This EHL video is a compilation
of scenes from the epic 1945 German film "Kolberg".
From 1804-1815, the First French Republic borne of the French
Revolution was ruled by the awesome dictator Napoleon Bonaparte
as the mighty First French Empire. In the greatest apex of
French military history, the French nation conquered nearly
all of Western Europe and was so feared that what was left
of Europe set aside their differences -- even with the Muslim
Ottomans -- to form seven continental coalitions to crush
Napoleon's armies. The main powers opposing France were the
Germans of Prussia and Austria, as well as the British and
Russians. Prussia and Austria both barely escaped total annihilation,
and ultimately it was a joint alliance between Prussia and
England that forever crushed the French empire at Leipzig
and Waterloo. In this film, the Germans of the Prussian Kingdom
are facing total annexation. Most of Prussia was occupied,
although very casually. The city of Kolberg, now part of Poland
since WWII, was a historic site of a heroic popular resistance
by Germans of Prussia to French invasion that included both
soldiers and civilians refusing to accept foreign rule. This
concept of total, collective committment to the interests
of the state and nation via intense nationalism was called
"Total War," and was espoused by famous Prussian
military scholar Karl von Clausewitz.
In the last days of World
War II, when the German empire was all but dissolved, Adolf
Hitler and Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels ordered the
creation of a multi-million dollar film to inspire the Germans
to fight and die for the Reich at all costs (as occurred at
Kolberg). It is interesting that at the same time as the German
authorities called for all resources to be devoted to the
war effort, millions of dollars were spent and thousands of
men were drawn from the cities and even the front to produce
this epic. In actual historical narrative, Kolberg's civilians
did not successfully throw out the French occupying armies.
The overall revolt, however, did occur.
Please note that my translation
style (German to English) in this video is very liberal and
condensed. Whole phrases and words have been left out. The
reason for this is to reduce cluttering and simplify the viewer's
experience.
Neither I nor the
European Heritage Library support the Nazi ideology.
Subtitles do not seem
to appear unless you go directly to our Youtube Video. CLICK
HERE.
________________________________________
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:
James Mayfield is a historian
and the Chairman of the European Heritage Library. I have
a Cum Laude BA in History with a Minor in Germanic Studies
(language and history), am presently working for my Masters
in History, and plan to immediately progress to my PhD Doctorate.
I have a special academic interest in Europe's diverse ethnic
identities, languages, and cultures, and the political struggles
of native European and immigrant minority identities. See
my staff entry for more information.
BIBLIOGRAPHY/SOURCES
USED:
The film "Kolberg,"
whose copyright is now expired.
Copyright ongoing since 2008-,
European Heritage Library®. www.euroheritage.net.
All Rights Reserved. The European Heritage Library is a non-profit academic
organization owned by
Chairman James Mayfield.
No email addresses or personal information is redistributed. No articles
or content on this site may be redistributed without approval or a
full citation and credit to the EHL as the original source.
