BigList
Login / Sign up
Ernst Thälmann – Son of the Working Class (1954)

Ernst Thälmann – Son of the Working Class (1954)

Drama History
Release Date: 1954, March 9
Directors: Kurt Maetzig
Countries: East Germany
Production: DEFA-Studio für Spielfilme
Cast: Werner Peters, Peter Schorn, Johannes Arpe, Wolf Kaiser, Martin Flörchinger, Lotte Loebinger, Hans-Peter Minetti, Günther Simon, Hans Klering, Nico Turoff, Axel Triebel, Walter E. Fuß

Overview:

This film is the first of a two-part historical and biographical portrait of the communist politician and anti-fascist Ernst Thälmann. In early November 1918, Ernst Thälmann is an unwilling soldier serving on the western front. As the revolutionary movement at home is threatened by the betrayal of the Social Democrats and fissures in the working class, Thälmann calls on his fellow soldiers to put down their weapons and unite with the workers in the communist struggle at home. Thälmann’s qualms about which side he is fighting on continue, but when the local police attempt to prevent a shipment of provisions and supplies from reaching the people in Petrograd, he intervenes and the ship is unloaded. With this moment of clarity, Thälmann continues to follow his political convictions and joins the workers at the Hamburg uprising in October 1923.

Keywords:

communism anti-fascism working class socialism german democratic republic proletarian proletariat thälmann