Ernst Thälmann - Führer seiner Klasse

My review copies "Sohn seiner Klasse", since both DVDs ought to be seen as a whole. The film can only be appreciated if one knows its background. It was made in this curious country the GDR, and Ernst Thälmann was the leader of the German communist party before the Second World War. In fact, Thälmann was seen by the GDR-elite as something of a founding father, perhaps in the same way as the Americans admire Washington or Lincoln. Just like the carving of the first American presidents in rock, so one finds megalomaniac statues of Thälmann in the former GDR. This was of course a bit much for the common people, but the film had a relative success (perhaps also because bus loads of school children and personnel clubs were driven for free to the cinemas - try that with YOUR boss!). Somehow the people in the GDR saw that the roots of communism lie in humanism. Even now most people in the former GDR think of their past as indeed living in a dictatorship, but not in a wrong state. Just look at for instance the realistic, touching and much loved film "Paul und Paula". In addition it should be kept in mind, that Thälmann was active in the same political organization as the much mourned Rosa Luxemburg. On the other hand he was also associated with Walter Ulbricht, who started his career in the GDR as a Stalinist. Thälmann had already been put in a Nazi jail by the time that the cruelties of Stalin reached their climax. The film "Ernst Thälmann" portrays (in 2 DVDs!) his life and death, in a realistic way, but with extreme willingness. Political films are commonly biased, in both east and west, and the communist system has always been to weak to endure criticism from within. The story is therefore a straigthforward historic epic poem, in which the actors do a good job. It is all realism, you get what you see, and there are no hidden meanings, false bottoms or other "bourgeois" deceptions. There is nothing wrong with that. Of course the film can not conceal the violent nature of the communist party, and her destabilizing effect on the Republic of Weimar. In fact it does not even try, since the bringing about of the revolution and the fall of capitalism is the ultimate goal of Leninism, and thus seen as a virtue. The viewer should also bear in mind that in the roaring twenties the Comintern had already become an instrument for the protection of Soviet interests. The revolutionary climate died around 1920. Whereas the proletarian resistance against the fascist Kapp Putsch (1920) was justified and successful, this was not longer the case for the ensuing Ruhr uprising by the communists in 1921. By that time the socialdemocrats and the trade unions had already abandoned the armed resistance against the German military. The Ruhr uprising (against the disarmament of the workers) was without chance, and ordered by the Comintern (with the Soviet president Lenin behind it as driving force) mainly to weaken the German neighbour. The script has no room for such criticism or even doubts. If Thälmann has ever made a mistake, it is certainly not visible in this movie. For some strange reason, the personal glorification of the leaders has always been typical in communist countries. They were probably supposed to represent the human goodness, and be the ultimate example for the common people. With Thälmann this turned out to be especially easy, after his eventual murder by the Hitler fascists. If one is able to feel empathy, and to accept the rather unusual ideological perspective, then the viewer is rewarded with a nice impression of the Republic of Weimar, and the rise and establishment of Nazism.

This was the great pet project of the Communist leaders of Eastern Germany. They could not spend enough money for the big production in which many experienced movie people were involved.

The two Thälmann movies (Son Of His Class and Leader Of His Class) are remarkable for its mass scenes, its action scenes and the use of color. The reds really are redder than anywhere else. They are often surrounded by muddy browns and greys and I wouldn't be surprised if it was an inspiration for Michelangelo Antonioni's Il deserto rosso. The set designs are simply stunning, and the street fighting scenes (in Son) are probably the best of all times.

It is really curious how dismally the film fails in its message – at least for a present day viewer, but I doubt that the people in the mid fifties felt much different. Communist leader Ernst Thälmann, called Teddy, does not come through as a charismatic leader but rather as a stiff, uninspired bureaucrat. No attempt was made to give him a human touch (and his looks didn't help either...) As to his leadership qualities – even in this heavily doctored retelling of the events leading up to the takeover of the ruthlessly totalitarian Nazis, Thälmann appears as a political powerbroker who clearly misjudged the situation and shares the responsibility for the Nazi electoral success in 1933.

Thälmann is presented as a strangely bloodless martyr to the Communist cause. As he sits in prison awaiting his execution (Stalin reportedly was not eager to help even when he was quite friendly with the Nazis), he literally becomes a flag that is first handed to the Thälmann brigade in the Spanish civil war (they lose) and then to a detachment of Soviet tanks named after him. In the final sequence Thälmann fuses with the red flag on his way to the gallows, the viewers are spared the final humiliating scene.

Despite all the shortcomings I can recommend the two Tälmann movies – especially to film buffs who are interested in the deliberate use of color. The aesthetic is not unlike the one used in those beautiful Powell/Pressburger movies like Col Blimp. And there is a beautiful love story between Fietke Jansen (who calls himself a ‚pupil of Thälmann', whatever that may mean) and his wife Ännchen. The great performances of Hans-Peter Minetti and Karla Runkehl are really touching – it hasn't anything to do with Communism and shows clearly that love transcends ideology. You somehow get the impression, that here was one of the few emotional emergency outlets for the many talented artists who worked for that oppressive system.