Kolberg
Directed by	Veit Harlan Wolfgang Liebeneiner
Written by	Veit Harlan Alfred Braun
Starring	Kristina Soederbaum Heinrich George Paul Wegener Horst Caspar Gustav Diessl Otto Wernicke Kurt Meisel
Music by	Norbert Schultze
Cinematography	Bruno Mondi
Editing by	Wolfgang Schlief
Release date(s)	January 30, 1945
Country	Nazi Germany
Language	German
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Kolberg is a 1945 German propaganda film directed by Veit Harlan and Wolfgang Liebeneiner. It opened on January 30, 1945 simultaneously in Berlin and to the crew of the naval base at La Rochelle. It was also screened in the Reich chancellery after the broadcast of Hitler's last radio address on January 30. Veit Harlan (September 22, 1899, Berlin - April 13, 1964, Capri, Italy) was a German film director and actor. ... Wolfgang Liebeneiner (October 6, 1905 - November 28, 1987) was a German actor and film and theater director. ... Veit Harlan (September 22, 1899, Berlin - April 13, 1964, Capri, Italy) was a German film director and actor. ... Kristina Söderbaum (October 5, 1912 - February 12, 2001) was a Swedish-born German film actress, producer and photographer. ... Heinrich George (October 9, 1893 - September 26, 1946) was a German actor. ... Paul Wegener (born December 11, 1874 in Arnoldsdorf (Westpreußen; now Jarantowice, Poland); died September 13, 1948 in Berlin) was a German actor and film director. ... Otto Karl Robert Wernicke (September 30, 1893 – November 7, 1965) was a German actor. ... Norbert Schultze (January 26, 1911 - October 14, 2002) Name in art of Norbert Arnold Wilhelm Richard. ... is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_1933. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... The Why We Fight Series depicts the Nazi propaganda machine. ... Veit Harlan (September 22, 1899, Berlin - April 13, 1964, Capri, Italy) was a German film director and actor. ... Wolfgang Liebeneiner (October 6, 1905 - November 28, 1987) was a German actor and film and theater director. ... is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... For other uses, see La Rochelle (disambiguation). ... is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The film was intended to boost the morale of the Germans in the last phase of World War II. It was based on the autobiography of Joachim Nettelbeck, mayor of Kolberg. It told the story of the successful defence of the fortress town of Kolberg against French troops between April and July 1807. As might be expected, the film is not entirely true to history, more so in the scenes in 1813 than the actual siege of Kolberg, which is no more inaccurate than might be expected of any film. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Coordinates: , Country Poland Voivodeship West Pomeranian Powiat KoÅ‚obrzeg County Gmina KoÅ‚obrzeg Estabilished 10th century City Rights 1255 Government  - Mayor Janusz Gromek Area  - Town 25. ... Year 1807 (MDCCCVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ...

