Kolberg (film)
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Kolberg is a 1945 German propaganda film directed by Veit Harlan and Wolfgang Liebeneiner. It opened on January 30, 1945 simultaneously in Berlin and to the crew of the naval base at La Rochelle.
The film was intended to encourage the morale of the Germans in the last phase of World War II. It was based on the autobiography of Joachim Nettelbeck and told the story of the 1807 defence of the Kolberg fortress against French troops.
Kolberg was made in colour. At a cost of more than eight million marks, it was the most expensive film of the Nazi era. Over 10,000 soldiers and more than 6000 horses appeared. It was started in 1943. To film scenes with snow during summer, 100 railway trucks brought salt to the set in Pommern. The film was finally completed in Berlin while the city was already being bombed.
The film was opened in a provisional cinema in Berlin and ran only a few days, under the constant threat of air raids, until the conquest of Berlin — the film came far too late for the hoped-for propaganda effect.
The film was rereleased in 1965, with a documentary.
Cast and crew
Script: Veit Harlan, Alfred Braun
Actors: Kristina Soederbaum (Maria); Heinrich George (Nettelbeck); Paul Wegener (Loucadou); Horst Caspar (Graf Neidhardt von Gneisenau); Gustav Diessl (Rittmeister Schill); Otto Wernicke; Kurt Meisel
Music: Norbert Schultze
Camera: Bruno Mondi
Editor: Wolfgang Schlief de:Kolberg (Film)