The City Without Jews

Of the many remarkable stories concerning the recovery and restoration of lost films, none is more remarkable than the story of THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS. In fact it's downright incredible. This 1924 Austrian silent movie about the expulsion of the Jewish population from a major European city and the disastrous circumstances that follow, was a commercial success and circulated until 1933. Not surprisingly it was totally suppressed by the Nazis after taking over Austria in 1938 and it then disappeared for over 70 years. 13 years earlier in 1925 Hugo Bettauer, the author of the book on which the film is based, was murdered in Vienna by a member of the Nazi party. The murderer was convicted on a plea of "temporary insanity" but then freed after only 2 years in an "Asylum for the Criminally Insane" Tragically it proved to be an prophetic omen of things to come.

The story concerns the fictional city of Utopia (a barely disguised Vienna) whose politicians vote to expel the Jewish population after blaming them for the economic and social unrest following World War I. The expulsion results in the city being financially boycotted by European banks and a drastic decline in quality merchandise. Tourism also dries up and the city is in far worse shape than it was before. A former Jewish citizen, posing as a Roman Catholic French artist, rents the largest suite in the finest hotel and then secretly begins a campaign to get the law repealed. As this is a movie, he eventually succeeds and the Jews are welcomed back. Things return to normal and everyone except certain politicians are happy. Unfortunately movies are not real life and we all know that world history would take a different tack and the Holocaust would be the result.

Now for the incredible part. 60 years after it disappeared, part of the film resurfaced in The Netherlands. Then in 2015 the rest of the missing footage was discovered in a flea market in Paris. A publicly funded campaign to pay for the movie's restoration followed the discovery and now 5 years later it is available for streaming and on home video. The restoration by Film Archiv Austria is beyond remarkable as the finished product looks astonishing (compare it with the restoration of the complete METROPOLIS). The silent movies of Weimar Era Germany are well known but those of Austria from the same time period are not. This makes THE CITY WITHOUT JEWS a major discovery in more ways than one...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

It is somewhat ironically apposite to watch this now in the UK where we are still having politically charged conversations about anti-Semitism. This silent film is a wonderfully satiric rendition of the Bettauer story about the citizens of a city who fear that it is steadily being taken over by the Jews. Via a series of regulations and eventually law the Jewish are persecuted then ultimately banished. Thereupon, their chickens come home to roost; their city collapses into chaos and the Jews are invited to return - very much on their own terms. The futility and short-sightedness of a "blame culture" is writ large. Personally, I didn't see this as a precursor of the Holocaust; though I can see how the polarised vision of Jewish faith and ethics could certainly provide the oxygen ultimately required for such irrational hatred. It also served to remind me of the huge talents of the musicians who provided the accompaniments to many films like this.

"Die Stadt ohne Juden" ("The Nation without Jews") is a weird political allegory, almost a fantasy. It has no supernatural elements, yet still feels like a fantasy due to its air of unreality. The story seems very far-fetched, and yet - in light of what actually happened to the Jews in Europe only a few years after this film was made - this far-fetched story is less extreme than the bizarre reality of the Holocaust. This film goes a long way towards making the Holocaust look dull and boring.

The film takes place in the far-future world of 1976, in the faraway city of Vientria. The good burghers of Vientria have just passed a new law, expelling all the Jews from their city. Leo Strakosch, a local Jew, is betrothed to the fair Lotte, a Gentile. Reluctantly complying with the law, Leo prepares to leave Vientria, but he confidently tells Lotte that he will return for her soon.

A few years pass. Without the contributions of its former Jewish citizens, the city of Vientria has now plunged into economic depression and artistic stagnation. (Unfortunately, this fits the anti-Semitic stereotype that Jews secretly control the economy.) With the entire city in decline, the burghers are starting to consider rescinding the law and allowing the Jews to return.

One Jew has already returned to Vientria: Leo Strakosch, wearing a ridiculous black moustache which is apparently meant to disguise him as a Gentile, but which only makes him look more Jewish. Posing as a non-Jew, Strakosch now gets involved in local politics and stands for office, hoping to get elected to the city's council so that he can rescind the law against the Jews.