Plot

As Prussia was defeated in 1807 and subjected to a harsh peace, in order to deliver a suitable propaganda message, the film begins in 1813 after the period of the Napoleonic Wars known in German as the War of Liberation. The opening scenes show Prussian Landwehr and volunteers marching down the streets of Breslau through enthusiastic crowds. This is followed by a dialogue between the weak King Frederick William III of Prussia and Count August von Gneisenau, where Gneisenau explains that the siege of Kolberg taught the importance of citizen armies (such as Goebbels' Volkssturm). Ending with the admonition that kings who cannot lead must abdicate, the scene switches to Vienna in 1806 to show the abdication of the last Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II of Austria, whom the script has Gneisenau call "an Emperor who abandoned the German people in their hour of need". 1967 Chinese propaganda poster from the Cultural Revolution. ... Combatants Austria[a] Portugal Prussia[a] Russia[b] Sicily[c] Sardinia  Spain[d]  Sweden[e] United Kingdom French Empire Holland[f] Italy Etruria[g] Naples[h] Duchy of Warsaw[i] Confederation of the Rhine[j] Bavaria Saxony Westphalia Württemberg Denmark-Norway[k] Commanders Archduke Charles Prince Schwarzenberg Karl Mack... Combatants Prussia Russia Austria United Kingdom Sweden Sicily Sardinia French Empire Italy Naples Warsaw Confederation of the Rhine[1] Swiss Confederation Commanders Gebhard von Blücher Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Kutuzov Prince Wittgenstein Prince Schwarzenberg Prince Charles John Napoleon I of France Michel Ney Jozef Antoni Poniatowski Europe... The Landwehr was a type of militia found in 19th- and early 20th-century Europe. ... Wrocław. ... Frederick William III (German: , August 3, 1770 – June 7, 1840) was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. ... August Wilhelm Antonius Graf[1] Neidhardt von Gneisenau (27 October 1760 – 23 August 1831) was a Prussian field marshal. ... With torn picture of his Führer beside his clenched fist, a dead Bataillionsführer (general) of the Volkssturm lies on the floor of city hall, Leipzig, Germany. ... For other uses, see Vienna (disambiguation). ... 1806 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Coats of arms of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor from 1564 to 1576. ... Francis II Francis I Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, who may also be referred to as Francis von Habsburg or Emperor Franz I of Austria (February 12, 1768 - March 2, 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until August 6, 1806, when the Empire was disbanded. ...

The scene set, the film moves to 1807 and a Kolberg not yet affected by war, where the inhabitants are shown enjoying life, and the town's leaders, Nettelbeck chief among them, discuss Napoleon's proclamations, and what it will mean to them. Some see the French victories as a good thing, some wonder whether to leave. Nettelbeck alone is set on resisting the French. The film continues in this vein, with Nettelbeck struggling against cowardice, lethargy and the old-fashioned ideas of the garrison commander, to defend his city against the approaching French. Nettelbeck creates a citizen militia, in spite of the best efforts of the regular army, has supplies collected, and strongly opposes the idea of surrender. Napoléon I, Emperor of the French (born Napoleone di Buonaparte, changed his name to Napoléon Bonaparte)[1] (15 August 1769; Ajaccio, Corsica – 5 May 1821; Saint Helena) was a general during the French Revolution, the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from...

Finally, having been threatened with execution, and convinced that Kolberg can only be saved if a great leader can be found, Nettelbeck sends Maria on the dangerous journey to Königsberg where the Court of Prussia has retreated to, to meet with the King and with Queen Louise, who was described by Napoleon as "the only man in Prussia". Maria's journey leads to the energetic and charismatic Gneisenau being sent to Kolberg. After an initial confrontation with Nettelbeck, in order show that there is only one leader in Kolberg, and that Gneisenau is that leader, the two work together with the army and the citizens to save the city from the French. After Kolberg is saved, the film returns to 1813 after the Convention of Tauroggen, a time when Napoleon was defeated in Russia, and Prussian leaders wonders whether it is time to turn openly against him. Frederick William is convinced by Gneisenau to do so, and sits down to write proclamation to his people announcing the War of Liberation. Former German name of the city of Kaliningrad. ... Louise, Queen of Prussia by Josef Grassi Louise Auguste Wilhelmine Amalie (Louisa Augusta Wilhelmina Amelia) (March 10, 1776 - July 19, 1810), Queen of Prussia, was born in Hanover, where her father, Karl of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, was field marshal of the household brigade. ... The Convention of Tauroggen was a truce signed 30 December 1812 at Tauroggen between Generalleutnant Johann David Ludwig Graf Yorck von Wartenburg on behalf of his Prussian troops, and by General Hans Karl von Diebitsch of the Russian Army. ...

