Nackt unter Wölfen (1963)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Frank Beyer

Writers:

Bruno Apitz (novel)
Bruno Apitz (screenplay)

Release Date:

10 April 1963 (East Germany)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

As rumors reach them that the Allied armies are advancing on their concentration camp at Buchenwald...

Plot Keywords:

Buchenwald | Auschwitz | Child | Nazi | Torture

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Erwin Geschonneck	...	Walter Kraemer
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	André Höfel
Krystyn Wójcik	...	Marian Kropinski
Fred Delmare	...	Rudi Pippig
Viktor Avdyushko	...	Leonid Bogorski
Gerry Wolff	...	Herbert Bochow
Boleslaw Plotnicki	...	Zacharias Jankowski
Peter Sturm	...	August Rose
Erik S. Klein	...	Untersturmführer Reineboth
Herbert Köfer	...	Hauptsturmführer Kluttig
Wolfram Handel	...	Hauptscharführer Zweiling
Heinz Peter Scholz	...	Standartenführer Schwahl
Joachim Tomaschewsky	...	Sturmbannführer Weisangk
Joachim Jablonski	...	Sturmbannführer Kamloth
Zygmunt Malanowicz	...	Josef Pribula

Also Known As:

Naked Among Wolves
Naked Among the Wolves

Runtime:

Germany:116 min | USA:100 min | Hong Kong:124 min | France:120 min

Country:

East Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-10 (1970) | Finland:K-16 (1963) | West Germany:12 (w)

Filming Locations:

Buchenwald memorial, Thuringia, Germany

Company:

Deutsche Film (DEFA)

Trivia:

Bruno Apitz was inspired by the story of the child's survival to work his own experiences in Buchenwald (were he was a prisoner from 1937 - 1945) into a movie script. When his expose was turned down by the DEFA he decided to write a novel instead. The novel was enormously successful (it sold 2 million copies and was translated into many languages), prompting the DEFA to reconsider.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Geiger, Gaukler, Gentleman (2001) (TV)

great movie

This movie is about a group of men in a concentration camp that find a small Jewish boy in a suitcase and set about hiding him from the Nazis. There's a lot of movies set in concentration camps and this is surely one of the best, a great character study. The Nazis are played with a matter of fact, almost understated coldness. The men aren't potrayed as heroes, but just everyday guys trying to hold on to some humanity, no matter what the risk. A compelling film.