Nackt unter Wölfen (1963)

As rumors reach them that the Allied armies are advancing on their concentration camp at Buchenwald, Polish prosoners renew their feeble hope for survival and freedom. When a group of ... See full summary »

Director:

Frank Beyer

Writers:

Bruno Apitz (novel), Bruno Apitz (screenplay),

Stars:

Erwin Geschonneck, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Krystyn Wójcik

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

As rumors reach them that the Allied armies are advancing on their concentration camp at Buchenwald, Polish prosoners renew their feeble hope for survival and freedom. When a group of prisoners is transferred from Auschwitz, a four-year-old child is smuggled into the camp in a valise. Born at Auschwitz, he is Jewish and will be killed if discovred. A group of prisoners decide to protect the child, from the searching Germans, and although the kapos cannot smuggle the boy out of Buchenwald, they manage to hide him---moving from one place to another within the camp as the Nazis comb it. Threats and torture by SS men fail to turn up the boy who becomes a symbol of the struggle between captives and captors.

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Plot Keywords:

buchenwald | auschwitz | prisoner | hope | survival | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Details

Country:

East Germany

Language:

German Polish Czech French Russian

Release Date:

10 April 1963 (East Germany)

Also Known As:

Naked Among Wolves

Filming Locations:

Buchenwald memorial, Thuringia, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Deutsche Film (DEFA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Frank Beyer made great effort convincing the famous theatre actor Ernst Busch to take on his first big movie role (as Walter Kraemer). After a long struggle, Erst Busch accepted, but two weeks prior to filming suffered a heart attack, which left him unable to act for several months. Thus, Erwin Geschonneck, who had spent time in a camp as well, was cast instead.

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Connections

Referenced in Geiger, Gaukler, Gentleman (2001)

User Reviews

Worth a look!

For historical significance this movie deserves more than a 7, but one should rate movies based on how much one actually liked the movie, thus my 7 rating. (This still means I liked and recommend the movie!) I watched this after seeing Frank Beyer's "Jakob the Liar," and I think "Naked Among Wolves" is the better film. One of my nit-picks with these films is that the harshness and brutality of life in the ghetto or concentration camp is not fully revealed. The films are products of their times, I suppose. And one cannot make actors look like skeletons. The most brutal portrayal of the holocaust I have seen (in a non-documentary) is in the TV mini-series "War and Remembrance." Neither of Beyer's films comes close. Again, I'm sure that there was so much an East German film director in the 1960's and 70's could do. That criticism out of the way, I think that "Naked Among Wolves" is a fine film with interesting characters and performances.