''The Life of Surgeon Sauerbruch'' sometimes shortened to ''Surgeon Sauerbruch'' (German: ''Sauerbruch – Das war mein Leben'') is a 1954 West German biographical

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 Rolf Hansen and starring

Ewald Balser Ewald Balser (5 October 1898 – 17 April 1978) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1935 and 1975. He was born in Elberfeld, Germany and died in Vienna, Austria. Partial filmography * ''Jana, the Girl from the ...

Heidemarie Hatheyer Heidemarie Hatheyer (8 April 1918 – 11 May 1990) was an Austrian film actress. She appeared in 43 films between 1938 and 1988. Selected filmography *'' The Mountain Calls'' (1938) * ''Frau Sixta'' (1938) * '' The Vulture Wally'' (1940) * ...

and Hilde Körber. It was shot at the

Bavaria Studios Bavaria Studios are film production studios located in Munich, the capital of the region of Bavaria in Germany, and a subsidiary of Bavaria Film. History The studios were constructed in the suburb of Geiselgasteig in 1919 shortly after the Firs ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

and on location in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

. It is based on surgeon Ferdinand Sauerbruch's memoirs ''Das war mein Leben'', which were ghostwritten by Hans Rudolf Berndorff and were published in the German magazine ''Revue'' shortly before the release of the film. The film was shot from 26 September 1953 to 20 January 1954 in West Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, and Hamburg. It premiered on 13 July 1954.

Plot

Berlin, 1948: Olga Ahrends plunges to a streetcar and is seriously hurt. Professor Sauerbruch joins the scene and sends her into the surgical section of the

Charité The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine) is one of Europe's largest university hospitals, affiliated with Humboldt University and Free University Berlin. With numerous Collaborative Research Cen ...

. As the incident is regarded to be an attempted suicide, Olga Ahrends is admitted into the psychiatric section. A severe debate arises between Sauerbruch and the Charité psychiatrist, who diagnoses a falling sickness, while Sauerbruch recognizes that Olga Ahrends in fact is suffering from a metabolic disease weakening her bones. Olga Ahrends is in danger of being amputated her leg; Sauerbruch, however, is able to cure her by removing her parathyroid gland. Neither has she to be worried about the operation costs. Within this background story, many further episodes from Sauerbruch's life and work are shown, some of them in flashbacks. During the Bavarian Soviet Republic, he unwaveringly stuck to his professional ethics. As a consequence, he was arrested in order not to be able to help the enemies of the revolution, but was rescued by a young man whose mother Sauerbruch once had operated on. On President

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fro ...

s deathbed, Sauerbruch had to admit himself to the limitations of his profession and to calm down Hindenburg's fears that, after Hindenburgs death,

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, who had been appointed Chancellor of the German Empire by Hindenburg, would swear the army on himself, by telling Hindenburg that one only is able to decide situationally and that it is always easy for history to judge afterwards. The flashback about another Sauerbruch patient is rather of funny nature. It is about a waiter who is worried about the costs he has to pay for his operation but then reacts confused and finally breathes a sigh of relief when he learns that he has just to pay a bill about 1 DM. After end of work, Sauerbruch performs an operation on a male cat because its owner doesn't rely on veterinarians. Between operations, Sauerbruch gives lectures and examines young physicians. So, his time for private time is very limited. Mrs. Sauerbruch conforms uncomplainingly to his puritanic life style. In further flashbacks, Sauerbruch tells about his invention, which makes thorax operations possible. During Sauerbruch's years of study, tuberculosis claimed many victims because it was not possible to perform operations on the patients' lungs. When a window in Sauerbruch's house was damaged during a storm, Sauerbruch came up with the idea of an underpressure chamber, the ''

Sauerbruch chamber A Sauerbruch chamber, is a hermetically sealed chamber where surgical operations of the thorax are carried out, preventing complication by elevating or reducing air pressure. It was developed by the German surgeon Ferdinand Sauerbruch and first u ...

'', which was to equalize pressure during opening the thorax. The first operation on an old woman failed, as she died. The second operation, however, which was performed on a young opera singer, showed that Sauerbruch had been right with his idea. Also the ''Sauerbruch arm'', which is a forearm prothesis constructed by Sauerbruch, is shown, when Sauerbruch's wife presents him to one of his former patients, who has a ''Sauerbruch arm'' and, thus, is able to perform an organ concerto.

