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UFA GmbH, shortened to UFA (), is a film and television production company that unites all production activities of the
media conglomerate A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, theme parks, or the Internet. According to the ...
Bertelsmann Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and ...
in Germany. Its name derives from Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft (normally abbreviated as ''UFA''), a major German
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
company headquartered in
Babelsberg Babelsberg () is the largest quarter ('' Stadtteil'') of Potsdam, the capital city of the German state of Brandenburg. The affluent neighbourhood named after a small hill on the Havel river is famous for Babelsberg Palace and Park, part of the Pala ...
, producing and distributing motion pictures from 1917 until the end of the
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
era. The name UFA was revived by Bertelsmann for an otherwise unrelated film and television outfit, UFA GmbH. The original UFA was established as Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft on December 18, 1917, as a direct response to foreign competition in film and propaganda. UFA was founded by a consortium headed by
Emil Georg von Stauß Emil Georg von Stauss (often rendered Emil Georg von Stauß, 6 October 1877 in Baiersbronn – 11 December 1942 in Berlin) was a German banker who served as Director-General of the board of the Deutsche Bank. Business career As well as his banking ...
, a former
Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...
board member. In March 1927,
Alfred Hugenberg Alfred Ernst Christian Alexander Hugenberg (19 June 1865 – 12 March 1951) was an influential German businessman and politician. An important figure in nationalist politics in Germany for the first few decades of the twentieth century, Hugenbe ...
, an influential German media entrepreneur and later Minister of the Economy, Agriculture and Nutrition in
Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
's cabinet, purchased UFA and transferred ownership of it to the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
in 1933. In 1942, as a result of the Nazi policy of "forcible coordination" known as the
Gleichschaltung The Nazi term () or "coordination" was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party successively established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all aspects of German society and societies occupied b ...
, UFA and all of its competitors, including Tobis,
Terra Terra may often refer to: * Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess * An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy * Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scienti ...
,
Bavaria Film Bavaria Film is a German film production and film distribution, distribution company. It is one of Europe's largest film production companies, with some 30 subsidiaries. History The studios were founded in 1919, when Munich-raised film produc ...
and
Wien-Film Wien-Film GmbH ("Vienna Film Limited") was a large Austrian film company, which in 1938 succeeded the Tobis-Sascha-Filmindustrie AG (Sascha Film Company) and lasted until 1985. Until 1945 the business was owned by the Cautio Trust Company (''Cauti ...
, were bundled together with Nazi-controlled foreign film production companies to form the super-corporation UFA-Film GmbH (Ufi), with headquarters in Berlin. After the Red Army occupied the UFA complex in 1945 in
Babelsberg Babelsberg () is the largest quarter ('' Stadtteil'') of Potsdam, the capital city of the German state of Brandenburg. The affluent neighbourhood named after a small hill on the Havel river is famous for Babelsberg Palace and Park, part of the Pala ...
, and after the privatization of Bavaria and UFA in 1956 in West Germany, the company was restructured to form Universum Film AG and taken over by a consortium of banks. However, in film production and distribution, it failed to revive and went into receivership. In 1964,
Bertelsmann Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and ...
's Chief Representative, Manfred Köhnlechner, acquired the entire Universum Film AG holdings from Deutsche Bank, which had previously been the main UFA shareholder and which had determined the company's business policy as head of the shareholders' consortium. Köhnlechner bought UFA, which was heavily in debt, on behalf of
Reinhard Mohn Reinhard Mohn (29 June 1921 – 3 October 2009) was a German billionaire businessman and philanthropist. Under his leadership, Bertelsmann, once a medium-sized printing and publishing house, established in 1835, developed into a global media co ...
for roughly five million Deutschmarks. (Köhnlechner: "The question came up as to why not take the entire thing, it still had many gems.") Only a few months later, Köhnlechner also acquired the UFA-Filmtheaterkette, a movie theater chain, for almost eleven million Deutschmarks. In 1997, UFA and the Luxembourgish rival CLT established the joint venture CLT-UFA, which, following the takeover of British rival
Pearson Television Pearson Television was the British-based television production and distribution arm of a British company Pearson PLC. History In 1994 after a bidding war, Pearson PLC bought the former British ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee Thames Televisio ...
, was restructured as
RTL Group RTL Group (for "Radio Television Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate centre in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 68 television channels and 31 radio stations in Germany, France and ...
in 2000. Now, UFA GmbH (UFA) works as a subsidiary of RTL Group's production division
FremantleMedia Fremantle (; formerly FremantleMedia) is a British multinational television production and distribution company based in London. Fremantle takes its name from Fremantle International, acquired by predecessor company All American Television in ...
, which had been formed out of Pearson TV, and is responsible for all production activities of Bertelsmann and FremantleMedia in Germany. Until August 2013, eight subsidiaries operated under the UFA umbrella: UFA Fernsehproduktion, UFA Entertainment, Grundy UFA, Grundy Light Entertainment, UFA Cinema, , Phoenix Film and UFA Brand Communication. In August 2013, UFA underwent an organizational restructuring that simplified the company down to three production divisions. Today, ''UFA Fiction'', ''UFA Serial Drama'', ''UFA Show & Factual'' and ''UFA Documentary'' are the four units responsible for production.


