Kurt Maetzig
Kurt Maetzig (25.1.1911-8.8.2012), director, screenwriter, actor, producer, production manager:
Kurz Maetzig was the first director of the DEFA post-war newsreel "Der Augenzeuge", which first appeared in the Soviet Occupation Zone (SBZ) on 19 February 1946. As the influence of the SED grew stronger with the onset of the Cold War, he seized the opportunity to jump into the fiction field: DEFA offered him his debut as a feature film director with the Nazi coping drama "Ehe im Schatten". Maetzig was one of the first German filmmakers ever to tackle the subject of the persecution of the Jews. He ran into political problems with "Das Kaninchen bin ich" (1965, based on a novel by Manfred Bieler), an attempt to deal blatantly and critically with the problems of GDR development. After the meeting of the 11th plenum of the SED, it was banned, as was a large part of the DEFA annual production. The bitter disputes over "Das Kaninchen bin ich" also caused Maetzig problems artistically. By his own admission, he did not regain his former creative quality.
Kurt Maetzig
Kurt Maetzig (25.1.1911-8.8.2012), director, screenwriter, actor, producer, production manager:
Kurz Maetzig was the first director of the DEFA post-war newsreel "Der Augenzeuge", which first appeared in the Soviet Occupation Zone (SBZ) on 19 February 1946. As the influence of the SED grew stronger with the onset of the Cold War, he seized the opportunity to jump into the fiction field: DEFA offered him his debut as a feature film director with the Nazi coping drama "Ehe im Schatten". Maetzig was one of the first German filmmakers ever to tackle the subject of the persecution of the Jews. He ran into political problems with "Das Kaninchen bin ich" (1965, based on a novel by Manfred Bieler), an attempt to deal blatantly and critically with the problems of GDR development. After the meeting of the 11th plenum of the SED, it was banned, as was a large part of the DEFA annual production. The bitter disputes over "Das Kaninchen bin ich" also caused Maetzig problems artistically. By his own admission, he did not regain his former creative quality.