Ernst Thälmann – Son of the Working Class
- Released on
- Runtime
- 124 mins
This film is the first of a two-part historical and biographical portrait of the communist politician and anti-fascist Ernst Thälmann. In early November 1918, Ernst Thälmann is an unwilling soldier serving on the western front. As the revolutionary movement at home is threatened by the betrayal of the Social Democrats and fissures in the working class, Thälmann calls on his fellow soldiers to put down their weapons and unite with the workers in the communist struggle at home. Thälmann’s qualms about which side he is fighting on continue, but when the local police attempt to prevent a shipment of provisions and supplies from reaching the people in Petrograd, he intervenes and the ship is unloaded. With this moment of clarity, Thälmann continues to follow his political convictions and joins the workers at the Hamburg uprising in October 1923.
This film is the first of a two-part historical and biographical portrait of the communist politician and anti-fascist Ernst Thälmann. In early November 1918, Ernst Thälmann is an unwilling soldier serving on the western front. As the revolutionary movement at home is threatened by the betrayal of the Social Democrats and fissures in the working class, Thälmann calls on his fellow soldiers to put down their weapons and unite with the workers in the communist struggle at home. Thälmann’s qualms about which side he is fighting on continue, but when the local police attempt to prevent a shipment of provisions and supplies from reaching the people in Petrograd, he intervenes and the ship is unloaded. With this moment of clarity, Thälmann continues to follow his political convictions and joins the workers at the Hamburg uprising in October 1923.
Cast
- Günther Simon
- Hans-Peter Minetti
- Erich Franz
- Erika Dunkelmann
- Johannes Arpe
- Raimund Schelcher
- Karla Runkehl
- Gerhard Bienert
- Robert Trösch
- Wolf Kaiser
- Werner Peters
- Martin Flörchinger
- Steffie Spira
- Hans Flössel
- Walter E. Fuß
- Rudolf Klix
- Hans Klering
- Gerhard Lau
- Sergei Kalinin
- Werner Pledath
- Karl Kendzia
- Carla Hoffmann
- Judith Harms
- Peter Schorn
- Karl Weber
- Oswald Foerderer
- Lotte Loebinger
- Wilfried Ortmann
- Hans-Edgar Stecher
- Gerd Jäger
- Karl Eugen Lehnkering
- Joe Münch-Harris
- Arthur Pieck
- Hermann Dieckhoff
- Erich Brauer
- Wilhelm Gröhl
- Otto Ernst Tickardt
- Willi Schwabe
- Harry Preuß
- Nico Turoff
- Ursula Röschmann
- Kurt Dunkelmann
- Günther Polensen
- Sonja Haacker
- Wilhelm Otto Eckhardt
- Frithjof Rüde
- Adolf Peter Hoffmann
- Erich Mirek
- Alfred Bohl
- Karl Brenk
- Oskar Neugebauer
- Paul Funk
- Leonid Ritter
- Alexej Plesnizow
- Charlotte Küter
- Jean Brahn
- Walter Lendrich
- Willi Narloch
- Harry Studt
- Axel Triebel
- Harro ten Brook
- Hans Fiebrandt
- Wilhelm Hinrich Holtz
- Wolf von Beneckendorff
- Ludwig Sachs
- Dorothea Thiesing
- Friedrich Gnaß
- Rudolf Fleck
- Kurt Sperling
- Eberhard Kratz
- Hans Rose
- Carl Lange
- Hermann Stetza
Director
- Kurt Maetzig
