''Free Land'' (german: Freies 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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Milo Harbich Milo Harbich (13 August 1900 – 13 September 1988) was a Brazilian-born German film editor and director. He was born to Austrian-Brazilian parents who moved to Dresden when he was a small child. He began career as stage actor, but by the early 19 ...

and starring

Ursula Voß Ursula may refer to: * Ursula (name), feminine name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Ursula (album), ''Ursula'' (album), an album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron *Ursula (crater), a crater on Titania, a moon of Uran ...

, 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 ...

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 PRO ...

in the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a c ...

which later became

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

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

Soviet authorities The Government of the Soviet Union ( rus, Прави́тельство СССР, p=prɐˈvʲitʲɪlʲstvə ɛs ɛs ɛs ˈɛr, r=Pravítelstvo SSSR, lang=no), formally the All-Union Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, commonly ab ...

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

Cast

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 ( it, Ariberto) is a Germanic given name, from ''hari'' ("host") and ''beraht'' ("bright"). It may refer to: *Aribert (archbishop of Milan) *Prince Aribert of Anhalt (1866–1933), regent of Anhalt *Aribert Heim (1914–1992), Austrian Schu ...

as Altbauer Melzig *

Peter Marx Peter Marx (1914–1978) was a German stage and film actor.Reimer p.221 He appeared in many films of the state-controlled studio DEFA in East Germany. Selected filmography * '' Free Land'' (1946) * '' Morituri'' (1948) * ''The Orplid Mystery'' (1 ...

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 Prussian Province of Saxony, as was his brother, author Gu ...

as Neubauer Kubinski * Elfie Dugal as Küchenmädchen *

Kurt Mikulski Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt means "Wolf" and i ...

as Siedler *

Karl Platen Karl Platen (6 March 1877 – 4 July 1952) was a German actor and cinematographer known for '' Girl in the Moon'' (1929) and '' M'' (1931). Biography Karl Platen was born as Carl Platen on March 6, 1877 in Halle an der Saale, Germany. He died ...

* *

Albert Arid Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

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 {{1940s-Germany-film-stub