History


Establishment from 1917

An early step towards the founding of UFA was taken on January 13, 1917, with the creation of the Bild- und Filmamt (Bufa) by Germany's Supreme Army Command. Formed as a reaction to the perceived advantage of Germany's enemies in the realm of film propaganda, Bufa's task was to use film for psychological warfare. The plans envisaged by the German General Staff – especially those of
Erich Ludendorff Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general, politician and military theorist. He achieved fame during World War I for his central role in the German victories at Liège and Tannenberg in 1914. ...
– went far beyond the creation of Bufa. Ludendorff foresaw a large-scale, state-controlled film corporation that would serve national interests. In this spirit, Universum-Film AG (UFA) was founded as a consolidation of private film companies on December 18, 1917 in Berlin. The company's starting capital was 25 million Reichsmark (equivalent to million €): among the contributors were the German government, the War Ministry and
Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...
. The Board Chairman of the new company was Deutsche Bank director Emil Georg von Stauß. Prior to establishing the company, the General Staff had considered taking over the e. V. (DLG), which had been founded in 1916. This agency was too much under the influence of heavy industry and, in particular, of
Alfred Hugenberg Alfred Ernst Christian Alexander Hugenberg (19 June 1865 – 12 March 1951) was an influential German businessman and politician. An important figure in nationalist politics in Germany for the first few decades of the twentieth century, Hugenbe ...
, chairman of
Krupp The Krupp family (see pronunciation), a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, is notable for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG (Friedrich Krup ...
. Hugenberg would later take over UFA in 1927. Three main film companies formed the nucleus of UFA from the end of 1917: *
Messter Film Messter Film was a German film production company which operated during the silent era. It was founded by the German film pioneer Oskar Messter who already owned a chain of cinemas.Hardt p.12 It was based in Berlin which had emerged as the centre o ...
, owned by
Oskar Messter Oskar Messter (21 November 1866 – 6 December 1943) was a German inventor and film tycoon in the early years of cinema. His firm Messter Film was one of the dominant German producers before the rise of UFA, into which it was ultimately merg ...
, a dominant German producer *
PAGU The Projektions-AG Union (generally shortened to PAGU) was a German film production company which operated between 1911 and 1924 during the silent era. From 1917 onwards, the company functioned as an independent unit of Universum Film AG, and was e ...
(Projektions Union), originally formed by Paul Davidson in
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
, with the Templehof Studios in Oberlandstraße in
Berlin-Tempelhof Tempelhof () is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg. It is the location of the former Tempelhof Airport, one of the earliest commercial airports in the world. The former airport and surroundings are now a park called ...
and in Weissensee; and the Union-Theater (U.T. or U.T- Lichtspiele) chain of some 50 cinemas * The entire German operation of
Nordisk Film Nordisk Film A/S (lit. "Nordic Film") is a Danish entertainment company established in 1906 in Copenhagen by filmmaker Ole Olsen. It is the fourth-oldest film studio in the world behind the Gaumont Film Company, Pathé, and Titanus ...
(founded in 1906 by Ole Olsen) including Nordische Films, the production company Oliver-Film of , cinemas, and a distribution company, was bought by UFA in 1918 More companies joined UFA not long after: *
Joe May Joe May (born Joseph Otto Mandl; 7 November 1880 – 29 April 1954) was an Austrian film director and film producer and one of the pioneers of German cinema. Biography After studying in Berlin and a variety of odd jobs, he began his career a ...
's May-Film company, with film duplicating plant and glass-house studios at
Weissensee Studios The Weissensee Studios (german: Filmstadt Weißensee) was a collection of separate film production studios located in the Berlin suburb of Weißensee during the silent era. History The two main studios comprising the complex were almost next ...
(next door to PAGU). The studios were previously owned by
Continental-Kunstfilm 123 Chauseestraße, Berlin, Continental-Kunstfilm's first studioThe inscription ERBAUT MDCCCXCVI (built 1906) appears on the building. Remarkably it survived East_Berlin.html"_;"title="World_War_II,_and_ended_up_on_the_East_Berlin">World_War_II, ...
, whose production had slowed since 1915 and didn't join UFA. *
Greenbaum-Film Jules Greenbaum (5 January 1867 – 1 November 1924) was a German pioneering film producer. He founded the production companies Deutsche Bioscope, Deutsche Vitascope and Greenbaum-Film and was a dominant figure in German cinema in the years befor ...
(previously Vitascope before its brief merger with PAGU in January 1914) joined in 1919, but the deal was disastrous for
Jules Greenbaum Jules Greenbaum (5 January 1867 – 1 November 1924) was a German pioneering film producer. He founded the production companies Deutsche Bioscope, Deutsche Vitascope and Greenbaum-Film and was a dominant figure in German cinema in the years before ...
who died in a mental institution in 1924. * Decla-Bioscop. Originally founded by Jules Greenbaum in 1902 as Deutsche Bioskop AG, sold to Carl Moritz Schleussner in 1908 and moved to
Neubabelsberg Babelsberg () is the largest quarter (''Stadtteil'') of Potsdam, the capital city of the German state of Brandenburg. The affluent neighbourhood named after a small hill on the Havel river is famous for Babelsberg Palace and Park, part of the Pala ...
); merged in March 1920 with
Erich Pommer Erich Pommer (20 July 1889 – 8 May 1966) was a German-born film producer and executive. Pommer was perhaps the most powerful person in the German and European film industries in the 1920s and early 1930s. As producer, Erich Pommer was involved ...
's Decla-Film which had been formed in 1915 out of the confiscated assets of the German branch of the French
Éclair An éclair (, ; ) is a pastry made with choux dough filled with a cream and topped with a flavored icing. The dough, which is the same as that used for profiterole, is typically piped into an oblong shape with a pastry bag and baked until it ...
(Deutsche Éclair, thus Decla) to form Decla-Bioskop: Taken over by UFA in October 1921. UFA continued to sign production agreements with various independent producers: *
Deulig Deulig Film or Deutsche Lichtbild-Gesellschaft was a German film production and distribution company. It was established in 1916 by the German business tycoon and media mogul Alfred Hugenberg. The company's foundation, during the First World War, ...
from October 1920, previously (DLG) * Cserépy Film, founded by
Arzén von Cserépy Arzén von Cserépy (1881–1958) was a Hungary, Hungarian screenwriter, film producer and film director, director who was based in Germany. He ran his own production company Cserépy-Film until it was merged into the larger UFA GmbH, UFA empire. ...
, merged with UFA in 1922Cserepy-Film
German Early Cinema Database. Retrieved 23 October 2016. * Gloria-Film AG, founded by
Hanns Lippmann Hanns Lippmann (1890–1929) was a German film producer of the silent era. Lippmann set up Gloria-Film AG (later taken over by Ufa), and was closely associated with the director E.A. Dupont.St. Pierre p.18 Selected filmography * '' The Golem'' ...
*
Heinrich Bolten-Baeckers Heinrich Bolten-Baeckers (1871–1938) was a German playwright, screenwriter, film director and film producer, producer. He worked on a number of films during the silent era. Towards the end of his film career he directed comedies for Universum Fil ...
' BB-Film * Rex-Film, founded in 1917 by
Lupu Pick Lupu Pick (2 January 1886 – 7 March 1931) was a German actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter of the silent era. He appeared in 50 films between 1910 and 1928. Born in Romania, Pick's father was a Jewish Austrian,Hans Morgenst ...
* Fern-Andra Vertriebsgesellschaft, the film production company of
Fern Andra Fern Andra, Dowager Baroness von Weichs (born Vernal Edna Andrews, November 24, 1893 – February 8, 1974) was an American actress, film director, script writer, and producer. Next to Henny Porten and Asta Nielsen, she was one of the most po ...
* Ossi-Oswalda-Film contracted to UFA from 1925 * The
distributor A distributor is an enclosed rotating switch used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines that have mechanically timed ignition. The distributor's main function is to route high voltage current from the ignition coil to the spark plugs ...
Hansa-Film


