Die Hermannschlacht (1924) DVD-R

Starring Antonie Jaeckel, Harry Liedtke, Mia Pankau
Directed by Leo König

Print: Black and White
Runtime: 54 min.
Genre: Drama

The battle of Hermann or Varus is regarded as the actual founding myth of the German nation. For many centuries, the victory of the Roman legions, which has not yet been exactly established, is justified as a current political argument. In the construction of the Detmolder Hermannsdenkmal this national self-understanding took a visible expression in the 19th century. The fact that this myth was still used for concrete political purposes in the twentieth century makes the silent film "Die Hermannschlacht", which was premiered in Detmold in February 1924, impressively reveal. The history of this film, which is described as "Historical Paintings from Germany's first freedom struggle ", can only be reconstructed today in outline. Dr. Leo Koenig, a dramaturge, who was able to look back on many years of theater, but not on film experience, was commissioned with the screenplay and the director. On September 9, 1922, the shooting of the original statues began to take place in the immediate vicinity of the Hermanns monument and the external stones near Horn. The act, reconstructed in five acts, reduced the material ("free after the story") to some loosely arranged scenes, the dramatic climax being the victory of the Germans, led by Hermann the Cherusker, over the troops of the Roman leader Quintilius Varus. The texts of the interludes, which replaced the language in the silent film, read like a daily political appeal drawn directly from the myth. The fact that this film spoke of the Romans, but the French who had occupied the Ruhr area in 1923, was immediately understood by the enthusiastic premiere and the conservative daily press. After the political and economic situation had calmed down in 1924, Die Hermannschlacht disappeared "In the archives and was soon forgotten. A comprehensive 46-page booklet provides information on the background and context.