Not all were killers (film)
Not all were murderers is a German television film directed by Jo Baier from 2006, which is based on the experiences of actor Michael Degen , which he described in his book of the same name in 1999. In addition to Aaron Altaras and Nadja Uhl , Hannelore Elsner , Dagmar Manzel , Katharina Thalbach and Maria Simon play the leading roles.
action
March 1943: When the SS picked up her neighbors for deportation , Anna Degen, a Jew, decided at the last minute to flee with her eleven-year-old son Michael in order to avoid being arrested by the Gestapo . Michael's father is already dead, he died some time after his release from Sachsenhausen concentration camp . A good friend, Lona, found accommodation for the mother and son with Ludmilla Dimitrieff, a Russian émigré. Michael has problems coming to terms with the new situation. He is also uncomfortable with Ludmilla's need for physical closeness. When Dimitrieff's apartment burns during a bombing raid, the degens are brought to their next accommodation by Karl Hotze, a communist.
The Teuber family takes them in for money ( see also Judenhelfer ). She also “rents” her daughters to vacationers at the front . When Anna Degen escaped the Gestapo by a hair's breadth one day, Ms. Teuber was in too great a danger: she put the Degens in front of the door.
Karl Hotze helps them again to find a hiding place. You are staying with Märtchen Schewe, Hotze's sister-in-law. As designated communists, the Hotzes themselves are in danger, and so the stay with them cannot go well for long either: When the Gestapo is in the house, Anna and Michael Degen have to flee again.
Shortly before, Michael Degen had found a friend in Rolf Redlich, a boy who lives near the Hotzes. Rolf knew very quickly that the Degens were Jews, and Rolf's father knew that from the start. After mother and son have spent a night in the forest after their escape from the fairy tale Hotze, it occurs to Michael that they could find accommodation with the Redlichs. Anna Degen is not particularly enthusiastic at first, but she has no choice but to approach Erwin Redlich. The Redlichs take in Michael and Anna Degen without much words, and it is almost like a family idyll. The lonely man is glad that his house is no longer so empty.
But even this time does not last long: Michael and Rolf are looking for fragments of aerial bombs , artillery and anti-aircraft grenades in the nearby forest , as these are coveted collectibles in the Hitler Youth . So that no one gets ahead of you in the search for the best shrapnel, you go to the forest before the official all-clear. Rolf accidentally releases a dud and is seriously injured by the explosion. Michael is still trying to bring his friend back to the village, but Rolf dies on the way there. His father Erwin Redlich then plunged into a serious crisis. He regards the death of his son as a punishment for driving thousands of Jews to Auschwitz to certain death as a train driver of the Reichsbahn without objection and doing nothing about it. Once again the degens have to flee.
Her path leads her back to Märtchen Schewe, who Anna Degen and her son lovingly embrace. Karl Hotze and his wife Käthe are still in the concentration camp . Together with Märtchen, the Degens experience the liberation by the Red Army - only the Kaddish spoken by Michael can convince the Jewish officer that they are really Jews.
The film ends shortly after the end of the war with the fairy tale Schewes death, who succumbs to jaundice .
Production and publication
The shooting took place from October 10th to November 28th, 2005 in Wroclaw and Berlin . The film was first broadcast on November 1, 2006 on ARD .
criticism
“The milieu-specific film shows the desperation and fear of the protagonists of being betrayed; at the same time he highlights the possible greatness of the human being who can overcome terror through sympathetic humanity and friendship. He makes breaks in the characters visible, allows moments of absurd comedy as well as emotional harshness and tells in strong emotional colors. "
“Jo Baier [...] staged this captivating, sometimes very harsh historical drama about little-known examples of humanity with top cast, based on the childhood memories of actor Michael Degen. [...] An important film that deals with the story of the little people who did not all turn a blind eye to the crimes and prove their humanity. Look out for Axel Prahl in a supporting role as a train driver, who once again delivers an indescribable acting performance. "
Awards
Jo Baier and the leading actors Nadja Uhl and Aaron Altaras won the audience award of the Marler Gruppe at the Adolf Grimme Prize 2007. The film was nominated for the Adolf Grimme Prize 2007 in the fiction category. Enjott Schneider was awarded the German Television Prize 2007 for the best music in Not all were murderers and Die Flucht . Nadja Uhl was nominated for the German Television Prize 2007 and the Bavarian Television Prize 2007 as best actress.
Web links
- Not all were murderers in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Background reports on the filming at the lead ARD broadcaster SWR
Individual evidence
- ↑ Not all were murderers. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Not all were murderers , prisma.de
- ↑ Prize winners 2007. (No longer available online.) Adolf Grimme Institute, archived from the original on July 3, 2011 ; Retrieved June 19, 2009 . 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.
- ↑ Nominated 2007. (No longer available online.) Adolf Grimme Institute, archived from the original on January 31, 2009 ; Retrieved June 19, 2009 . 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.
