Sun Seekers
Encyclopedia
Sun Seekers is an East German film, directed by Konrad Wolf
during 1958. It was banned and subsequently released only in 1972.
conceived the film during the early stage of the Khrushchev Thaw
, when the political climate seemed to be liberalizing. The script was inspired by the real conditions of Wismut: thousands of prostitutes were arrested and forced to work in the mines during the late 1940s, while many other miners were former servicemen of the Wehrmacht, the SS or ex-members of the Nazi Party.
The film was intended to be ready for release already at 1958, but the DEFA Commission and functionaries in the Ministry of Culture disapproved of the negative portrayal of party boss Weihrauch and the less than pristine conduct of the workers. The film's supporters pointed out its committed Socialist-Realist narrative, its positive depiction of Soviet-German cooperation and its artistic merits; lead actor Erwin Geschonneck used his influence to promote it. In 24 June 1959, after many deliberations, Sun Seekers was shown to the entire Politburo, including Walter Ulbricht
. Although they requested to make several alterations, the members praised the film. It was authorized to be released on 5 October.
Very shortly before it was to be released, the Soviet embassy in Berlin intervened and demanded to ban the film. While the exact details of the request are unknown, the Soviets were worried that presenting an Uranium mine and its contribution to the nuclear arms race - in the film, the main motivation of the miners was to insure peace by breaking the American monopoly on atomic weapons - would undermine their position in the diplomatic struggle against the West. Although a publicity campaign took place in the months before, the film was denied release. On 5 October, a small article in Neues Deutschland
declared that the producers decided to withdraw Sun Seekers.
The ban was seen as an achievement for the film's opponents in the Ministry of Culture, who viewed it as overly liberal. Mira and Antonin Liehm wrote that many interpreted it as caused by an intervention of those officials, rather than only of the Soviets. According to Dagmar Schittly, East German directors were strongly influenced by the picture's withdrawal, and avoided presenting any "real conflict" in their films. In 1972, after Erich Honecker
rose to power, Wolf convinced him to allow the picture in cinemas.
and Sun Seekers.
Seán Allan and John Sandford wrote that the film imported a "gold rush town" into East Germany, and was in many ways reminiscent of classical Westerners, including "the saloon-fight scenes." Bruce Arthur Murray and Chris Wickham commented that "it might have been one of DEFA's most important films - had it been allowed to prove itself." Anke Pinkert also noted a feminist agenda, common in East German cinema, with the lone woman Lutz as the chief protagonist.
Stephen Brockmann wrote that the picture's main motif was the sun - denied to the miners, working underground, and often hidden by smoke and soot. While the sun alternatively served as an allegory to the Uranium in the earth or to the workers' own elusive personal happiness, Brockmann stated that above all it symbolized the promised, Utopian society which communism sought to establish, and for which the miners had to toil hard in the conditions of first post-war years.
Konrad Wolf
Konrad Wolf was an East German film director, son of Friedrich Wolf, brother of Markus Wolf....
during 1958. It was banned and subsequently released only in 1972.
Plot
1950. After being arrested in a police raid, the two young prostitutes Lotte and Emmi are sent to the mines in Wismut. There, Germans and Soviets work together to extract Uranium for the use of the USSR. Two men fall in love with Lotte: the director Beier, a former SS man who tries to compensate for his past with hard work, and the Soviet engineer Sergei, whose wife was murdered by the Germans in the war. In the meantime, Jupp König, a veteran communist whom Emmi once harbored from the Gestapo, leads the miners as they attempt to replace their harsh and incompetent party boss, Weihrauch. Eventually, König is given Weihrauch's office. Lotte marries Beier, although she later realizes that she loves Sergei. When her husband is badly injured in an accident, he confides to the Soviet engineer that soldiers from his battalion murdered the latter's wife; Sergei replies that he knew it all along. Lotte and her baby son leave the mines and return to Berlin.Cast
- Ulrike Germer: Lotte Lutz
- Günther SimonGünther Simon-Early life:A bank clerk's son, Simon attended an acting school already in Gymnasium. At the age of sixteen, he was sent to a pre-military training camp of the Hitler Youth and then drafted to the Reich Labour Service. He volunteered to join the paratroopers in August 1943...
: Frank Beier - Erwin GeschonneckErwin GeschonneckErwin Geschonneck was a German actor. His biggest success occurred in the German Democratic Republic, where he was considered one of the most famous actors of the time.-Early life:...
