The City Without Jews
Encyclopedia
Die Stadt ohne Juden is an Austria
n Expressionist film made in 1924 by H. K. Breslauer, based on the book of the same title by Hugo Bettauer
. The film is one of the few surviving Expressionist films from Austria, and has therefore been well researched. The film was first shown on 25 July 1924 in Vienna
.
In his novel, published in 1922, Hugo Bettauer succeeded in creating a relatively accurate allegorical vision of the near future, although the book was intended as entertainment and as a satirical response to the primitive anti-Semitism
of the 1920s. It immediately became Bettauer's most popular work: it was translated into several languages, and sold over a quarter of a million copies. Shortly after the premiere of the film Hugo Bettauer was murdered by Otto Rothstock
, a former member of the Nazi Party, who was lionized by the antisemitic Austrian masses and was released from jail shortly after his conviction for murder.
and Ludwig Anzengruber
are still performed. Many cafes are empty, or are converted into beer halls selling sausages. After an initial upturn, the economy declines, as business has greatly diminished, and has moved to other cities, such as Prague
and Budapest
. Inflation and unemployment run wild.
The political characters of the book (although not of the film, in order to avoid difficulties with censorship) are delineated in such a way as to be identifiable with real politicians of the period: Bundeskanzler Schwerdtfeger, for example, is based on Ignaz Seipel
. Besides the political action, the film also dwells on the love relationship between Lotte (Anny Milety), a typical Viennese girl (Wiener Mädel) and the daughter of a member of the National Assembly who voted for the banishment of the Jews, and the Jewish artist Leo Strakosch (Joseph Riemann).
Towards the end of the film the National Assembly resolves to bring the Jews back again. However, in order to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority, Lotte and Leo, who has already illegally returned to Austria with forged papers identifying him as a French painter, have to remove the anti-Semitic Parliamentary representative Bernard (played by Hans Moser
), which they do by getting him drunk. The drama reaches a peak as he is committed to a psychiatric institution represented in Expressionist scenery, where in a claustrophobic and asymmetrically painted cell he sees himself threatened by Stars of David
.
This sequence also represents the divergence of the film from the book, as the action of the film is revealed as a dream of the anti-Semitic Councillor Bernard. This surprising turn of events was described in the original film programme as follows:
"In this moment of the highest distress Councillor Bernard awakes from his dream, finds himself in the tavern at a very late hour and says to the baffled Volbert: 'Thank God that stupid dream is over - we are all just people and we don't want hate - we want life - we want to live together in peace.'"
Hans Moser had in this film his second ever cinematic role. The female lead was played, as so often in Breslauer's films, by Anny (or Anna) Milety, whom he later married (in 1925). The well-known Jewish actors Gisela Werbisek (billed as "Werbezirk") and Armin Berg appeared only in minor roles, as Kathi the cook and Isidor the commissionaire. The Expressionist backdrops and decor which characterise some scenes were the work of Julius von Borsody
.
Other cast members were Eugen Neufeld (Bundeskanzler Dr. Schwerdtfeger), Karl Thema (Cllr. Linder), Ferdinand Mayerhofer (Cllr. Volbert), Mizi Griebl (Volbert's wife) and Hans Effenberger (Alois Carroni).
(premiere 1926) and New York
(premiere 1928, where it was shown as The City Without Jews), it was very clear that the success of the film was not as great as that of the book. There were sometimes disturbances at performances: National Socialists often threw stinkbombs into the cinemas; in Linz
the showing of the film was banned.
A campaign of vilification against Bettauer was instigated, partly because of this film and partly because of other activities of his. In the spring of 1925 he was murdered by a NSDAP member, Otto Rothstock
, who was hailed as a hero and despite being found guilty of murder, was soon set free.
In 1933 the film was shown commercially for the last time, again causing a stir, when it was screened in the Amsterdam
theatre Carré as a protest against Hitler's Germany. This copy of the film is presumably the same as the one discovered in 1991 in the Nederlands Filmmuseum. It was on a cellulose nitrate base and on the point of disintegration. The German Bundesarchiv in Coblenz therefore made an "emergency copy", which was then reconstructed on behalf of the Filmarchiv Austria
(Austrian Film Archive) by the company HS-ART Digital Service of Graz
using the "DIAMANT" software developed by Joanneum Research
; faded parts were then re-coloured.
