek Resistance, decided to film Staudte's work in 1950.Ingrid Poss. 'Spur der Filme: Zeitzeugen ber die DEFA', p. 79. Sen Allan, John Sandford. 'DEFA: East German cinema, 1946-1992', pp. 68-69.
Reception
'The Axe of Wandsbek' was viewed by 800,000 people in the first three weeks after its release,Ralf Schenk, Erika Richter. 'Apropos Film 2003. Das Jahrbuch der DEFA-Stiftung'. Bertz Fischer (2003), p. 159. and received positive reviews.
The East German political establishment and the Soviet representatives in the country disapproved of the film, which they viewed as promoting sympathy to the perpetrators of Nazi atrocities. The SED politburo denounced it, proclaiming that "it did not present the proletariat resistance as heroes, but rather, their executioners." The film was banned after less than a month, although Zweig himself, who wielded considerable influence as the President of the GDR's Academy of Arts, resisted the move.Matthias Braun. 'Kulturinsel und Machtinstrument: Die Akademie der Kunste, die Partei und die Staatssicherheit', p. 53. Bertolt Brecht offered to write an alternate version, but was rejected. 'The Axe of Wandsbek' was DEFA's first film to be banned.Stephen Brockmann. 'A Critical History of German Film'. Camden House (2010), p. 221. This happened soon after the government established the DEFA commission to regulate the studio and provide political control.Dagmar Schittly. 'Zwischen Regie und Regime. Die Filmpolitik der SED im Spiegel der DEFA-Produktionen', p. 45. Shortly afterwards, Harnack left for West Germany, abandoning his position as DEFA's artistic director. The studio came under the control of party functionary Sepp Schwab.Joshua Feinstein. 'The Triumph of the Ordinary: Depictions of Daily Life in the East German Cinema, 1949-1989', p. 274.
In 1962, the film was allowed to be screened again, in honor of Zweig's 75th birthday. The authorized version was twenty minutes shorter than the original.Miera Liehm, Antonin J. Liehm . 'The Most Important Art: Soviet and Eastern European Film After 1945', p. 92.
References
Buy The Axe of Wandsbek (1951 film) now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1951