Das Beil von Wandsbek [videorecording] = The axe of Wandsbek / [A] DEFA Film Library (UMass Amherst) / First Run Features release ; Ein DEFA-Film ; herstellungsgruppe und produktionsleitung [= producer], K. Hahne ; regie [= director], Falk Harnack.
Based on the novel by Arnold Zweig. Originally released as a motion picture in 1951. Some credits from container. Erwin Geschonneck, Käthe Braun, Gefion Helmke, Willy A. Kleinau.
Contents:
Bonus materials: Biographies and filmographies: Director, Falk Harnack ; actor, Erwin Geschonneck ; actor, Käthe Braun ; Arnold Zweig, author of the novel, The Axe of Wandsbek -- Falk Harnack, a stubborn German conscience (Film interview with author, Anne Nelson, 2009, ca. 31 min.) DVD-ROM features: Käthe Braun on Falk Harnack (Interview by Ralf Schenk) [PDF document] -- The Axe affair (essay by Deborah Vietor-Engländer) [PDF document] -- Postscript: A letter to author Arnold Zweig [PDF document] -- About the Feuchtwanger Memorial Library [PDF document]
Summary:
"Germany, 1934: the Nazi authorities in a small town need an executioner to put a group of political prisoners to death, otherwise Hitler won't visit their town. Teetjen, the town butcher, facing bankruptcy, agrees to do the dirty deed ... [T]his important classic was directed by a former anti-Nazi resistance fighter, Falk Harnack. Ironically, the film, which starred concentration camp survivor Erwin Geschonneck in the lead role, was withdrawn after its release because its nuanced portrait of a Nazi perpetrator was considered too sympathetic."--Container.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.