Silent era (1918–1930)

left, UFA film set at the Templehof Studios Given that Germany had been – and continued to be – largely cut off from film imports due to World War I, the new company had ideal conditions for their conquest of the German market. The mission of UFA at the time of its founding was the production of films – feature films, documentaries, cultural films and weekly headline (newsreel) films – designed to function as propaganda for Germany abroad. However, after mounting tensions between the company's founding members, Deutsche Bank was able to prevail and implement their approach to film production as a business rather than for military objectives. Instead of propaganda films, UFA now produced elaborate entertainment films such as '' Sumurun'' (
Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as ...
, 1920). UFA was already in 1921 producing the lion's share of German feature films, and in that year it was privatized. Starting in 1922, large ateliers in
Neubabelsberg Babelsberg () is the largest quarter (''Stadtteil'') of Potsdam, the capital city of the German state of Brandenburg. The affluent neighbourhood named after a small hill on the Havel river is famous for Babelsberg Palace and Park, part of the Pala ...
(today's
Babelsberg Studio Babelsberg Film Studio (german: Filmstudio Babelsberg), located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin, Germany, is the second oldest large-scale film studio in the world only preceded by the Danish Nordisk Film (est. 1906), producing films since ...
) and on Oberlandstraße in
Berlin-Tempelhof Tempelhof () is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg. It is the location of the former Tempelhof Airport, one of the earliest commercial airports in the world. The former airport and surroundings are now a park called ...
were made available for film production. In 1926, the facilities were expanded by means of the construction of the largest studio hall in Europe at the time. In 1923, after Decla-Bioscop AG and others were taken over,
Erich Pommer Erich Pommer (20 July 1889 – 8 May 1966) was a German-born film producer and executive. Pommer was perhaps the most powerful person in the German and European film industries in the 1920s and early 1930s. As producer, Erich Pommer was involved ...
became head of all production operations and discovered and fostered many stars, including
Emil Jannings Emil Jannings (born Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz, 23 July 1884 â€“ 2 January 1950) was a Swiss born German actor, popular in the 1920s in Hollywood. He was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for his roles in '' The L ...
,
Pola Negri Pola Negri (; born Apolonia Chalupec ; 3 January 1897 – 1 August 1987) was a Polish stage and film actress and singer. She achieved worldwide fame during the silent and golden eras of Hollywood and European film for her tragedienne and femme ...
,
Conrad Veidt Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man Who Laugh ...
and Lya de Putti. During this era UFA was a leader in the time of the ''
German Expressionism German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central ...
'', experienced a further boom, and emerged as a direct competitor to Hollywood with films such as '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), '' Dr. Mabuse the Gambler'' (1922), ''
Die Nibelungen ''Die Nibelungen'' ("The Nibelungs") is a two-part series of silent fantasy films created by Austrian director Fritz Lang in 1924, consisting of ''Die Nibelungen: Siegfried'' and ''Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge''. The scenarios for bot ...
'' (1924), ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' (1925) and ''
Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...
'' (1926).


Hugenberg (1927–1933)

In 1927, UFA found itself in serious financial trouble. After the stabilization of the German currency starting in November 1923, the German film industry in general entered a period of crisis: foreign sales stalled due to low profit margins, and the German market became profitable once again for American film giants. The resulting concentration on a few large German film companies, which came together to unite production, distribution and presentation under one UFA's managers made severe miscalculations with regard to two large-scale productions, ''Nibelungen'' and ''
Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...
'' in 1924-1926. This situation was made even worse as the result of a gag contract (the
Parufamet Parufamet was the name of a distribution company established by the American film studios Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an ...
agreement) they had entered into in 1925 with the American companies
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
and
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
. In March 1927, with the company facing bankruptcy,
Alfred Hugenberg Alfred Ernst Christian Alexander Hugenberg (19 June 1865 – 12 March 1951) was an influential German businessman and politician. An important figure in nationalist politics in Germany for the first few decades of the twentieth century, Hugenbe ...
– Chairman of the
German National People's Party The German National People's Party (german: Deutschnationale Volkspartei, DNVP) was a national-conservative party in Germany during the Weimar Republic. Before the rise of the Nazi Party, it was the major conservative and nationalist party in Wei ...
and owner of the Scherl-Gruppe, a powerful media corporation – bought the company. The new General Director was Ludwig Klitzsch; Hugenberg himself took over the chairmanship of the supervisory board; his deputy was banker
Emil Georg von Stauß Emil Georg von Stauss (often rendered Emil Georg von Stauß, 6 October 1877 in Baiersbronn – 11 December 1942 in Berlin) was a German banker who served as Director-General of the board of the Deutsche Bank. Business career As well as his banking ...
. At first, nothing changed in UFA's production policy. In 1928,
Erich Pommer Erich Pommer (20 July 1889 – 8 May 1966) was a German-born film producer and executive. Pommer was perhaps the most powerful person in the German and European film industries in the 1920s and early 1930s. As producer, Erich Pommer was involved ...
was replaced as head of production by Ernst Hugo Correll, who led the company through the transition to talking pictures or "talkies". UFA gained an advantage over smaller companies in the realm of talkie production as a result of a contract with Tobis-Klangfilm, which simplified the licensing situation for UFA. Nevertheless, UFA has recorded unsurpassed artistic successes with films such as Fritz Lang's ''
Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...
'' (inscribed on
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
's
Memory of the World Register Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
, the first film thus distinguished) and ''
Woman in the Moon ''Woman in the Moon'' (German language, German ''Frau im Mond'') is a German science fiction silent film that premiered 15 October 1929 at the UFA-Palast am Zoo cinema in Berlin to an audience of 2,000. It is often considered to be one of the f ...
'' to this day. ''
Asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
'' (''German Realism'') or entertainment movies such as ''
Melody of the Heart ''Melody of the Heart'' (german: Melodie des Herzens) is a 1929 German musical film directed by Hanns Schwarz and starring Dita Parlo, Willy Fritsch and Gerő Mály. The film was the first successful sound film produced by the German major st ...
'' or the musical film '' The Three from the Filling Station'' are produced by the UFA. In 1930, the company enjoyed worldwide success with the film ''
The Blue Angel ''The Blue Angel'' (german: Der blaue Engel) is a 1930 German musical comedy-drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg, and starring Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings and Kurt Gerron. Written by Carl Zuckmayer, Karl Vollmöller and Robert Lie ...
'', starring
Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
and
Emil Jannings Emil Jannings (born Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz, 23 July 1884 â€“ 2 January 1950) was a Swiss born German actor, popular in the 1920s in Hollywood. He was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for his roles in '' The L ...
, directed by Joseph von Sternberg.


