Reflections of History in German Film

• Introduction: The narrator introduces the subject of German history in film, displaying stills from films such as Inglorious Basterds and Schindler’s List while indicating that these American films the audience is likely more familiar with are not the topic of discussion today. Rather, a self-reflective “German history in German film” will be analyzed across time, in which periods of history are depicted years and decades after the events themselves.
  1. Note: whenever the narrator speaks, soft music should be playing in the distance. The speaker is onscreen for the introduction before moving to clips and still from the respective works.
• Almanya
  1. Almanya is a film about a Turkish-German family struggling to find their present-day identity while also discussing their family’s past as Turkish immigrants.
  2. The beginning of the film meshes history with the movie’s story by including film authentic from the time period, sometimes integrating fictional elements until the exposition for Huseyin’s initial introduction to Germany as a Gastarbeiter, or guest-worker, during the FRG’s economic miracle, the Wirtschaftswunder.
  3. The film neglects to show the more negative aspects of life as a non-white immigrant into the country, but does a tremendous job highlighting the contrasts between cultures as this family represents one of millions of families experiencing this same transition into a culture so different from their own.
  4. As examples, stills from scenes which are flashbacks should be used to highlight these differences, such as the unfamiliarity of keeping a dog on a leash, or when Huseyin tries to throw his children a Christmas celebration like the traditional German children do.
  5. In this way, Almanya looks at the past with cultural rose-colored glasses to tell a story that is intended to be more uplifting, emphasizing select elements of the past.
• Babylon Berlin
  1. Weimar Germany as a setting for Babylon Berlin is brilliant, not only providing a glamourous and sometimes dark mood to the German TV series, but also a tremendous learning opportunity to the viewer.
  2. Clips without sound of the large dance scene in the second episode of the series (around minute 34) should be playing during point 1.
  3. Not only does the series depict the lively Roaring 20s, but it also visualizes the political discord happening simultaneously. Particular attention is paid to the left, not just the cell of Russian Trotsky supporters but also to a German socialist movement growing in the streets. This information is important to the viewer from a historical perspective because while the audience does not hear much talk of Nazis or fascism, the divide between the various parties of the left contributed largely to Hitler’s rise to power later in 1933. What the viewer sees at the beginning of the series is the precursor to this which will eventually develop alongside the plot of the show.
  4. During point 3, first scenes of the Trotskyites and the Soviet Embassy should be rolling, followed by popular socialist movements and strikes in the streets.
• Comparison and Conclusion
  1. At this point, the speaker should reappear onscreen.
  2. In this manner, Babylon Berlin’s historical setting contributes heavily towards both immersion and visualization of a simultaneously beautiful and chaotic scene. It is a much more dramatic depiction of history compared to what is seen in a more light-hearted film like Almanya, for example.
  3. Both works of art examined here are or were produced in Germany by German citizens, though from diverse backgrounds and choosing to address various subject matters. Because of the angle each work takes regarding its respective genre, a unique approach to the country’s history is taken when it comes to depiction post-production. Each example has its own motivations which need to be kept in mind as the audience takes in the setting and narrative of each work.

Works Cited

Handloegten, Henk, et al. “Babylon Berlin.” Babylon Berlin, Sky, 2017.

Samdereli, Yasemin. Almanya: Willkommen in Deutschland. 2011.