''KLK Calling PTZ – The Red Orchestra'' (alternate title: ''KLK To PTX – The Red Band'';

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''KLK an PTX – Die Rote Kapelle'') is a 1971 East German film about the history of the Red Orchestra espionage ring.

Plot

After

Hitler's rise to power The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He quickly rose t ...

in 1933, a group of regime opponents from various backgrounds consolidated under the leadership of

Harro Schulze-Boysen Heinz Harro Max Wilhelm Georg Schulze-Boysen (; Schulze, 2 September 1909 – 22 December 1942) was a left-wing German publicist and Luftwaffe officer during World War II. As a young man, Schulze-Boysen grew up in prosperous family with two sibl ...

and

Arvid Harnack Arvid Harnack (; 24 May 1901 – 22 December 1942) was a German jurist, Marxist economist, Communist, and German resistance fighter in Nazi Germany. Harnack came from an intellectual family and was originally a humanist. He was strongly influen ...

. They gather intelligence and pass it on to other countries. After the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and especially after the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a ...

, they intensify their work. In August 1942, the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

arrests Boysen and soon after cracks down on the spy ring.

Cast

* Horst Drinda:

Irma Münch Irma may refer to: People * Irma (name), a female given name * Irma (singer), full name Irma Pany, a Cameroonian female singer-songwriter Places * Irma, Alberta, Canada, a village * Irma, Lombardy, Italy, a ''comune'' * Irma, Wisconsin, USA, a ...

Mildred Harnack Mildred Elizabeth Harnack (; September 16, 1902 – February 16, 1943) was an American literary historian, translator, and member of the German resistance against the Nazi regime. After marrying Arvid Harnack, she moved to Germany in 1929, whe ...

Horst Schulze Horst Schulze (26 April 1921 – 24 October 2018) was a German actor and opera singer. He was born in Dresden and died in Berlin at the age of 97. Filmography References External links

* 1921 births 2018 deaths Male actors from Dre ...

Adam Kuckhoff Adam Kuckhoff (, 30 August 1887 – 5 August 1943) was a German writer, journalist, and German resistance to Nazism, German resistance member of the anti-fascist resistance group that was later called the Red Orchestra (espionage), Red Orchestra ...

* Barbara Adolph: Greta Kuckhoff * Klaus Piontek:

* Jutta Wachowiak:

Libertas Schulze-Boysen Libertas Viktoria "Libs" Schulze-Boysen ( Haas-Heye; 20 November 1913 – 22 December 1942) was a German noblewoman and resistance fighter against the Nazis. From the early 1930s to 1940, she attempted to build a literary career, first as a pres ...

* Harry Pietzsch: Walter Küchenmeister * Karin Lesch: Elfriede Paul * Marylu Poolman:

Elisabeth Schumacher Elisabeth Schumacher (Given name#Name at birth, née Hohenemser; 28 April 1904 – 22 December 1942 in Plötzensee Prison, Berlin) was a German artist, photographer, and German resistance to Nazism, resistance fighter against the Nazi Germany, N ...

Eberhard Esche Eberhard Esche (October 25, 1933 in Leipzig – May 15, 2006 in Berlin) was a German film and television actor. He studied at the Theaterhochschule Leipzig. He appeared in the following: *'' For Eyes Only'' (1961) *''Nebel'' (1963) *'' Divided ...

Kurt Schumacher Curt Ernst Carl Schumacher, better known as Kurt Schumacher (13 October 1895 – 20 August 1952), was a German politician and resistance fighter against the Nazis. He was chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany from 1946 and the fir ...

* Katharina Lind:

Oda Schottmüller Oda Schottmüller (9 February 1905 – 5 August 1943) was an expressive dancer, mask maker and sculptor. Schottmüller was most notable as a resistance fighter against the Nazis, through her association with a Berlin-based anti-fascist resistance ...

Günther Simon Günther Simon (11 May 1925 – 25 June 1972) was an East German actor. Biography Early life A bank clerk's son, Simon attended an acting school already in '' Gymnasium''. At the age of 16, he was sent to a premilitary training camp of the ...

John Sieg John Sieg (February 3, 1903 – October 15, 1942) was an American-born German Communist railroad worker, journalist and resistance fighter, who publicized Nazi atrocities through the underground Communist press and fought against National Sociali ...

* Jessy Rameik: Sophie Sieg *

Ursula Karusseit Ursula Karusseit (2 August 1939 – 1 February 2019) was a German actress.Hilde Coppi Betti Gertrud Käthe Hilda Coppi ( Rake; 30 May 1909 – 5 August 1943), known as Hilde Coppi, was a German communist and resistance fighter against the Nazi regime. She was a member of the anti-fascist resistance group that was later called the ...

