Cadets (1941)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Cadets |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1941 |
| length | 93 minutes |
| Age rating |
FSK no JMK youth free |
| Rod | |
| Director | Karl Ritter |
| script |
Felix Lützkendorf Karl Ritter |
| production | Karl Ritter ( Universum-Film AG Berlin ) |
| music | Herbert Windt |
| camera | Günther Anders |
| cut | Gottfried Ritter |
| occupation | |
| |
Kadetten is a 1939 German film directed by Karl Ritter . Mathias Wieman plays the main role as Rittmeister von Tzülow. The film is based on an incident during the Seven Years' War . When Berlin was occupied by Russian troops in autumn 1760, the Prussian army and the older cadets withdrew to the Spandau fortress . Only the youngest age groups up to twelve years of age stay in the cadet house in Berlin. Contrary to an agreement between the warring parties, they are captured and deported eastwards. The film, which was completed in 1939, was not shown for political reasons until after the German attack on the Soviet Union in 1941.
Today it is a reserved film from the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation . It is part of the foundation's portfolio, has not been released for distribution and may only be shown with the consent and under the conditions of the foundation.
action
In the Seven Years' War siege to Russian soldiers in Berlin. To protect the civilian population, the warring parties agree that the Prussian soldiers retreat to the Spandau Fortress . The youngest cadets of the Berlin Cadet House remaining in Berlin are arrested as prisoners of war, contrary to the agreement. With great hardship, they are dragged eastwards. When some cadets attempt to escape, the Russian commander Goroschew - a Cossack colonel - decides to shoot every tenth cadet . Rittmeister von Tzülow, who had previously defected from the Prussian army to the Russians, took this as an opportunity to switch sides again. In a key scene, he hums the “Song of the Cadets” as a sign of his support. Under the command of Rittmeister von Tzülow, the cadets entrench themselves in an abandoned fort . A cadet is sent on horseback to the Prussian troops for help. When the Prussian troops arrive, Rittmeister von Tzülow fell. The Russians move away and the young cadets return to their homeland to the cheers of the Berlin population.
music
The "Song of the Cadets" intoned in the film is well known. There are early versions of the song from the 17th century. The text was published in 1916. The lyrics in the film differ from the version published in 1916. Felix Lützkendorf , author of the script “Cadets of the Great King”, summarized two stanzas and added a new third stanza.
Production notes
The film was produced by ( Universum-Film AG Berlin ) under the production management of Karl Ritter between March 30 and August 1939 at locations in Berlin and Potsdam . Some of the cadets were played by students from the National Political Education Institute in Potsdam. The premiere of the film was scheduled for September 5, 1939 at the 11th Reich Party Congress of the NSDAP in Nuremberg , as the Film-Kurier announced in its August 16, 1939 edition. When the German-Soviet non-aggression pact was signed in August 1939 , the film no longer suited the political climate and was banned. Only after the German attack on the Soviet Union was Kadetten premiered in Danzig on December 2, 1941 .
The film structures were made by Walter Röhrig , the script was based on an idea by Alfons Menne. The production cost was about RM 881,000 .
Awards and reception
The film received from the film testing the predicates "national political value" and "youth worth". With the latter, it was suitable as an educational film for film events of the Reich Youth Leadership ( youth film lessons ).
In its April 4, 1939 edition, the Film-Kurier proclaimed with some pathos the intellectual political intentions behind the cadets : "A youth film that shows what the future officers must be made of."
Bogusław Drewniaks wrote in Der deutsche Film 1938–1945 about Ritter's production: “As in the films 'Company Michael' or 'Vacation on my word of honor', he [Ritter] did not describe an individual fate in the 'Kadetten', but one Community. The fable was not only heroic, but also Prussian. [...] The boys - the juxtaposition of the different youth types was clearly defined - gritted their teeth and showed neither fear nor weakness. "
After the end of the Second World War , Kadetten was classified as a reserved film because of the National Socialist propaganda it contained . Since then, its public performance has only been possible to a limited extent. Today the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation claims the evaluation rights.
See also
literature
- Kurt Abels : Cadets. Prussian film, book for young people and war song in the “Third Reich”. Aisthesis, Bielefeld 2002. ISBN 3-89528-382-7 .
- Kurt Abels : War Education in Film: “Cadets” (1939) , in: Ulrich Herrmann / Rolf-Dieter Müller (ed.): Young soldiers in World War II. War experiences as life experiences (materials on historical youth research), Munich 2010, pp. 63–80.
Web links
- Cadets in theInternet Movie Database(English)
- Cadets at filmportal.de
- Cadets at Murnau Foundation
Individual evidence
- ^ Johann Wilhelm von Archenholz: History of the Seven Years' War in Germany from 1756 to 1763 , Frankfurt 1790
- ^ Ulrich Herrmann (Ed.), Young Soldiers in World War II: War Experiences as Life Experiences , Beltz Juventa, 2010, p. 74
- ↑ Kadettenlied ( Memento of the original from October 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Complete lyrics in the folk song archive
- ^ Otto Kirmse: The song book for higher schools , Leipzig 1916
- ↑ Ulrich Herrmann (ed.), Young soldiers in World War II: War experiences as life experiences , Beltz Juventa, 2010, p. 67
- ^ The German Film 1938–1945. A complete overview . P. 591, Düsseldorf 1987
- ↑ Brief description, table of contents and reviews on the website of Aisthesis Verlag .
