''Menschen im Sturm'' ( en, People in the Storm, link=yes, italic=yes) is a 1941

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

film directed by Fritz Peter Buch. It was an anti-Serbian propaganda and part of a concerted propaganda push against

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

, attempting to split them from the

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...

Synopsis

Vera witnesses the persecution of ethnic

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

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

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

'' 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 Olga Konstantinovna Chekhova (; russian: Ольга Константиновна Чехова; 14 April 1897 – 9 March 1980), known in Germany as Olga Tschechowa, was a Russian-German actress. Her film roles include the female lead in Alfred ...

* Gustav Diessl *

Hannelore Schroth Hannelore Emilie Käte Grete Schroth (; 10 January 1922 – 7 July 1987) was a German film, stage, and television actress whose career spanned over five decades. Career Born in Berlin in 1922, she was the daughter of popular stage and film actor ...

Siegfried Breuer Siegfried Breuer (24 June 1906 – 1 February 1954) was an Austrian stage and film actor and occasional film director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Vienna, Siegried was the son of Hans Breuer (1868 or 1870–1929), who was an opera s ...

Josef Sieber Josef Sieber (28 April 1900 – 3 December 1962) was a German film actor. Selected filmography * ''Pappi'' (1934) * ''Punks Arrives from America'' (1935) * ''Joan of Arc'' (1935) * ''The Gypsy Baron'' (1935) * ''The Last Four on Santa Cruz'' (193 ...

* 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 Moun ...

, then-

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in p ...

, in July 1941. Its

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

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 * Music of Vienna, musical styles in the city * Viennese Waltz, genre of ballroom dance * V ...

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 Nazi-era films restricted in Germany 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