Ways across the Country
Ways across the Country | |
---|---|
German Democratic Republic | |
Original language | German |
No. of episodes | 5 (re-edited to 6 in several TV channels) |
Production | |
Producer | Albrecht Langenbeck |
Running time | 445 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | Deutscher Fernsehfunk |
Release | 22 September 27 September 1968 | –
Ways across the Country (German: Wege übers Land)[1] is a 1968 East German television miniseries, directed by Martin Ackermann.
Plot
Episode I
November 1939. Gertrud Habersaat is a maid in the house of the Leßtorffs, the richest farmers in Rakowen, a village in
Episode II
Kalluweit is given a farm in Poland, where he and his wife are to be part of the new 'Master Race'. They witness the
Episode III
In 1945, Gertrud and the children flee the
Episode IV
The need to modernize and to maximize production leads most of the villagers to agree to the formation of an agricultural cooperative. Gertrud resists the plans to hand over her land, but Heyer convinces her to accept it, and she eventually becomes the chairperson of the new cooperative.
Episode V
Emil Kalluweit, now a rich West German businessman, returns to the village and tries to convince Gertrud to leave with him. Stefan's mother is revealed to be alive, and visits her son, who is torn between her and his German upbringing. Gertrud decides to remain in Rakowen, starting a new life with Heyer.
Cast
- Ursula Karusseit - Gertrud Habersaat
- Manfred Krug - Willi Heyer
- Armin Mueller-Stahl - Jürgen Leßtorff
- Gerd Michael Henneberg - Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger
- Angelica Domröse - Countess Palvner
- Anna Prucnal - Steffa
- Lothar Bellag - Hans Frank
- Christa Lehmann - Gertrud's mother
- Erika Pelikowsky - Jürgen's mother
- Erik S. Klein - Emil Kalluweit
- Katharina Hercher - little Mala Zimmerbaum (episodes II-III)
- Anne-Kathrein Kretzschmar - older Mala (episodes IV-V)
- Berko Acker - older Stefan
- Renate Rennhack - Martha Heyer
- Carmen-Maja Antoni - Irma
- Hans Klering - Leitkow
- Hans Hardt-Hardtloff - Siebold
- Ireneusz Kanicki - Jan
- Marian Melman - Pinarski
- Volkmar Kleinert - Schneider
- Ingolf Gorges - Fredi Neuschulz
- Otto Dierichs - Mr. Heinemann
- Erich Brauer - Hänsel
- Alwin Brosch - Frenzel
- Harry Merkel - miller
- Margit Bendokat - miller's wife
- Fritz Dallmann - blacksmith
- Aleksandra Karzyńska - Stefan's mother
Production
The series' script was written by the East German author Helmut Sakowski, who was already well known for his historical novels set in Mecklenburg.[2][3] Its main theme, the portrayal of villagers' life, was common in East Germany's television during the late 1960s. The country's cultural establishment endorsed this trend, as a means to reach West German audiences: since West Germany had virtually no "agrarian-based" TV series at the time, it was hoped that such entertainment would attract Western viewers and improve the GDR's image. Ways across the Country was the most notable show to employ this feature.[4][5] Another significant motif of the plot was the depiction of the wartime expulsion of Germans, a sensitive subject that was rarely dealt with openly at the time.[6]
Reception
The series was broadcast in the evenings during a single week in September 1968, from the 22nd to the 27th. It was highly successful: according to rating surveys, 77.7% of East Germany's television viewers watched Wege übers Land. Deutscher Fernsehfunk therefore calculated it had an audience of some 7.8 million in the Democratic Republic alone.[7] It was also well received in West Germany.[8]
On 3 October 1968, Sakowski, director Martin Eckermann, cinematographer Hans-Jürgen Heimlich, dramatist Helga Korff-Edel and actors Ursula Karusseit, Christa Lehmann and Manfred Krug were all awarded the
The series was frequently re-aired in the following decades. In 1983, as the Stasi adopted a policy of 'no traitors on screen', it attempted to forbid its re-screening since several of the leading actors - including Armin Mueller-Stahl, Manfred Krug and Angelica Domröse - had moved to West Germany.[12][13] Sakowski used his influence as the deputy-chairman of the GDR's Cultural Association to prevent this, and the series had another re-run in 1984.[14] In 2010, it was released on DVD.
References
- ^ a b Dorothy Miller. The East German Literary Scene. Radio Free Europe research, 4 June 1969.
- ISBN 978-3-89971-348-0. p. 171.
- ISBN 978-3-7701-3849-4. p. 211.
- ISBN 978-3-8376-1434-3. p. 150.
- ISBN 978-3-89244-390-2. pp. 195-196.
- ISBN 978-3-447-02816-5. pp. 79.
- ISBN 978-3-05-003480-5. pp. 261-262.
- ISBN 978-3-476-01319-4. pp. 305-306.
- ^ DEFA chronicle of 1968.
- ^ Helmut Sakowski. Wege übers Land: Dramatischer Fernsehroman. Mitteldeutscher Verlag (1969). OCLC 491190583.
- ISBN 978-3-463-22002-4. p. 529.
- ISBN 978-3-525-36741-4. p. 55.
- ISBN 978-3-937209-19-7. pp. 72-73.
- ISBN 978-3-932180-52-1. pp. 80, 95.
External links
- Wege übers Land on the IMDb.
- Wege übers Land on icestorm.de, with official trailer.
- Wege übers Land on TV.de.
- Wege übers Land on film-zeit.de.