COLLECTION 2 - AVANT-GARDE

As I said the story officially begins in 1912
with “The Dance of the Dead” starring Asta
Nielsen, the first movie star of the silent era.
There were other studios in Europe during
those years specially the one at District
18th in Paris but Babelsberg became much
more important because it was really close
to Berlin and that city became a popular
spot for show business, modern music and
art in general during the 20’s, making possible
a fluent dialogue between the studios
and the German capital city. Babelsberg
became bigger than some Hollywood studios.
In fact Germany was leading film production
during those years mainly because
some studios like Paramount Pictures shot
a large number of movies in Berlin. It was
much more than an economic agreement
between both industries. Some of the best
creators started their careers in Babelsberg
(UFA during those days) before travelling to
America; Ernst Lubitsch or Marlene Dietrich
to name a few. “The Blue Angel” (Josef Von
Sternberg, 1930) starring the German diva
was shot behind UFA walls.
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In fact she will always be related to the studios
where her legend started. She shot
some other films there and it was common
to see her around even for a visit as a sign
of gratitude. But of course in every good
story it all can’t be happy. Every story has
its shadows and in Babelsberg there is a big
one called National Socialism.
1933 means the beginning of the darkest
period of time for the studios as they became
the main center of Nazi propaganda.
The Nazis took over, all international people
left and the studios became a tool of
the Government directed by Goebbels’ iron
hand. It lasted until 1945 even during Berlin
bombings. The Government machine
worked until the very last moment; “Unter
den Brücken” (Helmut Käutner, 1945) were
shot during April and May when Berlin was
literally falling into pieces.
But of course there is a name associated
to the studios during those years: Leni Riefenstahl.
The German film maker could not
totally clean her image no matter how hard
she tried before her death in 2003. If she
fully believed what she shot or if she was
forced by the Regime is something we will
never know. Unfortunately her name and
work will always be related to those tragic
years. She shot 6 films at Babelsberg, mostly
documentary features, “Triumph of the
Will” (1935) being the most important of
all, a huge weapon of Nazi propaganda.
During the Cold War, Babelsberg was part
of East Berlin so a different period began
under the Soviet influence and it became
the most important studio of East Germany,
changing its name to DEFA, until the Wall
fell down in 1989.
It’s incredible to think that after surviving
the two most opposite regimes in the world,
the studios were about to close at the beginning
of the 21st century. If I tell you
that money is more dangerous than politics
you all say I’m missing the subject here but
it’s very clear that money or, in this case,
the lack of it could be a stronger weapon
than Nazism or Communism.