Die Mörder sind unter uns (1946)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Wolfgang Staudte

Writer:

Wolfgang Staudte (writer)

Release Date:

16 August 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Plot:

Susanne Wallner returns to the ruins of Berlin from a Concentration Camp after WW2 to discover that someone else lives in her apartment: Dr...

Plot Keywords:

Ruins | Love | Concentration Camp | Destroyed City | Revenge

Cast

Ernst Wilhelm Borchert	...	Dr. Hans Mertens (as W. Borchert)
Hildegard Knef	...	Susanne Wallner
Arno Paulsen	...	Ferdinand Brueckner
Elly Burgmer	...	Mutter des kranken Kindes
Erna Sellmer	...	Elise Brueckner
Hilde Adolphi	...	Daisy
Marlise Ludwig	...	Sonja
Ursula Krieg	...	Carola Schulz
Robert Forsch	...	Herr Mondschein
Albert Johannes	...	Bartolomaeus Timm
Wolfgang Dohnberg	...	Fritz Knochenhauer
Ernst Stahl-Nachbaur	...	Arzt

Also Known As:

Der Mann, den ich erschießen werde (Germany) (working title)
Der Mann, den ich töten werde (Germany) (working title)
Murderers Among Us (USA)
The Murderers Are Among Us (UK)

Runtime:

85 min | Germany:91 min (re-issue)

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) (w) (original rating) | West Germany:6 (f) (w) (re-rating) | Finland:K-16 | UK:PG | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Althoff-Atelier, Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Company:

Deutsche Film (DEFA)

Trivia:

In 1945, Hildegard Knef spent 3 months in a POW camp in Poland, while in the movie, her character Susanne Wallner is said to be returning from a concentration camp.

Not all citizens blindly bowed to Nazi Regime's Insanity

This powerful piece of Historic Fiction shows a realistic look at Post-WWII Germany, and the determination of the shook-up nation to pick up the pieces and survive their darkest chapter in modern history. Many gripping moments include the "return" of a young woman (played by a very young Hildegard Knef) who had spent years in Nazi concentration camps. Her innocence and purity are reflected in the woman's complete willingness to "forgive and forget" the attrocities witnessed and experienced.

A main character was a commanding officer responsible for horrible acts against innocent civilians, while another had refused to take part in such evil. The final scenes "drive home" the message how some feel no remorse for their evil deeds, while others remain plagued with the images of those mercilessly tortured and murdered.

Seeing the young woman who had been victimized by the evil regime step in to prevent a altercation between the man she loves and the man responsible for much of the suffering shows that humans are capable of forgiving and thus surviving into a better life, free of hate and vengeance.

I highly recommend the original German version with or without the subtitles. Many of the effects require the original sound track. This would be a valuable teaching tool for an advanced German class, or a related European History lesson