"Die Stadt ohne Juden" features dull acting, ponderous photography, and very little of genuine interest. A title card at the beginning of the film identifies the year as 1976, but everything looks like 1924. This film is preaching to the choir. In 1924, a few people were already aware of the growing trend of European anti-Semitism and its danger to everyone. But most adults in 1924 either didn't give a damn about European Jews, or actively supported the politicians who advocated "relocation" of unwanted Jewish citizens.

I'll give this film high marks for good intentions but very low marks for actual execution: one point out of 10.

In the Republic of Utopia, because of the bad economic crisis ailing the nation, the Jews are made the scapegoats for the economic and social ills affecting the population; therefore, the government decides to expel them.

Herr Leo Strakosch is among the exiled. He is engaged to Counsellor's Linder's daughter. He gets into the Republic, in a clandestine way, to show to the society the wrongness of their anti-Semitic prejudice.

This Austrian production is very surprising because of its foresight. It is directed by Herr H. K. Beslauer, who did well handling the very delicate matter of anti- Semitism as a tragic comedy. It is important to take into account the fact that we are talking about a 1923/24 Austrian production; which seems to foresee the sad events that happened to the Jewish community in Austria and Germany only ten years later. Hugo Bettauer, who was Jewish, wrote the book that the film was based on. A year after the film's premiere he was murdered by a young Nazi.

This is an excellent restoration by the hairy youngsters from the Austrian film library. Thanks to it, the magnificent photography can be shown with its original tints. This film is noteworthy for more that its artistic qualities, being a very interesting document of the Austrian society during the very difficult 20's. It is one of those very rare occasions that the European cinema, particularly the Austrian, has faced so directly (even though it is managed through a very subtle comedy), the anti-Semitism brought about by the economic and political crisis during the first half of the XX century. It has nothing to do with the German propagandistic and racist productions from the end of the 20's and through all the 30's.

Taking into account that references to this film are very scarce, this Herr Von does not know any information about Herr Hans Karl Breslauer or his other work. This film is a very good example, for its historic value, of "cinematic archaeology", and one is grateful for it.

The original novel from the writer Bettauer, had been and still is very popular in his country due to its cynical and sarcastic humour. The anti-Semitic comments are presented in a deadpan manner: "The Jews are guilty of our miseries"; "Even through the centuries of oppression (the Jews), they have managed to position themselves into the primary seats of the world thanks to their intelligence;" or "They sit into the most powerful banks of the world" or this incredible comment: "They control the economy and write theatre plays"…. ( MEIN GOTT ). In the film, one of the Parliamentarians, when they are debating whether or not they will expel the Jews, says: "We do write theatre plays!" and the Speaker says: "It is true; however, the big difference is that ours do not get premiered". There are many funny situations and an ingenious mocking of stereotypes.

There is also beautiful photography by Herr Hugo Eywo, whose excellent work can be seen at its best thanks to the very well made restoration, The production design, by Herr Julius Von Borsody is also meticulously done.

Even though this Herr Graf will not qualify this film in its totality as an "Expressionist", some influences from this great cinematographic movement can be found in the movie, especially when Counsellor Bernart is secluded in a psychiatric hospital room, where the decoration and the scene remind us in an obvious way of "Das Kabinett Des Doctor Caligari" (1920) by Robert Wiene.

The actors' performances are convincing and unpretentious though they are mostly playing (deliberate) stereotypes and certainly silent film fans are thankful to have this rarity, a black comedy that is prophetic of the anti-Semitism that only ten years later will take hold of the same community.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave, because this German Count has to take a stroll around the Tyrol.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/

"A title card at the beginning of the film identifies the year as 1976, but everything looks like 1924. "

The film is based on a bestseller of the times by Hugo Bettauer, a satirical utopia with the same title. It was a satire, not science-fiction.

"This film is preaching to the choir. In 1924, a few people were already aware of the growing trend of European anti-Semitism and its danger to everyone. But most adults in 1924 either didn't give a damn about European Jews, or actively supported the politicians who advocated "relocation" of unwanted Jewish citizens."

This unfortunately shows a lack of knowledge, at least of the history of Vienna. (too long to explain here, just research it. ) Bettauer, author of the novel, was shot 5 times on march 10, 1925 by right-winger Otto Rothstock, and died on the next day, becoming the first prominent victim of the rise of national-socialism in Austria. 16 years later Ida Jenbach, co-author of the script, was deported to a concentration camp from which she never came back.