Lützower

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Movie
Original title Lützower
Country of production GDR
original language German
Publishing year 1972
length 93 minutes
Rod
Director Werner W. Wallroth
script Werner W. Wallroth , Hedda Zinner
music Karl-Ernst Sasse
camera Hans-Jürgen Kruse
cut Helga Emmrich
occupation

Lützower is a 1972 produced DEFA - historical film . It was shot by film director Werner W. Wallroth based on the play of the same name by Hedda Zinner from 1955, who was also involved in the scenario , while Walter Janka acted as dramaturge . The film is part of Adolf von Lützow's Freikorps during the wars of liberation in spring 1813, but the real past is only used as a foil for a socialist patriotic interpretation . Despite the elaborate technical , material and artistic design , the film was not a success with the critics , because the cinematic implementation of the stage material was unsuccessful and the production looked like a theater made into a film. In addition to the GDR , the film was also shown in the Czechoslovak Republic and Hungary .

action

In the spring of 1813 in an unspecified Saxon town, a plot against the Lützowers was forged in the house of the merchant and councilor Kerstinn . Kerstinn and his partner Trauberg, who wants to marry Kerstinn's daughter Marie, want to set a trap for Major Lützow in cooperation with French and Prussian army departments . In this way the conservative Prussian army leadership could get rid of restless democratic and patriotic elements, the French the annoying "band of robbers". Kerstinn and Trauberg received an order from the French as blood money to produce clothing for the French army for their mediation services .

Captain Friesen, Lützow's adjutant , plans an attack on the city in order to steal the French war chest in the Kerstinn house . The Lützowers disguised themselves as civilians in order to be able to operate in the city undetected. In the house there are three sympathizers of the Lützower, of whom Kerstinn and Trauberg suspect nothing: Kerstinn's daughter Marie, who is enlightened by the writings of Ernst Moritz Arndt and takes sides against her opportunistic father, Kerstinn's clerk Püttchen, actually an agent of the Lützower, and the French Sergeant Fleuron, who is still convinced of the ideals of the French Revolution and sympathizes with the German patriots. After a while, Püttchen and Fleuron recognize their common goals and come to an agreement so that the Lützowers attack the war chest. However, Friesen is captured by the French.

Fleuron saves Friesen from the court martial and flees with him to the Lützowern, where he joins the volunteer corps. While listening to a conversation between Kerstinn and Trauberg, Püttchen discovers their betrayal of the Lützowern, clarifies this to Marie and also flees with her to the Lützowern. Marie disguises herself as a young man and pretends to be Kerstinn's son at the Lützowern.

Although Lützow suspects from the temporary capture of Trauberg and the discovery of the secret letter hidden with him that he is the victim of a conspiracy of his superiors, he appeals to the critical Frisian on his oath on the Prussian king . The armistice between the allied Prussians and Russians and the troops allied with the French Rhine Confederation is now known and Lützow decides to move to the Elbe to reach the demarcation line .

Fleuron goes on patrol with the anti-French hunter Knaup and discovers that the French are planning an attack on the Lützowers despite the armistice, while Lützow orders the disarmament of his troops in accordance with the terms of the armistice. Despite the dangerous situation due to Knaup's prejudice, Fleuron and Knaup get into an argument and are discovered by French soldiers, whereupon Fleuron is shot. But Knaup succeeds in rescuing the former sergeant and takes him to a farmhouse, where the bullet is removed from him .

Meanwhile, the Lützowers are waiting in a village for their negotiator, Lieutenant Röder, to return. Because of the incident with Fleuron, more and more Lützowers are ready to fight the French, especially the Frisians, but Lützow hesitates. But Friesen refuses the Lützow's request to take over the leadership of the troops instead of the major and remains loyal to Lützow.

During the attack by the French troops, the now Sergeant Püttchen dies in the explosion of the powder car when it is hit by a cannonball . Marie realizes that Lützow and Friesen are responsible for this disaster and remains shot. The battlefield is littered with Lützowern who are being massacred. Meanwhile, Fleuron is being looked after by two women in a farmhouse. At the end of the film, Lützowers gallop against the background of a blood-red evening sun , with a quote from Friedrich Engels fading in :

"... that we appeared for a moment as a source of state power, as a sovereign people, that was the greatest gain of those years ..." .

