Ernst Thälmann – Leader of the Working Class (1955)
This film is the second of a two-part historical and biographical portrait of the communist politician and anti-fascist Ernst Thälmann. Autumn, 1918: Somewhere on Germany’s western front, Ernst Thälmann, age twenty-four, is calling on his fellow soldiers to put down their guns and join him in the communist struggle at home. When Hamburg’s Police Commissioner blocks a much-needed food shipment to the workers of Petrograd, Ernst battles to see it allowed through. Until his murder on August 18, 1944, Ernst remained true to his political convictions in the face of many setbacks.
Director: Kurt Maetzig
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Günther Simon as Ernst Thälmann |
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Hans-Peter Minetti as Fiete Jansen |
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Karla Runkehl as Änne Jansen |
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Michel Piccoli as Maurice Rouger |
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Werner Peters as Quadde |
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Fred Delmare as Soldat |
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Paul R. Henker as |
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Hans Wehrl as |
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Karl Brenk as |
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Gerd Wehr as |
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Walter Martin as |
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Theo Shall as |
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Carla Hoffmann as |
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Angela Brunner as |
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Erich Franz as |
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Erika Dunkelmann as |
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Raimund Schelcher as |
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Herbert Richter as |
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Wilhelm Koch-Hooge as |
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Georges Stanescu as |
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Fritz Diez as Hitler |
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Kurt Wetzel as Göring |
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Erich Brauer as |
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Fred Kötteritzsch as |
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Werner Senftleben as |
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Will van Deeg as Himmler |
| Directing | Kurt Maetzig | Director |
| Writing | Kurt Maetzig | Writer |
| Writing | Willi Bredel | Writer |
| Writing | Michael Tschesno-Hell | Writer |
| Crew | Karl Plintzner | Cinematography |
| Crew | Horst E. Brandt | Cinematography |
| Editing | Lena Neumann | Editor |
| Sound | Wilhelm Neef | Music |