Nazification (1933–1937)

UFA experienced a new commercial boom in the Nazi era, not least due to the government's protectionist measures, which freed the company from bothersome domestic and foreign competition, sometimes even incorporating their production facilities and staff (see also: National Socialist Film Policy). On top of that, by occupying almost all of Europe, the Nazi regime also provided UFA with new sales markets, as well as placing distribution outlets in such "neutral" countries as the United States. By 1938, after taking over foreign film production facilities in France, Belgium and other countries, one third of the company's sales came from abroad. UFA's economic boom made it possible to further expand the so-called "star system," which had already been developed in the silent film era. The highest paid UFA stars in the Nazi era were
Hans Albers Hans Philipp August Albers (22 September 1891 – 24 July 1960) was a German actor and singer. He was the biggest male movie star in Germany between 1930 and 1960 and one of the most popular German actors of the twentieth century. Early life ...
and
Zarah Leander Zarah Leander (; 15 March 1907 – 23 June 1981) was a Swedish singer and actress whose greatest success was in Germany between 1936 and 1943, when she was contracted to work for the state-owned Universum Film AG (UFA). Although no exact record ...
.
Veit Harlan Veit Harlan (22 September 1899 – 13 April 1964) was a German film director and actor. Harlan reached the highpoint of his career as a director in the Nazi era; most notably his antisemitic film ''Jud Süß'' (1940) makes him controversial ...
was the highest-earning director. In addition, as a result of the nationalist German spirit that already dominated the company, UFA was perfectly suited to serve the goals of National Socialist propaganda in film. Hugenberg had been named Reich Minister of Economics immediately following the Nazi takeover of January 30, 1933, and made UFA openly available for
Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 â€“ 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...
' propaganda machine, even though Hugenberg was removed from his post shortly thereafter (June 1933) under pressure from Hitler. In an act of anticipatory obedience to the Nazi regime, UFA management fired several Jewish employees on March 29, 1933. In the summer of 1933, the Nazi regime created the Film Chamber of the Reich, which adopted regulations officially excluding Jewish filmmakers from all German studios.


Nationalization (1937–1941)

In 1936, Germany's first film institute was founded in the form of the UFA-Lehrschau set up by Hans Traub at the Babelsberg Film Complex. Goebbels systematically brought UFA and all other media companies under the control of his Propaganda Ministry. On March 18, 1937, the Hugenberg Company was forced to sell all of its UFA shares for 21.25 million Reichsmark (equivalent to million €) to Cautio Treuhand GmbH, a quasi-governmental holding company that answered to Goebbels. This move meant that UFA was effectively nationalized. Emil Georg von Stauß was named Chairman of the Supervisory Committee, Ludwig Klitzsch remained General Director, and Carl Opitz was named Press Officer. In May, an art committee headed by Carl Froelich – but in fact controlled by Goebbels – was founded. This committee proceeded to have a direct influence on UFA's production planning; it also severely curtailed the work of production head Ernst Hugo Correll. In 1939, Correll was fired after refusing to join the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
. At the time of its nationalization, among the production facilities belonging to UFA were 27 film studios, nine of which were in Neubabelsberg (Potsdam-Babelsberg), and seven of which were in Berlin-Tempelhof, including three that belonged to Carl Froelich-Film GmbH in name only. UFA also had two dubbing studios, a mixing studio, two animation studios, two ateliers for advertising films, one for cartoons and a small training atelier.


State film monopoly: UFI (1942–1945)

On January 10, 1942, UFA officially became the subsidiary of UFA-Film GmbH (UFI), into which all German film production was merged. Other companies were dissolved or integrated into UFA at the time, including Bavaria Film, Berlin-Film, Terra Film and Tobis AG, which became additional production units. Film production in the captured nations was also brought under its aegis. Profits reached 155 million
Reichsmarks The (; sign: ℛℳ; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of Germany from 1924 until 20 June 1948 in West Germany, where it was replaced with the , and until 23 June 1948 in East Germany, where it was replaced by the East German mark. The Reichs ...
in 1942 () and 175 million ℛℳ in 1943 (). At this point, the UFA staff hierarchy was reorganized according to the Nazi
Führer principle ( ; , spelled or ''Fuhrer'' when the umlaut is not available) is a German word meaning "leader" or "guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany cultivated the ("leader principl ...
. The coordination of individual sub-groups of the UFI Corporation was the job of the newly appointed Reich Film Director-General. The production heads worked for the administrative director general and were responsible for the overall planning of annual programming and content design all the way up to the actual shooting of the film: these heads were also responsible for giving instructions to the film line producers and directors. It was subsequently fully nationalized in mid-1944.


