Ernst Thälmann – Son of the Working Class
This film is the first of a two-part historical and biographical portrait of the communist politician and anti-fascist Ernst Thälmann. In early November 1918, Ernst Thälmann is an unwilling soldier serving on the western front. As the revolutionary movement at home is threatened by the betrayal of the Social Democrats and fissures in the working class, Thälmann calls on his fellow soldiers to put down their weapons and unite with the workers in the communist struggle at home. Thälmann’s qualms about which side he is fighting on continue, but when the local police attempt to prevent a shipment of provisions and supplies from reaching the people in Petrograd, he intervenes and the ship is unloaded. With this moment of clarity, Thälmann continues to follow his political convictions and joins the workers at the Hamburg uprising in October 1923.
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Part of Ernst Thälmann Collection
2 films
Cast
82 people
Kurt Maetzig Director · Michael Tschesno-Hell Writer Willi Bredel Writer
First release March 9, 1954 · Produced in XG · Languages German, Russian
Production
DEFA-Studio für Spielfilme
Production
DEFA
Production
XG
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Ernst Thälmann - Sohn seiner Klasse
Original language
German
Spoken on screen
German · Russian
Release dates
Germany · March 9, 1954
Theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
Czechia
July 29, 1956 · Karlovy Vary Film Festival
Hungary
November 4, 1954
Poland
October 27, 1956 · TV premiere
Russia
January 24, 1955 · Theatrical
XC
October 7, 1954 · TV · ČST
October 8, 1954 · Theatrical
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Some details come from TheTVDB.