Circumstances

Kolberg, begun in 1943, was made in Agfacolor with high production values. At a cost of more than eight million marks, it was the most expensive film of the Nazi era. At a time of war, thousands of soldiers were used in the film, some diverted from their fighting positions at substantial cost. To film scenes with snow during summer, 100 railway wagons brought salt to the set in Pomerania. The film was finally completed at the Babelsberg Studios at Potsdam while the town and nearby Berlin were being steadily bombed by the Allies. Agfacolor is a series of color photographic products produced by Agfa of Germany. ... Nazism in history Nazi ideology Nazism and race Outside Germany Related subjects Lists Politics Portal         Nazism or National Socialism (German: Nationalsozialismus), refers primarily to the ideology and practices of the Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers Party, German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP) under Adolf Hitler. ... Pommern redirects here. ... Filmstudio Babelsberg Logo showing a scene from Metropolis The Babelsberg Studios is a film studio located in Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany. ... Potsdam is the capital city of the federal state of Brandenburg in Germany. ...

The film was opened in a temporary cinema in Berlin and ran under the constant threat of air raids until the fall of Berlin in May 1945; the film came far too late for the hoped-for propaganda effect. Many theatres throughout Germany were already destroyed.

After the war, also the town of Kolberg was ceded to Poland by the Potsdam Agreement. It was given a Polish name, Kołobrzeg. The German population was expelled to Germany and replaced by ethnic Polish settlers from other territories that Poland lost after the war to the Soviet Union. The Potsdam Agreement, or the Potsdam Proclamation, was an agreement on policy for the occupation and reconstruction of Germany and other nations after fighting in the European Theatre of World War II had ended with the German surrender of May 8, 1945. ... Coordinates: , Country Poland Voivodeship West Pomeranian Powiat KoÅ‚obrzeg County Gmina KoÅ‚obrzeg Estabilished 10th century City Rights 1255 Government  - Mayor Janusz Gromek Area  - Town 25. ... Germans expelled from the Sudetenland // The expulsion of Germans after World War II refers to the forced migration of people considered Germans (Reichsdeutsche and some Volksdeutsche) from various European states and territories during 1945 and in the first three years after World War II 1946-48. ...

The film was re-released in 1965, with an attached documentary, and is now available on digitally remastered DVD. Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ...

Cast

• Kristina Soederbaum as Maria
• Heinrich George as Nettelbeck
• Paul Wegener as Loucadou
• Horst Caspar as Graf Neidhardt von Gneisenau
• Gustav Diessl as Rittmeister Schill
• Otto Wernicke
• Kurt Meisel

Kristina Söderbaum (October 5, 1912 - February 12, 2001) was a Swedish-born German film actress, producer and photographer. ... Heinrich George (October 9, 1893 - September 26, 1946) was a German actor. ... Paul Wegener (born December 11, 1874 in Arnoldsdorf (Westpreußen; now Jarantowice, Poland); died September 13, 1948 in Berlin) was a German actor and film director. ... Otto Karl Robert Wernicke (September 30, 1893 – November 7, 1965) was a German actor. ...

See also

• List of films made in the Third Reich
• National socialist film policy

The films produced between the time that Hitler rose to power, January 30, 1933, and when Admiral Donitz surrendered to the Allies, May 8, 1945. ... // Goals of the Nazi film policy Despite its authoritarian core, Nazism was a populism, a political movement that courted the masses by the means of slogans that were aimed directly at the instincts and emotions of the people. ...

External links

• Video Sample of Kolberg, 1945, in original AGFA/UFA Farbe (colour)
• Kolberg at the Internet Movie Database
• German website about the Film

External images
	Official movie picture showing Mr. Nettelbeck (Heinrich George) and Maria (Kristina Söderbaum)[1]
	Scene from the movie showing general Gneisenau (Horst Caspar) to the left and on the right Mr. Nettelbeck (Heinrich George)[2]
	Screenshot of a scene showing general Gneisenau (Horst Caspar) making a speech on the market square in Kolberg[3]
	Official film poster (1945)[4]
	Screenshot of an army scene(the statists for these scenes came directly from the battlefields of the ongoing Second World War)[5]