Ernst Thälmann – Son of the Working Class
1954
124 minutes
Overview
This film is the first of a two-part historical and biographical portrait of the communist politician and anti-fascist Ernst Thälmann. In early November 1918, Ernst Thälmann is an unwilling soldier serving on the western front. As the revolutionary movement at home is threatened by the betrayal of the Social Democrats and fissures in the working class, Thälmann calls on his fellow soldiers to put down their weapons and unite with the workers in the communist struggle at home. Thälmann’s qualms about which side he is fighting on continue, but when the local police attempt to prevent a shipment of provisions and supplies from reaching the people in Petrograd, he intervenes and the ship is unloaded. With this moment of clarity, Thälmann continues to follow his political convictions and joins the workers at the Hamburg uprising in October 1923.
Top Cast
Günther Simon
Ernst Thälmann
Hans-Peter Minetti
Fiete Jansen
Erich Franz
Arthur Vierbreiter
Erika Dunkelmann
Martha Vierbreiter
Johannes Arpe
Höhn
Raimund Schelcher
Krischan Daik
Karla Runkehl
Änne Harms
Gerhard Bienert
Otto Kramer
Robert Trösch
Kuddel Riemöller
Wolf Kaiser
Major Zinker
Werner Peters
Hauptmann Quadde
Martin Flörchinger
Karl Liebknecht
Steffie Spira
Clara Zetkin
Hans Flössel
Scheidemann
Walter E. Fuß
Karl Borns
Rudolf Klix
Willbrandt
Hans Klering
Asmussen
Gerhard Lau
Hein Heber
Sergei Kalinin
Sowjetischer Kapitän
Werner Pledath
Hauck
Karl Kendzia
Adolf Wahlkeit
Carla Hoffmann
Rosa Thälmann
Judith Harms
Rosa Luxemburg
Peter Schorn
Lenin
Karl Weber
Friedrich Ebert
Oswald Foerderer
Martin Bünse
Lotte Loebinger
Emma Kramer
Wilfried Ortmann
Hannes Harms
Hans-Edgar Stecher
Peter Brinkmann
Gerd Jäger
Josef Wissarionowitsch Stalin
Karl Eugen Lehnkering
Gustav Stresemann
Joe Münch-Harris
Gustav Noske
Arthur Pieck
Wilhelm Pieck
Hermann Dieckhoff
Dr. Matthies
Erich Brauer
Freese
Wilhelm Gröhl
Brandler
Otto Ernst Tickardt
Mahlmann
Willi Schwabe
Berber
Harry Preuß
Tarnow
Nico Turoff
Brandler
Ursula Röschmann
Frau Harms
Kurt Dunkelmann
Trenow
Günther Polensen
Bauer
Sonja Haacker
Freese
Wilhelm Otto Eckhardt
Puttkamp
Frithjof Rüde
General Vogt
Adolf Peter Hoffmann
Alland
Erich Mirek
Karl
Alfred Bohl
Walter
Karl Brenk
Hinnerk
Oskar Neugebauer
Eddi
Paul Funk
Paul
Leonid Ritter
Sowjetischer Matrose
Alexej Plesnizow
Vertreter der Petrograder Gewerkschaften
Charlotte Küter
Frau mit Revolver
Jean Brahn
Polizist
Walter Lendrich
Häftling
Willi Narloch
ZK-Vertreter
Harry Studt
Oberst im Geheimdienst
Axel Triebel
General
Harro ten Brook
General
Hans Fiebrandt
Frontsoldat
Wilhelm Hinrich Holtz
Geschäftsführer im Kaiserhof
Wolf von Beneckendorff
Russischer Emmigrant
Ludwig Sachs
Spitzel
Dorothea Thiesing
Gemüsefrau
Friedrich Gnaß
Hauswirt
Rudolf Fleck
Gefängniswärter
Kurt Sperling
Gewehrzähler
Eberhard Kratz
Reichswehroffizier
Hans Rose
Erster Arbeiter
Carl Lange
Zweiter Arbeiter
Hermann Stetza
Dritter Arbeiter