''My Life for Ireland'' () is a 1941 Nazi German anti-British propaganda

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

produced in

World War II 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 ...

. Directed by Max W. Kimmich, it tells a story of an Irish nationalist family and their involvement in the Irish struggle of independence over two generations. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Wilhelm Depenau Wilhelm Depenau (1884-1952) was a German art director.Reid p.99 Selected filmography * ''The Most Beautiful Woman in the World'' (1924) * '' Come Back, All Is Forgiven'' (1929) * ''Viennese Waltz'' (1932) * '' The Love Hotel'' (1933) * '' Roses f ...

and Otto Erdmann.

Plot

The film covers the story of two generations of an

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...

family; starting with Michael O'Brien (

Werner Hinz Werner Hinz (18 January 1903 – 10 February 1985) was a German film actor who appeared in 70 films between 1935 and 1984. In 1944, he was included on the ''Gottbegnadeten'' list created by Josef Goebbels. Between 1935 and 1945 he had rol ...

) and following with his son, also Michael ( Will Quadflieg), eighteen years later in 1921. The film commences in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1903. A squad of police officers break into a thatched hovel and evict the family, throwing a young child to the floor. However they are ambushed by a group of Irish nationalists and a long gun fight ensues. Michael O'Brien is captured and is sentenced to death. While he is in prison, his pregnant fiancée Maeve visits him and they are secretly married. Afterwards, Michael hands his wife a silver cross that will always be worn by the best Irish freedom fighter. On the cross, the words ''My life for Ireland'' are engraved. Eighteen years later, in 1921, his son Michael Jr. is expecting to pass his school leaving exams. As the son of an infamous Irish nationalist, he has been educated at St Edwards College, a school run by British teachers. In this way the British government attempt to re-educate Irish pupils into "worthy" British citizens.

Cast

* Anna Dammann, Maeve Fleming *

René Deltgen Renatus Heinrich Deltgen (30 April 1909 in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg – 29 January 1979 in Cologne, West Germany) was a Luxembourgish stage and film actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who port ...

, Robert Devoy *

Paul Wegener Paul Wegener (11 December 1874 – 13 September 1948) was a German actor, writer, and film director known for his pioneering role in German expressionist cinema. Acting career At the age of 20, Wegener decided to end his law studies and conce ...

, Sir George Beverley *

, Michael O'Brien Senior * Will Quadflieg, Michael O'Brien Junior * Heinz Ohlsen, Patrick O'Connor * Eugen Klöpfer, Duffy * Hans Bergmann, captain of the '

Black and Tans The Black and Tans () were constables recruited into the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) as reinforcements during the Irish War of Independence. Recruitment began in Great Britain in January 1920, and about 10,000 men enlisted during the conflic ...

' * Claus Clausen, Patrick Pollock *

Will Dohm Will Dohm (8 April 1897 – 28 November 1948) was a German film actor. He is the father of the actress Gaby Dohm. Selected filmography * ''Waterloo (1929 film), Waterloo'' (1929) * ''Cruiser Emden'' (1932) * ''Peter Voss, Thief of Millions (1932 ...

, Barrington (teacher) * Karl John, Raymond Davitt *

Hans Quest Hans Quest (August 20, 1915 – March 29, 1997) was a German actor and film director. Selected filmography Director *''Wenn der Vater mit dem Sohne'' (1955) *''The Happy Wanderer (1955 film), The Happy Wanderer'' (1955) *''Charley's Aunt (1956 ...

, Henry Beverley * Wilhelm Borchert, Thomas O'Neill *

Jack Trevor Anthony Cedric Sebastian Steane (14 December 1893 – 19 December 1976), known by the stage name Jack Trevor, was a British film actor of the silent and early sound era. Based in Weimar (and later Nazi) Germany, he acted in 67 films between ...

as the president of the martial court *Charles John, Raymond Davitt

Production

The film was shot between August and November 1940 in

Maulbronn Maulbronn () is a city in the district of Enz in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. History Founded in 1838, it emerged from a settlement, built around a monastery, which belonged to the Neckar Community in the Kingdom of Württemberg. In ...

, state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

. Actor Will Quadflieg wrote in his 1976 autobiography that the explosives specialist who would plant scheduled

land mines A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, whi ...

during the battle scene between the Irish and English at the end of the film had left the filming team during preparations when he was unexpectedly drafted into the military. As a result without him, several actors during the filming of that scene were genuinely wounded or had died because of the mine explosions, and these scenes made it into the film. Quadflieg claimed that the incident was pipened down.

Propaganda

This film contributed to the era of anti-British films made by Nazi Germany.Cinzia Romani, ''Tainted Goddesses: Female Film Stars of the Third Reich'' p. 69 In this film, as in '' Der Fuchs von Glenarvon'', the British are depicted as brutal and unscrupulous but no match for the "earthy" Irish race. A British officer, for instance, abandons an Irish sergeant on the battlefield, taking the last water bottle with him, and is later shown winning a VC. It lacks, however, the cruder propaganda of later films, such as ''

Carl Peters Carl Peters (27 September 1856 – 10 September 1918) was a German explorer and colonial administrator. He was a major promoter of the establishment of the German colony of East Africa (part of today’s Tanzania) and one of the founders of ...

'' and ''

Ohm Krüger ''Ohm Krüger'' (English: ''Uncle Krüger'') is a 1941 German biographical film directed by Hans Steinhoff and starring Emil Jannings, Lucie Höflich, and Werner Hinz. It was one of a series of major propaganda films produced in Nazi Germany ...

'', when Hitler had given up hope of making peace with Great Britain. The anti-British atmosphere of '' Der Fuchs von Glenarvon'', for example, can be judged from its opening sequence, which depicts a meeting of Irish revolutionaries:

ASSEMBLY: We must build new roads.
LEADER: With what shall we build new roads?
ASSEMBLY: With the bones of our enemy!
LEADER: And who is our enemy?
ASSEMBLY: England!

Some German viewers in ethnically mixed areas expressed fears that it would stimulate

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

to rebellion. The film, however, enjoyed a positive response from many audiences.Fox, Jo (2007). ''Film propaganda in Britain and Nazi Germany: World War II cinema''. Berg Publishers, p. 171.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:My Life For Ireland Nazi propaganda films Films of Nazi Germany German historical films 1941 films Films set in Dublin (city) Films set in 1903 Films set in 1921 1940s historical films Films directed by Max W. Kimmich Tobis Film films German black-and-white films Films scored by Alois Melichar German drama films Films set in Ireland Anti-British sentiment Irish War of Independence films