''The Dismissal'' () is a 1942 German film directed by

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 ...

about the dismissal of

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

. It was one of only five films to receive the honorary distinction "Film of the Nation" by the Reich Propaganda Ministry Censorship Office.

Plot

The film shows the events leading up to Bismarck being dismissed by

Wilhelm II of Germany Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...

and the dilettantes who surround him. An unscrupulous schemer plays on the king's desire to lead and so persuades him to dismiss his chancellor. This results in a disastrous

two-front war In military terminology, a two-front war occurs when opposing forces encounter on two geographically separate fronts. The forces of two or more allied parties usually simultaneously engage an opponent in order to increase their chances of succes ...

by destroying Bismarck's treaty with Russia and leaving him to lament with the question of who would complete his work. The film ends with a postscript stating that Germany's misfortunes from 1890 to 1933 were the result of Bismarck's dismissal and that a nation's fate depends on its personalities, not its institutions.

Cast

Production

The success of '' Bismarck'' led to the creation of a sequel. ''The Dismissal'' cost 3.6 million ℛℳ () to produce.

Release

''The Dismissal'' was first shown in the small town of Stettin on 15 September 1942, to gauge whether the film should receive a general release.

Alfred Rosenberg Alfred Ernst Rosenberg ( – 16 October 1946) was a Baltic German Nazi theorist and ideologue. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart and he held several important posts in the Nazi government. He was the head o ...

reported that the film should not be released as it gave the impression of German war guilt, it could aid Allied propaganda, and that it reminded the German people of Wilhelm's policies. However, the film was released as

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...

viewed it as "a brilliant success". The film was approved by the censors on 28 August, and premiered in Berlin on 6 October. The war with Russia delayed its release, and it was not exported, owing to the obvious parallels.

Ulrich von Hassell Christian August Ulrich von Hassell (12 November 1881 – 8 September 1944) was a German diplomat during World War II. A member of the German Resistance against German dictator Adolf Hitler, Hassell unsuccessfully proposed to the British ...

felt that the film was anti-monarchist. It earned 6.5 million ℛℳ () at the box office for a profit of 2,081,000 ℛℳ ().

References

Works cited

* * *

External links

* *
''Die Entlassung''
Full movie at Deutsche Filmothek 1942 films 1940s historical films German historical films 1940s German-language films German black-and-white films Films of Nazi Germany Films set in Prussia Films set in Berlin Films set in the 1880s Films set in the 1890s Films with screenplays by Alexander Lernet-Holenia Cultural depictions of Otto von Bismarck Cultural depictions of Wilhelm I Cultural depictions of Wilhelm II 1940s German films Films scored by Herbert Windt {{1940s-Germany-film-stub