In October 2008 the film was made available on a portable medium for the first time as part of the DVD series Der österreichische Film.
in the country ohne Eigenschaften"(Thomas Ballhausen, Günter Krenn, 2006).
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n Expressionist film made in 1924 by H. K. Breslauer, based on the book of the same title by Hugo Bettauer
Hugo Bettauer
Hugo Bettauer , born Maximilian Hugo Bettauer, was a prolific Austrian writer and journalist, who was murdered by a Nazi Party follower on account of his controversial views...
. The film is one of the few surviving Expressionist films from Austria, and has therefore been well researched. The film was first shown on 25 July 1924 in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
In his novel, published in 1922, Hugo Bettauer succeeded in creating a relatively accurate allegorical vision of the near future, although the book was intended as entertainment and as a satirical response to the primitive anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
of the 1920s. It immediately became Bettauer's most popular work: it was translated into several languages, and sold over a quarter of a million copies. Shortly after the premiere of the film Hugo Bettauer was murdered by Otto Rothstock
Otto Rothstock
Otto Rothstock was the assassin of Hugo Bettauer.As a young member of the Nazi party, Rothstock was enraged by Bettauer's satire of Nazi anti-semitism in his popular work, The City Without Jews. On March 10, 1925 Rothstock entered Bettauer's office and shot him five times at point-blank range...
, a former member of the Nazi Party, who was lionized by the antisemitic Austrian masses and was released from jail shortly after his conviction for murder.
Plot
In Austria the Christian Social Party comes to power, and the new Chancellor Dr. Schwerdtfeger, a fanatical anti-Semite, sees his people as being ruled by the Jews. He therefore has a law passed by the National Assembly forcing all Jews to emigrate by the end of the year. The law is enthusiastically received by the non-Jewish population, and the Jews leave the country. But after a short time a sober reality makes itself felt. Cultural life becomes impoverished: in the theatres only plays by Ludwig GanghoferLudwig Ganghofer
Ludwig Ganghofer was a German writer who became famous for his homeland novels.-Biography:Born in Kaufbeuren, he graduated from a gymnasium in 1873 and subsequently worked as a fitter in Augsburg engine works...
and Ludwig Anzengruber
Ludwig Anzengruber
Ludwig Anzengruber was an Austrian dramatist, novelist and poet. He was born and died in Vienna.- Origins:...
are still performed. Many cafes are empty, or are converted into beer halls selling sausages. After an initial upturn, the economy declines, as business has greatly diminished, and has moved to other cities, such as Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. Inflation and unemployment run wild.
The political characters of the book (although not of the film, in order to avoid difficulties with censorship) are delineated in such a way as to be identifiable with real politicians of the period: Bundeskanzler Schwerdtfeger, for example, is based on Ignaz Seipel
Ignaz Seipel
Ignaz Seipel was an Austrian prelate and politician who served as Chancellor during the 1920s.-Career:Seipel studied theology at the University of Vienna and was ordained a Catholic priest in 1899...
. Besides the political action, the film also dwells on the love relationship between Lotte (Anny Milety), a typical Viennese girl (Wiener Mädel) and the daughter of a member of the National Assembly who voted for the banishment of the Jews, and the Jewish artist Leo Strakosch (Joseph Riemann).
Towards the end of the film the National Assembly resolves to bring the Jews back again. However, in order to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority, Lotte and Leo, who has already illegally returned to Austria with forged papers identifying him as a French painter, have to remove the anti-Semitic Parliamentary representative Bernard (played by Hans Moser
Hans Moser (actor)
Hans Moser was an Austrian actor who, during his long career, from the 1920s up to his death, mainly played in comedy films. He was particularly associated with the genre of the Wiener Film...
), which they do by getting him drunk. The drama reaches a peak as he is committed to a psychiatric institution represented in Expressionist scenery, where in a claustrophobic and asymmetrically painted cell he sees himself threatened by Stars of David
Star of David
The Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David is a generally recognized symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism.Its shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles...
.
This sequence also represents the divergence of the film from the book, as the action of the film is revealed as a dream of the anti-Semitic Councillor Bernard. This surprising turn of events was described in the original film programme as follows:
"In this moment of the highest distress Councillor Bernard awakes from his dream, finds himself in the tavern at a very late hour and says to the baffled Volbert: 'Thank God that stupid dream is over - we are all just people and we don't want hate - we want life - we want to live together in peace.'"