Post-war period: Dissolution and Sovietization vs. re-privatization

In late April 1945, the UFA ateliers in
Potsdam-Babelsberg Babelsberg () is the largest quarter (''Stadtteil'') of Potsdam, the capital city of the German state of Brandenburg. The affluent neighbourhood named after a small hill on the Havel river is famous for Babelsberg Palace and Park, part of the Palac ...
and
Berlin-Tempelhof Tempelhof () is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg. It is the location of the former Tempelhof Airport, one of the earliest commercial airports in the world. The former airport and surroundings are now a park called ...
were occupied by the Red Army. After the German Wehrmacht issued its unconditional surrender on May 7 & 9, 1945, the Military Government Law No. 191 initially halted and prohibited all further film production. On July 14, 1945, as a result of Military Government Law No. 52, all Reich-owned film assets of UFI Holding were seized. All activities in the film industry were placed under strict licensing regulations and all films were subject to censorship. The Soviet military government, which was in favour of a speedy reconstruction of the German film industry under Soviet supervision, incorporated the Babelsberg ateliers into
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 ...
, subsequently the GDR's state film studio, on May 17, 1946. ''
Murderers Among Us ''Die Mörder sind unter uns'', a German film known in English as ''Murderers Among Us'' in the United States or ''The Murderers Are Among Us'' in the United Kingdom was one of the first post-World War II German films and the first ''Trümmerfilm ...
'' was the first German feature film in the post-war era and the first so-called "Trümmerfilm" ("Rubble Film"). It was shot in 1945/46 by DEFA in the Althoff Studios in
Babelsberg Babelsberg () is the largest quarter ('' Stadtteil'') of Potsdam, the capital city of the German state of Brandenburg. The affluent neighbourhood named after a small hill on the Havel river is famous for Babelsberg Palace and Park, part of the Pala ...
and the Jofa ateliers in Berlin-Johannisthal. Wolfgang Staudte directed the film and also wrote the screenplay. Additionally, the Soviets confiscated numerous UFA productions from the Babelsburg vaults and dubbed them into Russian for release in the USSR; and simultaneously began importing Soviet films to the same offices for dubbing into German and distribution to the surviving German theaters. In contrast, the main film-policy goal of the Allied occupying forces, under American insistence, consisted in preventing any future accumulation of power in the German film industry. The Western powers also had more interest in opening up the German film market for their own products rather than in letting the national film industry regain its foothold. Thus the reorganization of Germany's film industry outside the Soviet zone was very slow, in spite of the "Lex UFI" law issued in September 1949 by the American and British military regime and the Dissolution Law (June 1953) issued by the German Bundestag. The status of UFA was furthermore controversial, with doubts about whether it should be allowed to resume operations at all because of its identification with Nazi film production. Motion pictures produced after the war in the Allied zones were, for a decade, made by other, fledgling companies. It was 1956 by the time Bavaria was outsourced and the remaining UFA re-privatized. A bank consortium led by Deutsche Bank was behind the founding of the new Universum-Film AG, whose production facilities included the Afifa-Kopierwerk and the ateliers in Berlin-Tempelhof. Its first Board Chairman was
Arno Hauke The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. Source and route The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennine Mountains, Apennines, and i ...
who, until then, had been the General Trustee for UFI assets in the British zone. The first film made by Universum-Film AG, a short documentary film called '' Am Seidenen Faden'', came out in 1955. In 1958, the first UFA feature film '' Stefanie'' came out: it starred
Sabine Sinjen Sabine Sinjen (18 August 1942 – 18 May 1995) was a German film actress. She appeared in more than 50 films between 1957 and 1994. Sinjen was married to television director Peter Beauvais from 1963 to 1984. She appeared as one of 28 women ...
and was directed by Josef von Baky, who had directed the UFA's large-scale 25th anniversary film '' Münchhausen'' in 1942. In 1969, after ten further feature films directed by leading artists such as
Curtis Bernhardt Curtis Bernhardt (15 April 1899 – 22 February 1981) was a Jewish film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt. He trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film director in 1924, wi ...
,
William Dieterle William Dieterle (July 15, 1893 – December 9, 1972) was a German-born actor and film director who emigrated to the United States in 1930 to leave a worsening political situation. He worked in Hollywood primarily as a director for much of his ...
,
Helmut Käutner Helmut Käutner (25 March 1908 – 20 April 1980) was a German film director active mainly in the 1940s and 1950s. He entered the film industry at the end of the Weimar Republic and released his first films as a director in Nazi Germany. Käu ...
and
Wolfgang Liebeneiner Wolfgang Georg Louis Liebeneiner (6 October 1905 – 28 November 1987) was a German actor, film director and theatre director. Beginnings He was born in Lubawka, Liebau in Prussian Silesia. In 1928, he was taught by Otto Falckenberg, the directo ...
– as well as such newcomers as
Peter Beauvais Peter Beauvais (September 9, 1916, Weißenstadt, Germany – December 17, 1986, Baden-Baden, Germany) was a German television film director and scriptwriter. As a director for three decades, he helped pioneer and significantly influenced the devel ...
,
Rolf von Sydow Rolf von Sydow (18 June 1924 – 16 June 2019) was a German film director and author. Life Von Sydow worked as a film director in Germany. He married on three occasions. As an author, Sydow wrote several books and audible books. Works by Syd ...
and
Georg Tressler Georg Tressler (January 25, 1917 – January 6, 2007) was a Vienna-born German film actor and film director. Also known as George Tressler, Hans Tressler, Hans Dressler, Hans Georg Keil and Hans Sternbeck (per IMDb). The son of actor Otto Tr ...
– feature film production at UFA was ended.


Bertelsmann (starting in 1964)

In 1964,
Bertelsmann Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and ...
acquired Universum-Film AG and all other divisions of UFA-Theater AG. In order to prevent the sale of film rights belonging to the old UFA, the
Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation The Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation (german: Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung ), based in Wiesbaden, was founded in 1966 to preserve and curate a collection of the works of Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau as well as a collection of other German ...
was set up in Wiesbaden on the initiative of the German Federal Government and representatives of the film industry. In 1966, the foundation acquired the rights to UFA and Bavaria Film – and they have been administering, storing and restoring ever since. In 1972, the Riech Group acquired UFA-Theater AG and continued operating the company with a license from Bertelsmann under the UFA's trademark rhombus logo. The right to the UFA name remains, however, with Bertelsmann. Under the management of Werner Mietzner, the company experienced a renaissance in productions at UFA Fernsehproduktion. With the launch of private television in 1984, the Bertelsmann Group brought together its film and TV activities in a new holding – the UFA Film und Fernseh GmbH in Hamburg – which also held investments in radio and TV stations such as RTL and Premiere. They also established and marketed new film and sports rights. The production companies belonging to UFA Berlin have been under the management of Wolf Bauer, Norbert Sauer and Axel Reick since autumn 1991. Using the rhombus logo again, this team developed UFA Film & TV Produktion into the largest production company in Germany, now written in capital letters ''UFA''. UFA's many prize-winning TV films, light entertainment formats, popular soap operas, long-running TV series, sitcoms and non-fiction programs have made it the leader on the German television market. The company broadcasts over 2,800 hours of content each year. In early 1997, the holding society UFA Hamburg (today Cologne) merged with CLT in Luxemburg to form CLT-UFA. April 2000 saw a merger with Pearson TV and the creation of the RTL Group, in which Bertelsmann has held the majority (90.4%) since late 2001. All worldwide production activities of the RTL Group are consolidated in FremantleMedia, and UFA is the holding company of all FremantleMedia's production activities in Germany. UFAInteractive, a small subsidiary directly associated with the holding company, was created to fulfill UFA's need for constant innovation (e.g. program content for mobile devices and special-interest channels) as well as to assist the larger companies independently in an advisory function. On August 9, 2013, the company underwent a major restructuring based on the new strategic goal and concept of "One UFA". UFA's organizational structure was simplified down to three production units.


