''Geheimarchiv an der Elbe'' (''Secret Archive on the Elbe'') is an

East German 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 ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

set in the last days of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in Europe and directed by

Kurt Jung-Alsen Kurt Jung-Alsen (18 June 1915 – 20 December 1976) was a German film director and screenwriter. He directed 24 films between 1954 and 1976. Selected filmography * ''The Call of the Sea'' (1951) * ''Duped Till Doomsday'' (1957) * ''Polonia- ...

. It stars

Hans-Peter Minetti Hans-Peter Minetti (21 April 1926 – 10 November 2006) was a German actor. He studied at the Theaterhochschule Leipzig The Theaterhochschule Leipzig was a theatre school in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany, which existed from 1953 to 1992. The official ...

Albert Hetterle Albert Hetterle (31 October 1918 – 17 December 2006) was a German actor who also became intendant at the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin. Early years Albert Hetterle was born in Petersthal a few weeks after the First World War had ended. His fat ...

and Günther Simon. Based on a novel by Alexander Nassibow Drehbuch, it was released in 1963. The film follows the exploits of a Soviet communist officer, Major Kerimov (Minetti), who is sent to recover a Secret Archive from the Nazis. The film was Jung-Alsen's last film for

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 ...

Plot

Shortly before the end of the Second World War: SS-Gruppenführer Upitz knows that Germany has lost the war. He tries to give himself an advantage for the time after the war and accepts an offer from the Americans. He receives immunity from prosecution if, in return, he hands over to them the Gestapo's secret archive, which is hidden on the Elbe River in Meissen. It contains the data of all agents placed by the Gestapo in the Soviet Union and the Balkans. The Soviet Abwehrdienst is also after this data, so Upitz wants to lay a false trail. Upitz has the welder Max Wiesbach taken to an underground tunnel in Riesa. There he is to seal a leak under water. Wiesbach is convinced that he has sealed a leak in the secret archive and passes this information on to a convinced communist who is sent to the Soviet front a short time later and defects to the Russians there. He tells them about the secret archive in Riesa, but the Russians believe the secret archive is in Meissen. They want security. Together with Herbert Lange from Riesa, the Soviet communist Major Kerimov is sent to Riesa to locate the secret archive. Lange's wife believes her husband to be dead. When he suddenly appears at the door and announces that he will soon have to leave, Mrs. Lange becomes hysterical. Lange wants to get a doctor, but is shot in the street as an apparent fugitive. Kerimov is now on his own. He receives help from convinced communists. He is hired as a driver in the factory where Max Wiesbach also works as a welder. Kerimov soon finds out that Max Wiesbach is faking and that the secret archive must be in Meissen. Meanwhile, Upitz has reached an agreement with the American Tedder to hand over the archive to the Americans in the next few days. Tedder informs a middleman who is to organize and supervise the removal. Upitz and the middleman each receive a comb half as an identification mark. Kerimov succeeds in eavesdropping on the conversations and acquiring the middleman's comb piece. With the Communists, he organizes a cargo plane. He gets in touch with Upitz and supervises the transfer of the archive files to the Soviet plane. Upitz also boards the plane, as he had arranged with Tedder. When the plane is in the air, Upitz wants to know where they are going. When Kerimov replies that the flight is going to Moscow, Upitz reacts at first amused and is then speechless.

Cast

as Major Kerimov *

as Oberst Rybin * Günther Simon as SS-Gruppenführer Upitz * Hans-Joachim Martens as Standartenführer Bolm * Günther Haack as Sturmführer Torp * Alfred Struw as Adjutant von Upitz *

Johannes Arpe Johannes Arpe (29 July 1897 – 3 October 1962) was a German actor. He appeared in more than thirty films from 1953 to 1962. Selected filmography References External links * 1897 births 1962 deaths German male film actors 20th ...

as Kümetz *

Rudolf Ulrich Rudolf Ulrich (3 January 1922 – 4 April 1997) was a German film actor. He appeared in 67 films between 1954 and 1986. He died in Berlin at age 75. Selected filmography * ''Duped Till Doomsday'' (1957) * ''Polonia-Express'' (1957) * '' Br� ...

as Herbert Lange

Production

The film was shot by cinematographer

Peter Krause Peter William Krause (; born August 12, 1965) is an American actor, director, and producer. He has played lead roles in multiple television series, portraying Casey McCall on '' Sports Night'' (1998–2000), Nate Fisher on '' Six Feet Under'' (2 ...

, with a screenplay by

Peter Brock Peter Geoffrey Brock (26 February 1945 – 8 September 2006), known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, al ...

. The film score was composed by André Asriel.

Release and reception

''Geheimarchiv an der Elbe'' premiered on 18 April 1963. The film was described by author Bernard Stöver as "Eastern propaganda".

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0171335 1963 films East German films Films directed by Kurt Jung-Alsen 1960s German-language films German World War II films 1960s German films