''Free Land'' () is a 1946 German

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Milo Harbich and starring Ursula Voß, Fritz Wagner and

Herbert Wilk Herbert Wilk (1905–1977) was a German stage, television and film actor. He emerged as a screen actor during the Nazi era, appearing in war films such as '' U-Boote westwärts'' (1941).Kreimeier p.312 However the bulk of his career came after the ...

. The film was a work of

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 ...

made by

DEFA DEFA (''Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft'') was the state-owned film studio of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) throughout the country's existence. Since 2019, DEFA's film heritage has been made accessible and licensable on the PR ...

in the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet occupation zone in Germany ( or , ; ) was an area of Germany that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a communist area, established as a result of the Potsdam Agreement on 2 August 1945. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republ ...

which later became

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. It uses a neorealist style to portray the effects of land reforms brought in by the

Soviet authorities The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was the executive and administrative organ of the highest body of state authority, the All-Union Supreme Soviet. It was formed on 30 December 1922 and abolished on 26 December 199 ...

. It proved to be very unsuccessful on its release.Noack p. 256

Cast

* Ursula Voß as Frau Jeruscheit * Fritz Wagner as Neubauer Jeruscheit *

as Bürgermeister Siebold *

Hans Sternberg Hans Sternberg (3 July 1878 – 13 May 1948) was a German-Jewish Siegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933'', Berghahn Books (2007), p. 213 stage and film actor. Selected filmography ...

as Altbauer Strunk *

Aribert Grimmer Aribert () is a Germanic given name, from ''hari'' ("host") and '' beraht'' ("bright"). Notable people with the given name include: * Aribert (archbishop of Milan) (between 970 and 980–1045), archbishop of Milan * Prince Aribert of Anhalt (1866� ...

as Altbauer Melzig *

Peter Marx Peter Marx may refer to: * Peter Marx (actor) (1914–1978), German stage and film actor * Peter Marx (lawyer), American lawyer and business executive * Peter W. Marx (born 1973), German theatre and performance studies scholar See also * Peter Mar ...

as Altbauer Schulzke *

Oskar Höcker Oskar Höcker (13 June 1840 – 8 April 1894) was a German author of historical novels for children and a stage actor. Biography Oskar Höcker was born in a suburb of Eilenburg, in the Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian Province of Saxony, as was his br ...

as Neubauer Kubinski * Elfie Dugal as Küchenmädchen *

Kurt Mikulski Kurt is a male given name in Germanic languages. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Konrad/Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. Like Conrad, it can also a surname an ...

as Siedler *

Karl Platen Karl Platen (6 March 1877 – 4 July 1952) was a German actor and cinematographer of the Silent film, silent era and later the sound era and known for ''Girl in the Moon (film), Girl in the Moon'' (1929) and ''M (1931 film), M'' (1931). Biogr ...

* * Albert Arid

References

Bibliography

* Feinstein, Joshua. ''The Triumph of the Ordinary: Depictions of Daily Life in the East German Cinema, 1949–1989''. University of North Carolina Press, 2002. * Noack, Frank. ''Veit Harlan: The Life and Work of a Nazi Filmmaker''. University Press of Kentucky, 2016.

External links

* 1946 films East German films German drama films German black-and-white films 1946 drama films 1940s German-language films Films directed by Milo Harbich Films shot in Germany 1940s German films Films scored by Werner Eisbrenner {{1940s-Germany-film-stub