''Legion Condor'' is a 1939 German

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 ...

directed by Karl Ritter and starring Paul Hartmann,

Albert Hehn Albert Hehn (17 December 1908 – 29 July 1983) was a German actor. Hehn appeared in a large number of films between 1938 and 1970. One of his most notable roles was in the 1941 war film ''Stukas''.Welch p.279 He was married to the actress Jeanet ...

and

Fritz Kampers Fritz Kampers (14 July 1891 – 1 September 1950) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1913 and 1950. Early life Fritz Kampers was the son of a Munich hotel owner, spent his early childhood in Garmisch-Partenk ...

. The film portrays the German

Condor Legion The Condor Legion (german: Legion Condor) was a unit composed of military personnel from the air force and army of Nazi Germany, which served with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War of July 1936 to March 1939. The Condor Legio ...

, which fought in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. Because of the German-Soviet Pact, the production was halted after 15 days of shooting, on 25 August 1939 to avoid offending the Soviets, who had supported the other side in Spain and were negatively portrayed in the film. Karl Ritter's diary entry that day stated that

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

had called the Ufa studio to tell him to abort the film. The film is often confused with the full-length documentary film by Karl Ritter, ''Im Kampf Gegen den Weltfeind'' (''In the Battle against World Enemy #1''), released on 15 June 1939 on the same subject. ''Legion Condor'' was planned as a sequel to Ritter's highly successful 1938 feature film, ''Pour le Merite'', also starring Paul Hartmann, Albert Hehn, Fritz Kampers, Carsta Löck, amongst others. In August 2018 the long-lost Ufa film script was found in a used bookstore in Berlin. No copy of the script is found in any German film archive or institution. A monograph on the film has been published by William Gillespie, titled ''Legion Condor – Karl Ritter's lost 1939 feature film''.

Cast

* Paul Hartmann as Kommandant der Jagdflieger *

as Jagdflieger *

as Oberfeldwebel Moebius *

Josef Dahmen Josef Dahmen (21 August 1903 – 18 January 1985) was a German stage, film and television actor.Youngkin p. 462. Dahmen was married to the actress Gisela von Collande, with whom he had a daughter Andrea Dahmen. His granddaughter Julia Dahmen is a ...

as Unteroffizier *

Willi Rose Wilhelm Bernhard Max Rose (4 February 1902 – 16 June 1978) was a German actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1936 to 1978. Selected filmography References External links * 1902 births 1978 deaths German male fi ...

as Unteroffizier *

Otto Graf Otto Graf (28 November 1896 – 22 February 1977) was a German actor. He appeared in more than 50 films and television shows between 1935 and 1970. Partial filmography * ''Nacht der Verwandlung'' (1935) as René Duval * '' The Traitor'' ( ...

* Karl John * Wolfgang Staudte *

Heinz Welzel Heinz Welzel (1911–2002) was a German stage, television and film actor. He was also a noted voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called vo ...

* Herbert A.E. Bohme *

Carsta Löck Carsta Löck (28 December 1902 – 9 October 1993) was a German film actress. Selected filmography * ''Refugees'' (1933) * '' Ripening Youth'' (1933) * '' The Double Fiance'' (1934) * ''Trouble with Jolanthe'' (1934) * ''Police Report'' (1934) ...

Marina von Ditmar Marina von Ditmar (30 October 1914 – 3 September 2014) was a German film actress born in Saint Petersburg of Baltic German descent. After moving to Germany she studied acting under Lucie Höflich and Ilka Grüning. Her first roles were performed ...

Ernst Bader Ernst Bader (7 June 1914 in Stettin, Pomerania – 10 August 1999 in Norderstedt) was a German actor, composer and songwriter (lyricist) best known for his hit recordings " Tulips from Amsterdam" and "Milord". Actors who have performed song ...

* Dima Detoor *

Andrews Engelmann Andrews Engelmann (23 March 1901 – 25 February 1992) was a Russian-born German actor. He worked primarily in Germany, where he specialised in playing Russian roles, but also appeared in a number of British films during his career. He was born as ...

Irene Fischer Irene Kaminka Fischer (born July 27, 1907 in Vienna, Austria, died October 22, 2009 in Boston) was an Austrian-American mathematician and geodesist. She was a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Geophysical Un ...

Friedrich Gnaß Friedrich Gnaß (13 November 1892 – 8 May 1958) was a German film actor. He appeared in 53 films between 1929 and 1958. Partial filmography * ''Beyond the Street'' (1929) - Der Matrose / The Sailor * '' Mother Krause's Journey to Happiness'' ...

Lutz Götz Lutz Götz (1891 – 1958) was a German stage and film actor.Richards p.375 Selected filmography * '' The Immortal Vagabond'' (1930) * '' Patriots'' (1937) * ''Legion Condor'' (1939) * ''Congo Express'' (1939) * '' Counterfeiters'' (1940) * ''Ab ...

Malte Jäger Malte Richard Friedrich Jaeger (sometimes named in cast lists as Malte Jäger) (4 July 1911 in Hannover – 10 January 1991 at Ladelund / district of North Friesland) was a German actor, theater director and voice actor. Early life Malte ...

* Karl Klüsner * Franz Kossak * Lothar Körner * Lea Niako *

Ruth Nimbach Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ar ...

Lili Schoenborn-Anspach ''Lili'' is a 1953 American film released by MGM. It stars Leslie Caron as a touchingly naïve French girl whose emotional relationship with a carnival puppeteer is conducted through the medium of four puppets. The film won the Academy Award for ...

* Ursula Ulrich *

Ernst von Klipstein Ernst von Klipstein (3 February 1908 – 22 November 1993) was a German film and television actor. von Klipstein became a prominent actor during the Nazi era, appearing in a large number of action films. Partial filmography * '' Uproar in Dama ...

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* 1939 films German war films 1939 war films 1930s German-language films Films directed by Karl Ritter Films set in Spain Films of Nazi Germany German black-and-white films UFA GmbH films 1930s German films {{1930s-Germany-film-stub