* Manfred Karge:

Hans Coppi Hans-Wedigo Robert Coppi (25 January 1916 – 22 December 1942) was a German resistance fighter against the Nazis. He was a member of a Berlin-based anti-fascist resistance group that was later called the Red Orchestra by the Gestapo. Life ...

Leon Niemczyk Leon Stanisław Niemczyk (15 December 1923 – 29 November 2006) was a Polish actor. Niemczyk developed into a leading box-office star throughout the 1960s, known for serious dramas, including historical dramas and war films. He appeared in over ...

: Vincente Douglas * Siegfried Weiss:

Wilhelm Canaris Wilhelm Franz Canaris (1 January 1887 – 9 April 1945) was a admiral (Germany), German admiral and the chief of the ''Abwehr'' (the German military intelligence, military-intelligence service) from 1935 to 1944. Initially a supporter of Ad ...

* Alfred Müller: Wolfgang Langhoff *

Hannjo Hasse Hannjo Hasse (31 August 1921 – 5 February 1983) was an East German actor. Over his nearly four decade career, he was best known for his roles in the films of '' Lebende Ware'' (1966) and '' Walter Defends Sarajevo'' (1972), as well as the tele ...

: guest in the American Embassy *

Alfred Struwe Alfred Struwe (April 22, 1927 – February 13, 1998)Peter Hahn"Struwe, Alfred (Südwestkirchhof Stahnsdorf): Die Serie "Zahn um Zahn" war ein Knüller im DDR-Fernsehen" '' Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung'', 20 April 2007 was a German actor, best ...

: Bellini *

Peter Sturm Josef Michel Dischel (24 August 1909 – 10 May 1984), known by his adopted stage name Peter Sturm, was an Austrian and an East German actor. Biography Early life Dischel was born into a religious Jewish family in Vienna. His father was a tailor, ...

: Krapotschkin * Horst Giese: Schröder

Production

Writer Claus Küchenmeister and his wife Wera began conducting interviews with former members of the Red Orchestra during 1966. Claus, son of the executed organization member Walter Küchenmeister, intended to make a documentary about the activities of his father. When officials in the Ministry of State Security's Department of Agitation heard of his project, he was granted full government support and access to previously undisclosed materials in the Ministry's archives. Rather than documentary, a full-length feature film was commissioned.

Reception

''KLK Calling PTZ'' was distributed in fifty-eight copies,Daniela Berghahn. ''Hollywood Behind the Wall: the Cinema of East Germany''. . Pages 80, 97. and sold 2,107,093 tickets in the first year after its release. On 4 October 1971, director Horst E. Brandt, cinematographer Günter Haubold and the Küchenmeister couple were awarded the National Prize 1st class for their work on the film.DEFA chronicle of 1971.
/ref> Alongside dramatist Anne Pfeuffer and actors Horst Drinda, Irma Münch,

Horst Schulze Horst Schulze (26 April 1921 – 24 October 2018) was a German actor and opera singer. He was born in Dresden and died in Berlin at the age of 97. Filmography References External links

* 1921 births 2018 deaths Male actors from Dre ...

, Klaus Piontek, Barbara Adolph, Jutta Wachowiak, Manfred Karge, Ursula Karusseit, Harry Pietzsch,

and

they were granted the Art Prize of the

Free German Trade Union Federation The Free German Trade Union Federation ( or ''FDGB'') was the sole national trade union centre of the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) which existed from 1946 to 1990. As a mass organisation of the GDR, nominally representing al ...

in the same year.
KLK an PTX - Die Rote Kapelle
'. defa.de. Daniela Bergahn noted that, while the film still "inflated" the role of the communists in the resistance to the Nazis, it "at least acknowledged" the participation of other groups. In 1972, the

West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...

story version was disseminated in the television mini series "

Die rote Kapelle ''Die rote Kapelle'' is a 1972 West German television mini series on the anti-Nazi resistance and espionage organization called " Red Orchestra" by the Gestapo. The series was released one year after the East German film '' KLK an PTX - Die ro ...

References

External links

*
KLK Calling PTZ - The Red Orchestra
' on the IMDb. {{DEFAULTSORT:KLK Calling PTZ - The Red Orchestra 1971 films 1970s spy films German spy films East German films 1970s German-language films Films set in Berlin German black-and-white films Films about the German Resistance World War II spy films World War II films based on actual events 1970s German films