Production units

*
UFA Fiction UFA Fiction is a company founded in August 2013 for fiction film and television productions of the UFA based in Potsdam-Babelsberg. The company was created through the merger of the UFA subsidiaries ', ''Phoenix Film'' and ''UFA Fernsehproduktion' ...
* UFA Serial Drama *UFA Show & Factual


Former subsidiaries

*UFA Cinema GmbH *UFA brand communication GmbH *UFA Entertainment *UFA Fernsehproduktion, Phoenix Film, *UFA Filmproduktion *UFA Film- & Medienproduktion GmbH *UFA Interactive *GRUNDY Light Entertainment GmbH *Grundy UFA (Grundy UFA Baleares, Magyar Grundy UFA) * Passion *Universum Film GmbH ''(since 2019 owned by KKR, renamed as Leonine Distribution in 2020)''


Popular films from the 1920s to the 1940s

UFA experienced a golden age in cinema from the 1920s to the 1940s. In this period, the company contributed significantly to the history of German film. The following are among UFA's most famous productions from those years: * 1922: '' Dr. Mabuse the Gambler'' (directed by
Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...
) * 1924: ''
Die Nibelungen ''Die Nibelungen'' ("The Nibelungs") is a two-part series of silent fantasy films created by Austrian director Fritz Lang in 1924, consisting of ''Die Nibelungen: Siegfried'' and ''Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge''. The scenarios for bot ...
'' (directed by Fritz Lang) * 1924: '' The Last Laugh'' (directed by
F. W. Murnau Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe; December 28, 1888March 11, 1931) was a German film director, producer and screenwriter. He was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays he had seen at t ...
; invention of the ''
Unchained camera technique The unchained camera technique ( in German) was an innovation by cinematographer Karl Freund that allowed for filmmakers to get shots from cameras in motion enabling them to use pan shots, tracking shots, tilts, crane shots, etc. The technique wa ...
'') * 1927: ''
Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...
'' (directed by Fritz Lang; first feature science fiction film) * 1929: ''
Woman in the Moon ''Woman in the Moon'' (German language, German ''Frau im Mond'') is a German science fiction silent film that premiered 15 October 1929 at the UFA-Palast am Zoo cinema in Berlin to an audience of 2,000. It is often considered to be one of the f ...
'' (directed by Fritz Lang; invention of the
countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
) * 1930: ''
The Blue Angel ''The Blue Angel'' (german: Der blaue Engel) is a 1930 German musical comedy-drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg, and starring Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings and Kurt Gerron. Written by Carl Zuckmayer, Karl Vollmöller and Robert Lie ...
'' (directed by
Josef von Sternberg Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an Austrian-American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era, during which he worked with most of the major ...
) * 1930: '' The Three from the Filling Station'' (directed by
Wilhelm Thiele Wilhelm Thiele (1890–1975) was an Austrian screenwriter and film director. He directed over 40 films between 1921 and 1960. Life and career Thiele started his show career as a stage actor. He got his start in Austrian and German film during t ...
) * 1930: ''
Burglars Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...
'' (directed by
Hanns Schwarz Hanns Schwarz (11 February 1888 – 27 October 1945) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian film director. He was born in Vienna on 11 February 1888. Biography He directed twenty four films between 1924 and 1937 in both English-language, English and ...
) * 1931: ''
Der Kongreß tanzt ''Der Kongress tanzt'' (English: ''The Congress Dances'') is a Cinema of Germany, German musical comedy, musical comedy film produced in 1931 by Universum Film AG, Ufa, directed by Erik Charell, starring Lilian Harvey as Christel Weinzinger, th ...
'' (directed by
Erik Charell Erik Charell (April 8, 1894 – July 15, 1974), born as Erich Karl Löwenberg, was a German theatre and film director, dancer and actor. He is best known as the creator of musical revues and operettas, such as '' The White Horse Inn'' (''Im weià ...
) * 1931: ''
The Man in Search of His Murderer ''The Man in Search of His Murderer'' (german: Der Mann, der seinen Mörder sucht) is a 1931 German comedy film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Heinz Rühmann, Lien Deyers and Hans Leibelt.Hardt p. 239 The film is partially lost; of the ...
'' (directed by
Robert Siodmak Robert Siodmak (; 8 August 1900 – 10 March 1973) was a German film director who also worked in the United States. He is best remembered as a thriller specialist and for a series of films noirs he made in the 1940s, such as ''The Killers'' (19 ...
) * 1931: '' Bombs on Monte Carlo'' (directed by Hanns Schwarz) * 1931: ''
My Wife, the Impostor ''My Wife, the Impostor'' (german: Meine Frau, die Hochstaplerin) is a 1931 German comedy film directed by Kurt Gerron and starring Heinz Rühmann, Käthe von Nagy and Fritz Grünbaum.Hake p. 95 It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin. Th ...
'' (directed by
Kurt Gerron Kurt Gerron (11 May 1897 – 28 October 1944) was a German History of the Jews in Germany, Jewish actor and film director. He and his wife, Olga were murdered in the Holocaust. Life Born Kurt Gerson into a well-off merchant family in Berlin, he ...
) * 1932: ''
Things Are Getting Better Already ''Things Are Getting Better Already'' (German: ''Es wird schon wieder besser'') is a 1932 German comedy film directed by Kurt Gerron and starring Dolly Haas, Heinz Rühmann and Paul Otto.Waldman p.45 It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Berl ...
'' (directed by Kurt Gerron) * 1933: ''
The Empress and I ''The Empress and I'' (german: Ich und die Kaiserin) is a 1933 German musical comedy film directed by Friedrich Hollaender and starring Lilian Harvey, Mady Christians and Conrad Veidt.Bock & Bergfelder p. 209 It is also known by the alternative t ...
'' (directed by
Friedrich Hollaender Friedrich Hollaender (in exile also Frederick Hollander; 18 October 189618 January 1976) was a German film score, film composer and author. Life and career He was born in London to a Jewish family, where his father, operetta composer Victor Ho ...
) * 1935: ''
Triumph of the Will ''Triumph of the Will'' (german: Triumph des Willens) is a 1935 German Nazi propaganda film directed, produced, edited and co-written by Leni Riefenstahl. Adolf Hitler commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive producer; his na ...
'' (directed by
Leni Riefenstahl Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, photographer and actress known for her role in producing Nazi propaganda. A talented swimmer and an artist, Riefenstahl also became in ...
) * 1937: ''
The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes ''The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes'' (German: ''Der Mann, der Sherlock Holmes war'') is a 1937 German mystery comedy film directed by Karl Hartl and starring Hans Albers, Heinz Rühmann and Marieluise Claudius. The film's sets were designed by th ...
'' (directed by
Karl Hartl Karl Hartl (10 May 1899 – 29 August 1978) was an Austrian film director. Life Born in Vienna, Hartl began his film career at the Austrian Sascha-Film company of Alexander Kolowrat and from 1919 was assistant to the Hungarian director Alexande ...
) * 1938: ''
Faded Melody ''Faded Melody'' (german: Verklungene Melodie) is a 1938 German drama film directed by Viktor Tourjansky and starring Brigitte Horney, Willy Birgel and Carl Raddatz.Hake p. 247The film was made by Germany's largest studio of the era UFA. It was s ...
'' (directed by
Viktor Tourjansky The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * Victor (1951 film), ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * Victor (1993 film), ...
) * 1941: ''
Women Are Better Diplomats ''Women Are Better Diplomats'' (german: Frauen sind doch bessere Diplomaten) is a 1941 German musical comedy film directed by Georg Jacoby and starring Marika Rökk, Willy Fritsch and Aribert Wäscher. It was based on a novel by Hans Flemming. ...
'' (directed by
Georg Jacoby Georg Jacoby (23 July 1882 – 21 February 1964) was a German film director and screenwriter.Profile
, bfi.org.uk; accessed ...
; Germany's first feature film in color,
Agfacolor An Agfacolor slide dated 1937 from café in Oslo, Norway. An Agfacolor slide dated 1937 from Paris, France. An Agfacolor slide dated 1938 from Hungary. An Agfacolor slide dated 1938 from Zakopane in Poland. An Agfacolor slide dated 1938 fr ...
) * 1943: '' Münchhausen'' (directed by
Josef von Báky Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) * ''Josef'' (film), a 2011 Croatian war film *Musik Josef Musik Josef is a Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments. It was founded by Yukio Nakamura, and is the only company in Japan spe ...
; feature film in color celebrating UFA's 25th anniversary) * 1944: ''
Die Feuerzangenbowle ''Die Feuerzangenbowle'' (''The Fire Tongs Bowl'', ''The Punch Bowl'') is a German novel, later adapted into several films, which tells the story of a famous writer going undercover as a pupil at a small town gymnasium after his friends tell him ...
'' (directed by
Helmut Weiss Helmut Weiss (January 25, 1907 – January 13, 1969) was a German actor, screenwriter, and film director. He was notable for directing '' Tell the Truth'' the first film produced in what was to become the future West Germany after the Second World ...
) * 1945: '' Kolberg'' (directed by
Veit Harlan Veit Harlan (22 September 1899 – 13 April 1964) was a German film director and actor. Harlan reached the highpoint of his career as a director in the Nazi era; most notably his antisemitic film ''Jud Süß'' (1940) makes him controversial ...
; monumental propaganda film shortly before the fall of the Third Reich) * 1945: ''
Under the Bridges ''Under the Bridges'' (german: Unter den Brücken) is a 1946 German drama film directed by Helmut Käutner and starring Hannelore Schroth, Carl Raddatz and Gustav Knuth. The film was shot in Berlin during the summer of 1944, but was not released u ...
'' (directed by
Helmut Käutner Helmut Käutner (25 March 1908 – 20 April 1980) was a German film director active mainly in the 1940s and 1950s. He entered the film industry at the end of the Weimar Republic and released his first films as a director in Nazi Germany. Käu ...
)


