Overview
- Description
- The young worker and talented SA leader Fritz Brand constantly argues about the political future of Germany with his jobless Social Democratic father. He is also greatly involved with the ongoing street-fighting between the Nazis and Communists during the extremely violent final months of the Weimar Republic. Fritz's sixteen year old neighbor and half-orphan Erich Lohner is inspired by his example and joins the Hitler Youth. Participating in one of the first legal SA marches immediately after the SA ban is lifted on June 17, 1932, Erich is shot to death by Communists. Subsequently, the Nazis win the parliamentary elections on March 5, 1933 and immediately persecute and imprison the Communists. The film ends with a torchlight parade of SA troops singing the "Horst-Wessel-Lied" [marching song of the SA].
After the Nazis came to power "SA-Mann Brand" was the first Nazi political propaganda feature film, and the Hitler Youth Erich Lohner was the first cinema martyr of National Socialism. "Hitlerjunge Quex" and "Hans Westmar" followed shortly thereafter. The film depicts the glorious struggle and eventual victory of the well-ordered and disciplined SA as national force against the decadent and criminal Communists who were puppets of the Soviet Union. The film was intended to propagate the myth of the "Kampfzeit" [era of struggle] and the self-sacrificing heroes of the Nazi movement by personalizing politics and deifying martyrs. Almost immediately after passing censorship on June 9, 1933 and the first screenings on June 14, 1933, the film was reviewed negatively for its oversimplifying plot and virtually unknown actors. The Berlin-based propaganda paper "Der Angriff" ["The Assault"] founded and led by Joseph Goebbels heavily criticized the low-quality production and the overtly propagandistic character of the movie. Nevertheless it figured as a "Staatsauftragsfilm" [movie commissioned by the state] and received the distinction marks "kuenstlerisch besonders wertvoll" [especially artistically valuable] and "volksbildend" [educating the people]. - Film Title
-
SA Mann Brand
- Duration
- 00:38:58
- Date
-
Production:
1933
- Locale
-
Germany
- Credit
- Accessed at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Library of Congress
- Contributor
-
Director:
Franz Seitz
Script Contributor: Joseph Dalman
Script Contributor: Joe Stoeckel
Producer: Bavaria-Film AG. Muenchen
Camera Operator: Franz Koch
Music: Toni Thoms
Physical Details
- Language
- German
- Genre/Form
- Propaganda.
- B&W / Color
- Black & White
- Image Quality
- Fair
- Time Code
- 10:01:21:00 to 10:40:19:00
- Film Format
- Master
Master 978 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
Master 978 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
Master 978 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
Master 978 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large- Preservation
Preservation 978 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
Preservation 978 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
Preservation 978 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
Preservation 978 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - large
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- You do not require further permission from the Museum to access this archival media.
- Copyright
- Federal Republic of Germany. Bundesarchiv.
- Conditions on Use
- Researchers who wish to use this footage should contact the Bundesarchiv Filmarchiv at filmbenutzung@bundesarchiv.de to sign a release, or submit the online request form at: https://www.bundesarchiv.de/EN/Content/Downloads/request-for-use-av-material.pdf?__blob=publicationFile
- Copyright Holder
- Federal Republic of Germany. Bundesarchiv.
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Film Provenance
- The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum purchased the films from the Library of Congress in October 1994.
- Note
- The script of the movie was likely influenced by Goebbels' book "Kampf um Berlin" [Struggle over Berlin] depicting his efforts as the regional Nazi leader in Berlin and the bloody fighting between Nazis and Communists.
Length of entire film: 94 minutes
Credits: Actors: Manfred Pilot, Max Weydner, Wastl Witt, Hedda Lembach, Helma Rueckert.
Released in USA, May 27, 1934.
See Film and Video departmental files for additional documentation and a summary of the film. See Story 1190, Film ID 977 for the beginning of this film. - Copied From
- 16mm; b/w; pos.
- Film Source
- Library of Congress - Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS)
- File Number
- Legacy Database File: 2574
Source Archive Number: FDA 0727 - Special Collection
-
Steven Spielberg Film and Video Archive
- Record last modified:
- 2024-02-21 07:55:12
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn1001962
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