Cast

as Prof. Ferdinand Sauerbruch *

as Olga Ahrends *

Maria Wimmer Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

as Mrs. Sauerbruch * Hilde Körber as Head nurse of the psychiatric section *

Lina Carstens Lina Carstens (6 December 1892 in Wiesbaden – 22 September 1978 in Munich) was a German film and theater actress. On stage she appeared in plays by Gerhart Hauptmann, Arthur Schnitzler, and August Strindberg, and in her old age she starred in the ...

as Head nurse of the surgical section * Paul Bildt as Postman Wendlandt * Friedrich Domin as

Otto Gebühr Otto Gebühr (29 May 1877 – 13 March 1954) was a German theatre and film actor, who appeared in 102 films released between 1917 and 1954. He is noted for his performance as the Prussian king Frederick the Great in numerous films. Early lif ...

as Sauerbruch's assistant *

Ernst Waldow Ernst Waldow (22 August 1893 – 5 June 1964) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 160 films during his career. Selected filmography * ''Rübezahl's Wedding'' (1916) * '' Sin of a Beautiful Woman'' (1929) *''The Green Domino'' (1935 ...

as waiter *

Rudolf Vogel Rudolf Vogel (born 10 November 1900, Planegg – died 9 August 1967, Munich) was a German film and television actor. He was the father of Peter Vogel, the father-in-law of Austrian actress Gertraud Jesserer and the grandfather of actor-journalis ...

as waiter *

Hans Christian Blech Hans Christian Blech (20 February 19155 March 1993) was a German film, stage and television character actor who found success in both Germany and Hollywood. He made his English film debut in the 1951 picture ''Decision Before Dawn''. In this and ...

as Worker Brauer *

Charles Regnier Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

as Head of the psychiatric section *

Wilhelm Borchert Ernst Wilhelm Borchert, or just Wilhelm Borchert, (13 March 1907 in Rixdorf – 1 June 1990 in Berlin) was a German actor. He was also a voice actor for audio books and films. Theater After graduating, Borchert pursued a degree in acting at t ...

as railroader Ahrends *

Erich Ponto Erich Johannes Bruno Ponto (14 December 1884 – 14 February 1957) was a German film and stage actor. Career Erich Ponto was born in Lübeck as the son of a merchant. After his family had moved to Hamburg-Eimsbüttel, he attended the gymnasium ...

as Head Physician of the psychiatric section *

Claus Biederstaedt Claus Biederstaedt (28 June 1928 – 18 June 2020) was a German actor. He studied in Hamburg and began his career working with Joseph Offenbach. Among the actors for whom he dubbed were Yves Montand, Peter Falk, Marlon Brando, Vittorio Gassman, a ...

as Political commissar *

Edith Schultze-Westrum Edith Käthe Elisabeth Schultze-Westrum (30 December 1904 – 20 March 1981) was a German film actress. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1932 and 1979. These included the role of Mrs. Hudson in the 1962 film ''Sherlock Holmes and ...

as Sauerbruch's secretary *

Paul Westermeier Paul Westermeier (9 July 1892 – 17 October 1972) was a German film actor. Selected filmography * '' Wedding in the Eccentric Club'' (1917) * ''Agnes Arnau and Her Three Suitors'' (1918) * ''About the Son'' (1921) * '' Memoirs of a Film Actre ...

as Driver Elbell *

Kurt Horwitz 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 Professor Johann von Mikulicz

Notes

Originally, actor

O. E. Hasse Otto Eduard Hasse (11 July 1903 – 12 September 1978) was a German film actor and director. Biography Hasse was born to Wilhelm Gustav Eduard Hasse, a blacksmith, and Valeria Hasse in the village of Obersitzko, Province of Posen, German ...

hoped to play Sauerbruch. Then, however, he was recompensed with the main part in the German 1954 film ''Canaris''.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Life of Surgeon Sauerbruch 1954 films 1950s biographical films German biographical films West German films 1950s German-language films German black-and-white films Films set in Berlin Films shot in Bavaria Films directed by Rolf Hansen Medical-themed films Films set in the 1900s Films set in the 1910s Films set in the 1920s Films set in the 1930s Films set in the 1940s Biographical films about physicians Biographical films about surgeons Cultural depictions of Paul von Hindenburg Bavaria Film films Films shot at Bavaria Studios 1950s historical films German historical films 1950s German films