''Menschen im Sturm'' () is a 1941 German film directed by Fritz Peter Buch. It was an anti-Serbian

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

and part of a concerted propaganda push against

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

, attempting to split them from the

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

Synopsis

Vera witnesses the persecution of ethnic

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, which awakens her ethnic consciousness. Her cosmopolitan friend Alexander is arrested. Vera flirts with the Serbian commander to allow ''

Volksdeutsche In Nazi Germany, Nazi German terminology, () were "people whose language and culture had Germans, German origins but who did not hold German citizenship." The term is the nominalised plural of ''wikt:volksdeutsch, volksdeutsch'', with denoting ...

'' to escape to the border. When arrested, she proudly affirms that she helped her countrymen and, in an escape attempt, is shot, to die happy and heroic.

Cast

* Olga Chekhova * Gustav Diessl * Hannelore Schroth * Siegfried Breuer * Josef Sieber * Heinz Welzel *

Kurt Meisel Kurt Meisel (18 August 1912 – 4 April 1994) was an Austrian actor and film director. He appeared in 65 films between 1934 and 1994. He also directed 21 films between 1949 and 1984. Meisel was married to the actress Ursula Lingen. He was born a ...

Production and release

The film was shot on locations in

Hrvatsko Zagorje Hrvatsko Zagorje (; Croatian Zagorje; ''zagorje'' is Croatian language, Croatian for 'backland' or 'behind the hills') is a cultural region in northern Croatia, traditionally separated from the country's capital Zagreb by the Medvednica mount ...

, then-

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

, in July 1941. Its

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

premiere was held on 21 March 1942. Unusually, contemporary

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Viennese classicism * Viennese coffee house, an eating establishment and part of Viennese ...

film magazine ' classified the film as "forbidden for the youth" ().

Motifs

The film reprises many of the same motifs as '' Heimkehr'', in an anti-Serbian rather than anti-Polish context. A sympathetic Croat aids the Germans, stating that all Croats should be friendly, and is murdered by Serbs for it, reflecting a widespread cliche of the friendly Croat.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* 1941 films Nazi World War II propaganda films Films of Nazi Germany 1940s German-language films German black-and-white films Films shot in Croatia Films set in Yugoslavia 1940s German films {{1940s-Germany-film-stub