Master of death

Movie
Original title	Master of death
Country of production	Germany
original language	German , Spanish , English
Publishing year	2015
length	90 minutes
Age rating	FSK 12
Rod
Director	Daniel Harrich
script	Gert Heidenreich , Daniel Harrich
production	Danuta Harrich-Zandberg , Walter Harrich , Daniel Harrich
camera	Gernot Roll
cut	Bettina Boehler
occupation
	Hanno Koffler : Peter Zierler; Heiner Lauterbach : Alexander Stengele; Alina Levshin : Maria Zierler; Veronica Ferres : Sabine Stengele; Udo Wachtveitl : Otto Lechner; Axel Milberg : Heinz Zöblin; Herbert Knaup : Moritz Hollstein; August Zirner : Andreas Niethammer; Michael Brandner : Kurt Weisgerber; Michael Roll : Bernd Herkenrath; Barbara Philipp : Lisbeth Kraus; Daniela Schmidt : Penelope Rosales; Fernando Becerril : General Aquila; Maya Zapata : Pina Aquila; Nestor Rodulfo : Victor Rosales; Christian Oliver : Ulrich Hemberger; Christof Wackernagel : Public Prosecutor;

Master of Death is an investigative feature film by the filmmaker Daniel Harrich from 2015, which has been awarded the Grimme Prize and is based on his years of research into illegal arms deals and the involvement of German officials from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy , the Foreign Office , the Ministry of Defense and the Federal Office of Economics and export control detects. Several criminal investigations are currently ongoing against German small arms manufacturers based on the research carried out by this project.

On the day of the broadcast, September 23, 2015, a current hour was held in the German Bundestag on the arms deliveries to Mexico researched for the film.

On November 5, 2015, the Stuttgart public prosecutor brought charges against six former employees of the German arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch on suspicion of violations of the War Weapons Control Act and the Foreign Trade Act of the Federal Republic of Germany when exporting to Mexico.

When Grimme Prize in 2016 were Daniel Harrich and his team for the research on the ARD theme night Deadly exports - consisting of the investigative feature film Master of Death , the documentation Deadly exports - As the G36 came to Mexico and contributions in the broadcasts Weltspiegel , Report Mainz and Report Munich - excellent. The Grimme Prize for journalistic achievement was awarded for the first time.

In 2017, the team behind Masters of Death received the Marl Media Prize for Human Rights from Amnesty International .

Master of Death has led to criminal investigations and court judgments against German arms manufacturers for illegal exports and thus made his own sequel Master of Death 2 possible in 2020 . It is considered unique that a fictional feature film continues to write itself in reality.

action

Peter Zierler, a young family man in a quiet little town in Württemberg, works for the weapons manufacturer HSW, like his father and most of his friends. Firmly rooted in the HSW family, the manufacture and sale of weapons are a matter of course for Peter.

Peter's boss Alexander Stengele has just been promoted to head of sales at the company, he enjoys the trust of the managing director Heinz Zöblin and currently has the task of convincing the military and police in Mexico of the latest generation of HSW weapons.

Accompanied by Alex, Peter has the chance to travel to Mexico, where the excellent shooter impressively demonstrates the qualities of a new assault rifle . Otto Lechner works for the company on site, and through him Peter gets to know the tactics in foreign business: the importance of relations with the German embassy, maintaining contacts with the generals and the relevant ministries in Mexico City .

In fact, the HSW employees manage to thread a big deal. At home in the company headquarters there is great satisfaction with this. However, because of the human rights violations, Mexico does not meet the requirements of the War Weapons Control Act , and business threatens to fail. Only when an agreement is reached with the authorities to exclude the provinces most severely affected by the drug war from delivery in a declaration of end- use does the export become permissible and the Mexico business perfect.

Alex and Peter travel back to Mexico to train the users. They are also active in actually blocked provinces. This trip is a shock to the young weapons expert. He experiences how deadly reality can be here and that the weapons supplied by his company are used.

During a demonstration by opposition students, the situation between the demonstrators and the extremely nervous police escalated. Peter watches in disbelief as shots are fired. A young woman and a man are shot with the HSW rifles that have just been handed over to the police and die on the street. Peter is deeply insecure. Also because his colleagues Alex Stengele and Otto Lechner don't share his horror. He can only get his mission in Mexico over with with great effort.

Back in Germany, Peter cannot let go of what he has experienced. Nobody in the company wants to hear his objections. Instead, Alex Stengele and managing director Zöblin are trying to get him back on track. But Peter cannot go back, even if he and his wife Maria become outcasts in the village. HSW has made a severance offer that is linked to an obligation of confidentiality and an exorbitant contractual penalty. Peter refuses.