Background
The film was made in 1924, about two years after the publication of Bettauer's novel, which in several essential particulars differs from the film version. For one thing, the city in the film is called "Utopia", instead of "Vienna", as in the book. For another, the film produces a conciliatory happy ending, which is not only the exact opposite of the message of the book, but also represents a surprising and abrupt change of direction within the film itself, the whole of which is thus revealed as the dream of an anti-Semite who at last comes to the realisation that the Jews are a "necessary evil". The reason for these fundamental deviations from the original was to reduce the controversial political impact of the content.Hans Moser had in this film his second ever cinematic role. The female lead was played, as so often in Breslauer's films, by Anny (or Anna) Milety, whom he later married (in 1925). The well-known Jewish actors Gisela Werbisek (billed as "Werbezirk") and Armin Berg appeared only in minor roles, as Kathi the cook and Isidor the commissionaire. The Expressionist backdrops and decor which characterise some scenes were the work of Julius von Borsody
Julius von Borsody
Julius von Borsody was an Austrian film architect and one of the most employed set designers in the Austrian and German cinemas of the late silent and early sound film periods...
.
Other cast members were Eugen Neufeld (Bundeskanzler Dr. Schwerdtfeger), Karl Thema (Cllr. Linder), Ferdinand Mayerhofer (Cllr. Volbert), Mizi Griebl (Volbert's wife) and Hans Effenberger (Alois Carroni).
Performance history
The premiere took place on 25 July 1924 in Vienna, although there were still technical problems with the film. Bettauer and Breslauer, the director, fell out entirely, and Bettauer later refused to acknowledge any connection between the film and his book. The technically inferior prints of the film were often manually cut and shortened by the cinema owners themselves. Nevertheless the cinema auditoriums were often full, although not only in Austria but also in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
(premiere 1926) and New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(premiere 1928, where it was shown as The City Without Jews), it was very clear that the success of the film was not as great as that of the book. There were sometimes disturbances at performances: National Socialists often threw stinkbombs into the cinemas; in Linz
Linz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
the showing of the film was banned.
A campaign of vilification against Bettauer was instigated, partly because of this film and partly because of other activities of his. In the spring of 1925 he was murdered by a NSDAP member, Otto Rothstock
Otto Rothstock
Otto Rothstock was the assassin of Hugo Bettauer.As a young member of the Nazi party, Rothstock was enraged by Bettauer's satire of Nazi anti-semitism in his popular work, The City Without Jews. On March 10, 1925 Rothstock entered Bettauer's office and shot him five times at point-blank range...
, who was hailed as a hero and despite being found guilty of murder, was soon set free.
In 1933 the film was shown commercially for the last time, again causing a stir, when it was screened in the Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
theatre Carré as a protest against Hitler's Germany. This copy of the film is presumably the same as the one discovered in 1991 in the Nederlands Filmmuseum. It was on a cellulose nitrate base and on the point of disintegration. The German Bundesarchiv in Coblenz therefore made an "emergency copy", which was then reconstructed on behalf of the Filmarchiv Austria
Filmarchiv Austria
The Filmarchiv Austria is an organisation for the discovery, reconstruction and preservation of Austrian film record material: films themselves, literature about film and cinema, or film-related periodicals...
(Austrian Film Archive) by the company HS-ART Digital Service of Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
using the "DIAMANT" software developed by Joanneum Research
Joanneum Research
JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH is one of the largest non-academic research institutes in Austria. Besides its headquarters in Graz it is also based in Weiz, Hartberg, Leoben, Niklasdorf and Vienna...
; faded parts were then re-coloured.
In October 2008 the film was made available on a portable medium for the first time as part of the DVD series Der österreichische Film.
Critical reaction
"In many places the film follows the original book almost word for word, which makes the Utopian ending even more obviously an expression of appeasement. At the end the surprised audience learns that the entire dramatic action only took place in a dream, and thus never really happened. The on-screen happy ending, dictated by compromise, not only negates the meaning of Bettauer's book but also the very real anti-Semitism that it reflects. Instead it documents a by no means unthinkable and in no way dreamlike reality [...] This surprising turn of the plot, deviating totally from the literary original, which simplifies the action as the content of a dream, cannot merely be regarded as a simple dramatic exigency, but as a prime example of the Austrian soul's ability to repress. This naïve and perhaps crude experiment from 1924 can be taken as a forerunner of what was generally practised after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in the country ohne Eigenschaften"(Thomas Ballhausen, Günter Krenn, 2006).