Leading UFA directors

The following are among the most successful UFA directors in the silent era and early talkie period: Ludwig Berger,
Paul Czinner Paul Czinner (30 May 1890 – 22 June 1972) was a Hungarian-born British writer, film director, and producer. Biography Czinner was born to a Jewish family in Budapest, Austria-Hungary. After studying literature and philosophy at the Universi ...
,
Wilhelm Dieterle William Dieterle (July 15, 1893 – December 9, 1972) was a German-born actor and film director who emigrated to the United States in 1930 to leave a worsening political situation. He worked in Hollywood primarily as a director for much of his ...
,
Ewald André Dupont Ewald André Dupont (25 December 1891 – 12 December 1956) was a German film director, one of the pioneers of the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. He was often credited as E. A. Dupont. Early career A newspaper columnist in 1916, Dupont ...
,
Karl Grune Karl Grune (22 January 1890 – 2 October 1962) was an Austrian film director and writer who made many silent films in the 1920s. Grune was born into a Jewish familySiegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German ...
,
Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...
,
Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as ...
,
Joe May Joe May (born Joseph Otto Mandl; 7 November 1880 – 29 April 1954) was an Austrian film director and film producer and one of the pioneers of German cinema. Biography After studying in Berlin and a variety of odd jobs, he began his career a ...
,
Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe; December 28, 1888March 11, 1931) was a German film director, producer and screenwriter. He was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays he had seen at th ...
,
Arthur Robison Arthur Robison (June 25, 1883 – October 20, 1935) was a German film director and screenwriter of the silent era. He directed 20 films between 1916 and 1935. Selected filmography * ''A Night of Horror'' (1916) * ''What Belongs to Darkness' ...
,
Hanns Schwarz Hanns Schwarz (11 February 1888 – 27 October 1945) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian film director. He was born in Vienna on 11 February 1888. Biography He directed twenty four films between 1924 and 1937 in both English-language, English and ...
,
Paul L. Stein Paul Ludwig Stein (4 February 1892 – 2 May 1951) was an Austrian-born film director with 67 films to his credit. Stein began his career in Berlin in 1918 and worked exclusively in the German silent film industry until 1926, when he first w ...
,
Wilhelm Thiele Wilhelm Thiele (1890–1975) was an Austrian screenwriter and film director. He directed over 40 films between 1921 and 1960. Life and career Thiele started his show career as a stage actor. He got his start in Austrian and German film during t ...
. Between 1933 and 1942, the following were house directors at UFA:
Carl Boese Carl Eduard Hermann Boese (; 26 August 1887 – 6 July 1958) was a German film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He directed 158 films between 1917 and 1957. Selected filmography * ''Farmer Borchardt'' (1917) * ''Donna Lucia ...
,
Eduard von Borsody Eduard von Borsody (; 13 June 1898 – 1 January 1970) was an Austrian cameraman, film editor, film director, and screenplay writer. Biography His film career began as a cameraman. Among his first jobs were three films on which Mihály Kertés ...
, Peter Paul Brauer,
Karl Hartl Karl Hartl (10 May 1899 – 29 August 1978) was an Austrian film director. Life Born in Vienna, Hartl began his film career at the Austrian Sascha-Film company of Alexander Kolowrat and from 1919 was assistant to the Hungarian director Alexande ...
,
Georg Jacoby Georg Jacoby (23 July 1882 – 21 February 1964) was a German film director and screenwriter.Profile
, bfi.org.uk; accessed ...
,
Gerhard Lamprecht Gerhard Lamprecht (6 October 1897 – 4 May 1974) was a German film director, screenwriter and film historian. He directed 63 films between 1920 and 1958. He also wrote for 26 films between 1918 and 1958. Life and career Lamprecht was fasci ...
,
Herbert Maisch Herbert Maisch (born 10 December 1890in Nürtingen, Württemberg, died 10 October 1974 in Köln) was a German film director. Selected filmography * '' The Royal Waltz'' (1935) * ''Boccaccio'' (1936) * '' Love's Awakening'' (1936) * '' Men Witho ...
,
Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...
, Karl Ritter,
Reinhold Schünzel Reinhold Schünzel (7 November 1888 – 11 November 1954) was a German actor and director, active in both Germany and the United States. The son of a German father and a Jewish mother, he was born in St. Pauli, the poorest part of Hamburg. Despite ...
(until 1936),
Douglas Sirk Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. Sirk started his career in Germany as a stage and screen director, but he left fo ...
(until 1937),
Hans Steinhoff Hans Steinhoff (10 March 1882 – 20 April 1945) was a German film director, best known for the propaganda films he made in the Nazi era. Life and career Steinhoff started his career as a stage actor in the 1900s and later worked as a stag ...
,
Robert A. Stemmle Robert Adolf Stemmle (10 June 1903 – 24 February 1974) was a German screenwriter and film director. He wrote for more than 80 films between 1932 and 1967. He also directed 46 films between 1934 and 1970. His 1959 film '' Die unvollkommen ...
,
Viktor Tourjansky The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * Victor (1951 film), ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * Victor (1993 film), ...
,
Gustav Ucicky Gustav Ucicky (6 July 1899 – 27 April 1961) was an Austrians, Austrian film director, screenwriter, and cinematographer. He was one of the more successful directors in Austria and Germany from the 1930s through to the early 1960s. His work cov ...
und
Erich Waschneck Erich John Waschneck (29 April 1887, in Grimma, Kingdom of Saxony – 22 September 1970, in Berlin) was a German cameraman, director, screenwriter, and film producer. Early life Erich was the son of Karl Hermann Waschneck, a blacksmith, and his ...
.