: Jupp König - Manja Behrens: Emmi Jahnke
- Viktor AvdyushkoViktor AvdyushkoViktor Antonovich Avdyushko was a Soviet actor and a People's Artist of the Russian SFSR.-Early life:...
: Sergei Melnikov - Willi Schrade: Günter Holleck
- Erich Franz: Weihrauch
- Norbert Christian: Josef Stein
- Brigitte Krause: Berta Mattusche
- Horst KubeHorst Kube-Selected filmography:* Ernst Thälmann - Führer seiner Klasse * A Berlin Romance * Der Fackelträger * Schlösser und Katen * Don't Forget My Little Traudel * Zwei Mütter * The Sailor's Song...
: Wenzel - Rimma Shorokhova: Vera
- Vladimir Eemelyanov: Colonel Fedoseev
Production
Konrad WolfKonrad Wolf
Konrad Wolf was an East German film director, son of Friedrich Wolf, brother of Markus Wolf....
conceived the film during the early stage of the Khrushchev Thaw
Khrushchev Thaw
The Khrushchev Thaw refers to the period from the mid 1950s to the early 1960s, when repression and censorship in the Soviet Union were partially reversed and millions of Soviet political prisoners were released from Gulag labor camps, due to Nikita Khrushchev's policies of de-Stalinization and...
, when the political climate seemed to be liberalizing. The script was inspired by the real conditions of Wismut: thousands of prostitutes were arrested and forced to work in the mines during the late 1940s, while many other miners were former servicemen of the Wehrmacht, the SS or ex-members of the Nazi Party.
The film was intended to be ready for release already at 1958, but the DEFA Commission and functionaries in the Ministry of Culture disapproved of the negative portrayal of party boss Weihrauch and the less than pristine conduct of the workers. The film's supporters pointed out its committed Socialist-Realist narrative, its positive depiction of Soviet-German cooperation and its artistic merits; lead actor Erwin Geschonneck used his influence to promote it. In 24 June 1959, after many deliberations, Sun Seekers was shown to the entire Politburo, including Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht was a German communist politician. As First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971 , he played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany and later in the early development and...
. Although they requested to make several alterations, the members praised the film. It was authorized to be released on 5 October.
Very shortly before it was to be released, the Soviet embassy in Berlin intervened and demanded to ban the film. While the exact details of the request are unknown, the Soviets were worried that presenting an Uranium mine and its contribution to the nuclear arms race - in the film, the main motivation of the miners was to insure peace by breaking the American monopoly on atomic weapons - would undermine their position in the diplomatic struggle against the West. Although a publicity campaign took place in the months before, the film was denied release. On 5 October, a small article in Neues Deutschland
Neues Deutschland
Neues Deutschland is a national German daily newspaper. It was the official party newspaper of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany , which governed the German Democratic Republic , and as such served as one of the party's most important organs...
declared that the producers decided to withdraw Sun Seekers.
The ban was seen as an achievement for the film's opponents in the Ministry of Culture, who viewed it as overly liberal. Mira and Antonin Liehm wrote that many interpreted it as caused by an intervention of those officials, rather than only of the Soviets. According to Dagmar Schittly, East German directors were strongly influenced by the picture's withdrawal, and avoided presenting any "real conflict" in their films. In 1972, after Erich Honecker
Erich Honecker
Erich Honecker was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic as General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1971 until 1989, serving as Head of State as well from Willi Stoph's relinquishment of that post in 1976....
rose to power, Wolf convinced him to allow the picture in cinemas.
Reception
At 1975, Wolf received the Society for German–Soviet Friendship's Art Prize, in recognition of his work on I Was NineteenI Was Nineteen
I Was Nineteen is a Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft production that tells the story of a young German, Gregor Hecker , who fled the Nazis with his parents to Moscow and now, in early 1945, returns to Germany as a lieutenant in the Red Army...
and Sun Seekers.
Seán Allan and John Sandford wrote that the film imported a "gold rush town" into East Germany, and was in many ways reminiscent of classical Westerners, including "the saloon-fight scenes." Bruce Arthur Murray and Chris Wickham commented that "it might have been one of DEFA's most important films - had it been allowed to prove itself." Anke Pinkert also noted a feminist agenda, common in East German cinema, with the lone woman Lutz as the chief protagonist.
Stephen Brockmann wrote that the picture's main motif was the sun - denied to the miners, working underground, and often hidden by smoke and soot. While the sun alternatively served as an allegory to the Uranium in the earth or to the workers' own elusive personal happiness, Brockmann stated that above all it symbolized the promised, Utopian society which communism sought to establish, and for which the miners had to toil hard in the conditions of first post-war years.