Historical background

Like the play, the plot of the film deviates significantly from the real story of the Freikorps. While the figure of Marie is still based on Eleonore Prochaska , Fleuron, Püttchen u. a. Fictional characters ; only Major Lützow and Friesen are real historical persons, whereby Friesen was not Lützow's adjutant at the time of the assumed film plot. Although the attack on the small Saxon town (actually Kahla in Thuringia ) and the French attack on a division of the Lützower near Kitzen are based on actual events, the common conspiracy of the Saxon cloth merchants and Prussian generals together with the French is a central plot of fiction . This negative interpretation also the person Lützows did not correspond with the official history of the GDR and the traditional form of the National People's Army , in which a helicopter squadron and a motorized Protect regiment after Lutzow named were. However, Zinner pleaded for socialist patriotism, referring to the example of the Soviet Union:

Terms like fatherland, nation, freedom remained dry for us, lacking vitality or - fluffed up with hollow pathos - made us uncomfortable to the point of rejection. That was at the time of Wilhelminism. The abuse reached its climax under Nazism, it became a travesty. I recognized the mendacity of Nazism and its terrible danger and I fought against it. I had to flee. When I emigrated, I did not yet recognize the strength that a people can draw from its - correctly interpreted - history in order to achieve a real national consciousness, a true concept of freedom. I only got to know that in the Soviet Union ...

Quoted in Hofmann, National-Zeitung, October 24, 1972

criticism

The film critics unanimously criticized the inadequate implementation of the stage material in the medium of film. The actors' dialogues are based on the iambus of Zinner's play, which had a very strong influence on the scenario on which the script was based. Both were complaining stereotype of the characters , the static action and the absence of any voltage . Günther Sobe criticized in the " Berliner Zeitung " that the capture of Kahla had been staged in the " Spitzweg style" and saw the responsibility for it in the script. So Sobe was disappointed with the production:

... It seemed to me that all the prerequisites were given to indulge in a certain wild, daring, romantic patriotism ... Carl Maria von Weber's Lützower Jägerchorus would not get out of my ears. That was my fate!

Because after a figuratively beautiful opening credits I unfortunately saw nothing dragging down in dark rows, unfortunately I did not hear the roaring closer and closer, no horns dangling in my soul filled my soul with horror, but something completely different, namely the question that came to mind : T hat was Lützow's wild, daring hunt?

Sobe, That was Lützow's wild, daring hunt?

However, the image quality and camera work were praised . The film remained in the holdings of the GDR film image offices until it was dissolved in 1992, but was no longer broadcast on television after 1990 . It was not until October 17, 2013 that he could be seen again on MDR television.

Lore

literature

  • Frank Bauer: "Horrido Lützow! History and tradition of the Lützower Freikorps" , Munich 2000.
  • Heinz Hofmann: The adventure of a heroic episode , in: National newspaper of October 24, 1972.
  • HU: History on the screen , in: Neue Zeit from December 24, 1972.
  • Rolf Richter: An episode of the Wars of Liberation , in: Neues Deutschland from November 2, 1972.
  • Ralf Schenk (editor): The second life of the film city Babelsberg. DEFA-Spielfilme 1946-1992 , Berlin 1994, pp. 257, 458.
  • Hermann Schirrmeister: Theatrical verbal battles , in: Tribüne (newspaper) of October 27, 1972.
  • Dorothea Schmidt: The commander of the "black crowd". On the 200th birthday of Adolf von Lützow , in: Militärgeschichte (Berlin-Ost), 2, 1982, pp. 222–224.
  • Günter Sobe: That was Lützow's wild, daring hunt? In: Berliner Zeitung of October 29, 1972.
  • Margit Voss: daring hunt? In: Der Filmspiegel , 1972, No. 23, p. 8.
  • Gerhard Wiechmann: The image of Prussia in the GDR media: DEFA feature film "Lützower" , in: Federal Agency for Political Education (ed.): The change in the image of Prussia in the GDR media , Bonn 1996, pp. 49-70.
  • Hedda Zinner: Lützower , East Berlin 1960.

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