Toxi

Toxi
Directed by	Robert A. Stemmle
Produced by	Werner Ludwig Hermann Schwerin
Written by	Maria von der Osten-Sacken Peter Francke Robert A. Stemmle
Starring	Elfie Fiegert Paul Bildt Johanna Hofer Ingeborg Körner
Music by	Michael Jary
Cinematography	Igor Oberberg
Edited by	Alice Ludwig
Production company	Fono Film
Distributed by	Allianz Filmverleih
Release date	15 August 1952
Running time	89 minutes
Country	West Germany
Language	German

Toxi is a 1952 West German drama film directed by Robert A. Stemmle and starring Elfie Fiegert, Paul Bildt and Johanna Hofer. The film's release came as the first wave of children born to black Allied servicemen and white German mothers entered school.

Elfie Fiegert was selected to play Toxi after a mass audition held in Munich. Publicity for the film emphasised the similarities between her own story and that of Toxi. The film was the eighth most popular release at the West German box office in 1952. The name Toxi became widely used as shorthand in the German media when referring to Afro-Germans and their social circumstances.

The melodrama, film begins with a young Afro-German girl being left at the doorsteps of the Rose family—white middle-class Germans—assembled for a birthday party. Initially, most family members treat the young girl with relatively welcome arms as they believe she is only giving a performance as a birthday surprise from an aunt. The family later discovers a suitcase that was left on the doorsteps and realize that the young girl, Toxi, has in fact been abandoned. Once the family learns that Toxi has been abandoned there is a shift in feelings regarding their acceptance of her; the possibility of the girl spending more time at the home than was expected forces members of the family to confront their racism. One character in particular, Uncle Theodor—the Roses' eldest daughter's husband—is very unsettled by the idea of having Toxi stay in his white household: he does not want Toxi to interact with his two daughters who are about the same age as Toxi. Unlike the other children featured in the film, Toxi acts very differently. She is always on her best behavior as her manners and maturity level are well beyond her age. Due to Toxi's mature behavior and her inherent goodness Uncle Theodor eventually realizes that he has made a mistake with his discrimination towards her. By the end of the film, the entire family has approved of Toxi. However, Toxi does not stay with the family, as her father—a former American soldier—shows up at their house to find Toxi and take her back to the States with him.

Of all the characters within Toxi, Theodor Jenrich is one of the most overtly racist figures for much of the film. This becomes clear in his strong objections to the idea of his children growing up around Toxi and his repeated attempts to get her out of the house. This antagonistic approach towards Toxi directly contrasts the heartwarming relationships Toxi has with Grandfather Rose, his younger daughter Herta and her soon-to-be fiancé Robert Peters. Where Uncle Theodor spends much of his time attempting to find a way to rid himself of Toxi, Grandfather Rose, Herta and Robert reach out to Toxi, engage with her and work to establish a more genuine relationship. Through the juxtaposition of these relationships, the film demonstrates its intention of characterizing racial intolerance and the problematic ways in which different generations interacted with communities of color as issues unique the Nazi generation. Theodor’s struggle with his racism and references to the Rassenprobleme further accentuate the linkage of racial intolerance with the Nazi era and isolate this to his generation. Such isolation ultimately proved that others, such as the Jenrich children and other members of the younger generations, had the ability to overcome the racism and discrimination inherent in the previous generations. Furthering this suggestively post-racial agenda, Herta's and Robert’s consideration of the possibility of adoption serves as a subtle push that reasserts the suggestion that racism was confined to the Nazi era, and as such, a thing of the past.