When he and his family were even shot one evening, he went on the offensive. He decides to take a public position against HSW's export practice. A peace activist becomes his liaison, who also helps him keep his family safe. The public prosecutor starts an investigation. As a result, Alex comes under massive pressure as Peter's immediate supervisor in the company. When he was made responsible for illegal exports to Mexico, he too was ready to take a stand against HSW. They become valuable witnesses for the prosecution. But the life of Peter and his family will never be the same again.

background

German weapons appear in many crisis areas of the world, contrary to the supposedly restrictive state control mechanisms. At the center of the allegations are the German arms companies and the officials responsible for controlling war weapons exports from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defense and the Federal Export Office. The thriller "Masters of Death" takes up this topic and tells of such a company. The story of the film is fictional, albeit based on current investigative research.

premiere

The world premiere took place on June 30, 2015 at the Munich Film Festival . The film had its first broadcast as part of the ARD themed evening "Deadly Exports" with an average of 4.16 million viewers on September 23, 2015 in the first .

On September 8, “Master of Death” was shown in the German Bundestag at the invitation of MPs Frank Schwabe (SPD), Frank Heinrich (CDU) and Amnesty International . Frank Heinrich (CDU), Rainer Arnold (SPD), Jürgen Grässlin ( Aktion Aufschrei ), Matthias John (Amnesty International) and Daniel Harrich (director) took part in the following political panel discussion .

Effects

First, in November 2015, the Stuttgart public prosecutor's office brought charges against six former employees of the German arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch . The reason: suspected violations of the War Weapons Control Act and Foreign Trade Act of the Federal Republic of Germany when exporting to Mexico. In April 2016 it became public how comprehensive the accusation actually is: In the exact wording, the indictment states that the accused "collectively and through others, professionally and as a member of a gang that has joined forces for the continued commission of such crimes", would have acted. This allegation against arms dealers is a precedent.

Shortly after the award of the Grimme Prize, it became known that the Munich I public prosecutor's office was conducting investigations against the investigative journalists. It should be about the allegation of the publication of secret official documents. The investigation is carried out against the authors of the non-fiction book “Network of Death - The Criminal Interweaving of the Arms Industry and Authorities” (Daniel Harrich / Jürgen Grässlin / Danuta Harrich-Zandberg, Heyne Verlag) and the filmmakers behind the ARD theme evening. Heyne Verlag speaks of an "attempt to intimidate".

In May 2016, it became known that the former Heckler & Koch managing director and district court president a. d. Peter Beyerle another preliminary investigation is being conducted. It is about the suspicion of attempted bribery of public officials in connection with the Mexico deals of Heckler & Koch and the then State Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs Ernst Burgbacher (FDP).

Reviews

This section consists only of a cunning collection of quotes from movie reviews. Instead, a summary of the reception of the film should be provided as continuous text, which can also include striking quotations, see also the explanations in the film format .

The film was largely perceived positively and politically highly explosive.

“When the preparations for this film were made, most of the people involved were preparing for a romantic comedy. In the Black Forest she should play and not cloud any water. But in truth it was about a secret project that is one of the most important of the ARD in recent times. 'Master of Death' tells a fictional story with very real backgrounds and cruel consequences, brought to light by the first-class research of a journalist: A German arms manufacturer delivers assault rifles to Mexico, where they promptly end up in the hands of the wrong people. With the 'devices', as the weapons are called at HSW, two students are shot. Many have an interest in ensuring that this does not stop the path of arms. In Germany you just have to pull on the right strings, and in Mexico conflicts are resolved in the familiar way - with a ball. "

- Michael Hanfeld : Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Feuilleton from September 23, 2015

“What do a small town idyll in southern Germany have in common with shootings in Mexico? Very very much. The ARD film 'Master of Death' traces how German rifles get to Central America. That bangs in every way. "

- Arno Frank : Der Spiegel Online Kultur from September 22, 2015

“The film is guarded like a state secret. Nobody who was not involved in its production was allowed to see it before it had its world premiere that Tuesday afternoon at the Munich Film Festival. Not even the usual press presentations were scheduled. 'Masters of Death' is hot commodity. Because the feature film is faster than the public prosecutor's office. It was only this weekend that there was news about the dicey case: the scandals surrounding the assault rifle by the German armory, Heckler & Koch. "

- Susanne Hermanski : Süddeutsche Zeitung Kultur from June 30, 2015

“With“ The Blind Spot ” Daniel Harrich created the genre of investigative feature films. Now he has made another feature film and a documentary about it - about illegal arms deals between Germans and Mexico. Theme evening on ARD: Arms exports: Strong film "Masters of Death". "

- Marcel Kawentel : Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung Medien from 23 September 2015