Burning Hearts

To correct one thing the first critic said, KOLBERG was released on January 31, 1945. But it's release came to late to increase the morals of the Wehrmacht, because at the end of Janauary things went not so well for the German Army, because the Red Army reached the Oder, some 60 km near Berlin. Furthermore the powers of the Wehrmacht were nearly exhausted, due to the loss of arms and men. So it was clear to see for the most, that we would loose the war, unless the promised Wunderwaffen would not come to action. And that never happened. Nevertheless KOLBERG is an interesting experience. Alt last I'd like to point out HEINRICH GEORGE, who truly was one of our greatest Actors in Theatre and Film ever, in his role of the Bürgermeister of Kolberg. A stunning performance.

Very few Nazi propoganda films achieved the effect for which they were intended and despite costing an estimated 8.5 million Reichmarks, this opus is no exception. Although conceived in 1942 it was not released until 1945 by which time its message that resistance is preferable to surrender was unlikely to appeal to citizens who had already paid a heavy price for their flirtation with National Socialism. Anyway, not many cinemas were still standing and the majority of film goers much preferred to watch 'Baron Munchhausen'.

That aside, 'Kolberg' is a marvellous piece of film-making. Beautifully shot in Agfacolor by Bruno Mondi with a powerful score by Norbert Schultze and intensely moving performances by some of Germany's finest.

The three leading characters of Gniesenau, Nettlebeck and Maria are basically symbols, respectively, of inspired military leadership, nationalist fervour and supreme sacrifice. Indeed, Gniesenaus' 'The people rise...the storm breaks' echos Goebbel's 'total war' speech from 1943.

Whatever one's feelings regarding demonised director Veit Harlan and the monstrous masters he served this film nonetheless remains an essential piece of cinematic history which no true cinephile can dismiss.

Kolberg's legendary status owes not a little to its unobtainability and complete absence from television. I have the distinct impression that the best of Veit Harlan's direction ended up on the cutting room floor as a panicking Dr Goebbels insisted on drastic revision before this thundering epic could be shown -should I say, inflicted on- the German public in the last days of WWII. There are some magnificent scenes of battles and the episode in the Kolberg town council chamber is brilliantly scripted and acted, but the something is very wrong about the way the final print was put together. Lead character Maria is a virtual stranger; the details of her trials and tribulations along with her affair with Schill have to be guessed at, as does much else. The sets throughout are splendid - but it's all a stage with nothing happening. Continuity is appalling. I understand that we are watching 1hr 45mins out of over 90 hours of footage taken and that all the negatives are lost. We will never know what we are missing.

Kolberg is one of those more timeless tales, of a small town besieged by a vast, greedy enemy. It is a story of the small people holding to their honour and duty, and ultimately triumphing over the mighty. The movie is set in the Napoleonic Wars, but the message is for the people of Germany just as they are being invaded by the Red Army and the American and British armies.

Goebbels film studios managed to film and distribute this movie just as the final battles of World War II were being fought. Its message of defiant defense in the face of hopeless odds was meant to rally the severely demoralised Germans as their homes were being threatened by the enemy. The songs and vivid colours were meant to entertain and raise morale as life became darker and darker.

Technically, its a masterpiece, and makes use of all kinds of modern shots, angles, and special effects. Its colours were terrible, though, but I trust it was the copy I saw. Of course, it might have been a result of the war constraints.

Seen in this context, this film is even more interesting than the entertaining story it presents.

Jurched

I suppose some kind of cosmic justice has been meted out to all concerned in regard to Kolberg the town and Kolberg the final propaganda product film of the Third Reich. This piece of turf that became the symbol of German resistance to Napoleon whose story Josef Goebbels had hoped to inspire the Reich populace to resist and fight the invaders from east and west in 1945 is now part of Poland.

The film is an awesome piece of spectacle especially when you consider the money spent and the manpower appropriated from the battlefield by Dr. Goebbels to be extras, playing being French and Prussian soldiers for the camera and missing the real war where doubtless a lot of them would be killed. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of candles were lit for Goebbels in many German households today because of it.

The story is after Austerlitz Napoleon pretty much had the run of things in Europe for a while. In his march toward Russia he met this incredible resistance from the former Hanseatic League town of Kolberg. Inspired by its mayor played by Heinrich George and Horst Caspar as General Gneissenau the place held out against incredible odds until the Treaty of Tilsit was signed, one of the few places in the future united Germany to do so. A whole lot like the way the City of Leningrad held out for years against the Nazis invading though that was a comparison the Third Reich would not be making.

George who was a favorite and favored player during the Third Reich is brilliant as Mayor Joachim Nettelbrick who spent as much time battling with Paul Wegener as the first commandant of the garrison as with the French. I had to think about that one for a bit, but it occurred to me that Hitler would probably have liked the citizen mayor showing up the professional army man as George continually does. After he was just a corporal and had conquered most of Europe against the advice of most of his generals. Of course then Gneissenau who is an ideal Aryan teams up with the mayor and they triumph.

The battle scenes populated with extras who were thanking whatever Gods they worshiped that they were not in the real war only miles away are staged brilliantly. The message of Kolberg is resistance and none of the other Nazi prejudices made its way into the film.

Veit Harlan one of the Third Reich's favored directors brought this one in which in Hollywood would have had the studio bean counters tearing the hair out of their heads. Krista Soderbaum who was the symbol of blond Aryan womanhood and Harlan's wife is also in the film who sustains several tragic losses, but carries on.

In a booklet that accompanied the DVD of Kolberg I ordered it pointed out the film did not have quite the impact that Goebbels thought it would after its Berlin premiere on January 30, 1945. First of all it had limited bookings because 90% of the theaters in Germany had been destroyed by Allied bombings. And by the time it came out the people were really not responding too well to the Propaganda Ministry's pablum.

I have to say that this last film from Goebbels is brilliantly conceived and executed. But after World War II Kolberg became and remains part of Poland with its German population expelled or worse by the Russian Army and Polish resistance. So what was it all about?