Filmography


See also

*
Studio Babelsberg Babelsberg Film Studio (german: Filmstudio Babelsberg), located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin, Germany, is the second oldest large-scale film studio in the world only preceded by the Danish Nordisk Film (est. 1906), producing films since ...
, studio history and notable productions *
List of films featuring Berlin Berlin is a major center in the European and Cinema of Germany, German film industry. It is home to more than 1000 film and television production companies and 270 movie theaters. Three hundred national and international co-productions are filmed ...
* Film studios in Berlin-Tempelhof:


Literature (German only)

*
Hans Traub Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...
: ''Die UFA. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des deutschen Filmschaffens''. UFA-Buchverlag, Berlin 1943. * Otto Kriegk: ''Der deutsche Film im Spiegel der UFA. 25 Jahre Kampf und Vollendung''. UFA-Buchverlag, Berlin 1943. * Hanspeter Manz: ''Die UFA und der frühe deutsche Film''. Sanssouci, Zürich 1963. * ''Die UFA – auf den Spuren einer großen Filmfabrik''. Hrsg. Bezirksamt Tempelhof, Abteilung Volksbildung. Berlin 1987. *
Hans-Michael Bock Hans-Michael Bock (born 5 July 1947 in Wilhelmshaven, Germany) is a German film historian, filmmaker, translator and writer. Work Bock is editor of the encyclopaedia ''CineGraph - Lexikon zum deutschsprachigen Film'', a reference work for Germ ...
, Michael Töteberg (Hrsg.): ''Das UFA-Buch. Kunst und Krisen, Stars und Regisseure, Wirtschaft und Politik''. Zweitausendeins, Frankfurt am Main 1992. * Rainer Rother (Hrsg.): ''Die UFA 1917–1945. Das deutsche Bildimperium''. Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin 1992. *
Klaus Kreimeier Klaus is a German language, German, Dutch language, Dutch and Scandinavian given name and surname. It originated as a short form of Nikolaus, a German form of the Greek given name Nicholas. Notable persons whose family name is Klaus *Billy Klau ...
: ''Die UFA-Story. Geschichte eines Filmkonzerns''. Hanser, München, Wien 2002. Also in English as ''The UFA Story: A Story of Germany's Greatest Film Company 1918-1945''.
University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...
, 1999. * Hans-Jürgen Tast (Hrsg.) ''Anton Weber (1904–1979) – Filmarchitekt bei der UFA''. Schellerten 2005, .


References

;Notes ;Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * * *


External links

*
o.V.: ''Traumfabrik und Staatskonzern. Die Geschichte der UFA.''
– at www.filmportal.de, linked on August 1, 2013

* Ateliers in Berlin-Tempelhof
Carl Froelich-Ateliers, Carl Froelich-Ateliers

Murnau-Stiftung
Murnau-Stiftung, a legal successor of the old UFA
Exhibition and Museum for UFA Film Posters and Film Notices in the Pre-War Years
(German only)
Website of Universum Film GmbH, independent video provider
(independent of the studio)






Studio Babelsberg

DEFA Film Library and Online Shop

Konrad Wolf College of Film and Television
*
Wolf Bauer (film producer)
on the
Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Wolf Bauer (film producer)
at
filmportal.de filmportal.de is an online database of information related to German film. It includes extensive information on films and filmmakers as well as articles on film issues. The website was released on occasion of the 54th Berlin International Film Fe ...

Wolf Bauer at UFA.de
*
Interviews with Wolf Bauer in Die Zeit, Wirtschaftswoche and W&V


* {{Authority control UFA GmbH RTL Group Film distributors of Germany Film production companies of Germany Companies based in Brandenburg Mass media companies established in 1917 German film studios German companies established in 1917