The City Without Jews
| Die Stadt ohne Juden | |
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| Directed by | Hans Karl Breslauer |
| Produced by | Walterskirchen und Bittner |
| Written by |
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| Based on |
Die Stadt ohne Juden by Hugo Bettauer |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Gerhard Gruber (new arrangement 2000) |
| Cinematography | Hugo Eywo |
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Release date
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Running time
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80 minutes |
| Country | Austria |
| Language | German |
Die Stadt ohne Juden (The City Without Jews) is an 1924 Austrian Expressionist film by H. K. Breslauer, based on the book of the same title by Hugo Bettauer. The film is one of the few surviving Expressionist films from Austria and has therefore been well researched. The film was first shown on 25 July 1924 in Vienna.
In his novel, published in 1922, Hugo Bettauer succeeded in creating a relatively accurate allegorical vision of the near future, although the book was intended as entertainment and as a satirical response to the primitive antisemitism of the 1920s. It immediately became Bettauer's most popular work: it was translated into several languages, and sold over a quarter of a million copies. Shortly after the premiere of the film Hugo Bettauer was murdered by , a former member of the Nazi Party, who was lionized by the antisemitic Austrian masses and was released from jail shortly after his conviction for murder.
In Austria the Christian Social Party comes to power, and the new Chancellor Dr. Schwerdtfeger, a fanatical antisemite, sees his people as being ruled by the Jews. He therefore has a law passed by the National Assembly forcing all Jews to emigrate by the end of the year. The law is enthusiastically received by the non-Jewish population, and the Jews leave the country. But after a short time a sober reality makes itself felt. Cultural life becomes impoverished: in the theatres only plays by Ludwig Ganghofer and Ludwig Anzengruber are still performed. Many cafes are empty, or are converted into beer halls selling sausages. After an initial upturn, the economy declines, as business has greatly diminished, and has moved to other cities, such as Prague and Budapest. Inflation and unemployment run wild.
The political characters of the book (although not of the film, to avoid difficulties with censorship) are delineated in such a way as to be identifiable with real politicians of the period: Bundeskanzler Schwerdtfeger, for example, is based on Ignaz Seipel. Besides the political action, the film also dwells on the love relationship between Lotte (Anny Milety), a typical Viennese girl (Wiener Mädel) and the daughter of a member of the National Assembly who voted for the banishment of the Jews, and the Jewish artist Leo Strakosch (Joseph Riemann).
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Wikipedia