Berlin im Aufbau

Berlin im Aufbau (English: Berlin under Construction) is an East German documentary film directed by Kurt Maetzig, one of East Germany's most respected film-makers,[1] between 1945 and 1946.[2][3] It was a prominent 22 minute documentary,[4] released in 1946 and produced by the DEFA film company.[5] Maetzig was assisted in the assembly of the film by Marion Keller, who had also scripted and organized several other propaganda films of the late 1940s.[6]

Berlin im Aufbau
Directed byKurt Maetzig
Written byMarion Keller
Distributed byDEFA
Release date
  • 1946 (1946)
Running time
22 minutes
CountryEast Germany
LanguageGerman

The film has historical significance in that it documents the first phase of the rebuilding of the destroyed city of Berlin after World War II and was one of three documentaries shot in the immediate aftermath examining the reconstruction of the city.[7][8] The documentary explores the redevelopments in culture, transport, health care and education, industry and trade, compiled using newsreel footage of eyewitnesses.[9] It also explores the marked social changes since the fall of Nazi Germany; in one scene a Jewish carpenter is helping a German man on a roof top reconstructing it.[9]

The film is essentially a propaganda film, intended to raise the morale of the people after the devastation and showing promise to the nation in the redevelopment programme. However in making the film, like Joop Huisken, who was assigned to make a similar film of Potsdam entitled Potsdam baut auf,[8] Maetzig was careful not to exaggerate the achievements and courage of the people, keeping it realistic.[10] Like other similar "Aufbau" films, this one begins with a brief German history, and provides a narrative showing how the disordered past can be put back into order, and how through their diligent labor, the German people can be seen as productive members of a post-war society.[11] The film also highlighted the acceptance of post-war perceptions of gender in that while females were typified as being wives and friends, they may also be accepted as equal partners in the workforce.[12]

References
  1. Brockmann, Stephen (2010). A Critical History of German Film. Camden House. p. 215. ISBN 978-1-57113-468-4.
  2. Bock, Hans-Michael; Bergfelder, Tim (30 December 2009). The concise Cinegraph: encyclopaedia of German cinema. Berghahn Books. p. 304. ISBN 978-1-57181-655-9. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  3. Balski, Grzegorz (May 1992). Directory of Eastern European film-makers and films, 1945–1991. Flicks Books. p. 206.
  4. Steinle, Matthias (2003). Vom Feindbild zum Fremdbild: die gegenseitige Darstellung von BRD und DDR im Dokumentarfilm. UVK. ISBN 978-3-89669-421-8.
  5. Hell, Julia; Schönle, Andreas (26 February 2010). Ruins of Modernity. Duke University Press. p. 436. ISBN 978-0-8223-4474-2. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  6. Maetzig, Kurt (1987). Filmarbeit: Gespräche, Reden, Schriften. Henschel. p. 496. ISBN 978-3-362-00039-0. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  7. Philpotts, Matthew; Rolle, Sabine (October 2009). Edinburgh German Yearbook, Volume 3: Contested Legacies: Constructions of Cultural Heritage in the GDR. Camden House. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-57113-362-5.
  8. Jordan, Günter; Schenk, Ralf (1996). Schwarzweiss und Farbe: DEFA-Dokumentarfilme 1946-92. Filmmuseum Potsdam & Jovis. p. 19. ISBN 978-3-931321-51-2.
  9. "Berlin im Aufbau". Fritz Bauer Institute: Cinematography of the Holocaust. Archived from the original on 18 January 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  10. Schröter, Ursula; Ullrich, Renate; Ferchland, Rainer (November 2009). Patriarchat in der DDR: nachträgliche Entdeckungen in DFD-Dokumenten, DEFA-Dokumentarfilmen und soziologischen Befragungen. Karl Dietz. p. 84. ISBN 978-3-320-02210-5.
  11. Wilfried Wilms, William Rasch (2008). German postwar films: life and love in the ruins. Studies in European culture and history. Macmillan. pp. 82–88. ISBN 978-0-230-60825-2.
  12. Anke Pinkert (2008). Film and memory in East Germany. Indiana University Press. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-253-21967-1.
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