Free Thaelmann 1935, 1935.

Marlborough, Wiltshire : Adam Matthew Digital.

online resource (video file 0:23:42) : Silent, Black and White.

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Silent film with English inter-titles on the German Communist leader Ernst Thälmann and the campaign to release him from Buchenwald concentration camp. The film opens with a biography of Thälmann's life as a dock worker, trade unionist and fighting in the Red Front. It includes footage of communist gatherings and rallies in Germany during the 1920s, and the fights between protestors and police that broke out at such events. There is film of funerals of fallen communists, at which speeches were made, and of further parades, speeches and sports festivals. Later in the documentary there is footage shot during the presidential election campaign of 1932. Banners and posters line the streets, while fliers and newspapers are handed out and crowds gather in Berlin. Thälmann wins 5 million votes, and is pictured speaking to a cheering crowd. The titles now state that millions voted for Hindenburg to save democracy, but he appointed Hitler as chancellor. The film shows moving images of Nazi rallies and banners, and stills of Hitler and Hindenburg. The inter-titles make it clear that it is the forces of capital that ensured Nazi power. The film moves on to fascist violence and footage of the burning of the Reichstag, and the blame that was falsely placed on the communists. There is film from the trial. Afterwards, Dimitrov, Popov and Tanev are shown arriving in Moscow and dining as true Soviets. Footage turns back to Germany, showing torch lit rallies and the burning of books. The records of some of the people tortured and killed by the Nazis are also shown, as are stills of some of the treatment they suffered. The camera cuts between tied hands and police arrests, while the inter-titles insist that true resistance will never be broken. The film shows shadowy figures preparing for a workers' uprising and distributing anti-fascist propaganda. It then shows footage from various countries calling for Thälmann to be freed.

Socialism on film: the cold war and international propaganda.

Online / Video & Film

English

February 02, 2018

Adam Matthew Digital (Firm), digitiser.