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DEFA's Positive Heroes

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“Wir sind Geburtshelfer eines neuen Lebens”: DEFA’s Positive Heroes by Anna Louise Stainton A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures University of Toronto © Copyright by Anna Louise Stainton 2019 ii ‘Wir sind Geburtshelfer eines neuen Lebens’: DEFA’s Positive Heroes Anna Louise Stainton Doctor of Philosophy Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures University of Toronto 2019 Abstract Of the catalogue of feature films produced by the German Democratic Republic’s state- owned production studio, DEFA (Deutsche Filmaktiengesellschaft), the most well-known and well-studied are its antifascist films. However, relatively little scholarly attention has been paid to the protagonists of these films and their function as role models (Vorbilder) and representatives of the East German state and its ideology. These figures may be referred to as positive heroes: a term from Soviet literature which describes a character who embodies dedication to socialist ideology and the Party, as well as an ideal of socialist leadership. This dissertation examines the portrayals of positive heroes in DEFA films from the late 1940s—prior even to the founding of the GDR—through to the early 1990s, when DEFA’s final films post-German reunification were produced. I begin with an analysis of DEFA’s most important project in its first decade, Kurt Maetzig’s two biographical films about Ernst Thälmann, in which I argue that positive heroism in DEFA films is made up of two connected character types: the symbolic hero, who represents the Party, State, and ideology, and the role model or Vorbild, who represents a locus of identification for the spectator. Using a framework based on Žižekian psychoanalytical theory, I argue furthermore that these character types play a significant role in the ideological mission of iii antifascist films: to construct and disseminate specific forms of socialist, East German identity. Moreover, my analysis of the portrayals of positive heroes highlights the underlying contradictions within the GDR’s doctrine of antifascism, and thus in its foundational narrative. iv Acknowledgments My deepest thanks to all those who have contributed their support, advice, and time during the research and writing process of this dissertation. In particular: TO MY THESIS SUPERVISOR Professor Stefan Soldovieri Whose enthusiastic support and invaluable suggestions made this thesis possible TO MY THESIS COMMITTEE Professor John Noyes and Professor Angelica Fenner For their detailed comments and thought-provoking questions TO THOSE WHO HAVE PROVIDED GRANTS AND FUNDING TOWARDS THIS RESEARCH The University of Toronto Faculty of Arts and Science, School of Graduate Studies, JIGES, and the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures TO ALL MY FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES who have volunteered their time, resources, and attention during the research and writing of this thesis Yasmin Aly, Katrin Bahr, Dr. Christin Bohnke, Dr. Rosemary Deller, Professor John Lessard, Dr. Lara Pehar, Konstanze Schiller, Dr. Vasuki Shanmuganathan, and Eugenia Siegel. TO MY FAMILY Marion, Clive, and Elisabeth Stainton For their love and support And finally, TO MY HUSBAND Marcel Thach Who has always believed in me, and without whose endless patience and love, this work would not exist. v Table of Contents Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................................................................................. iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................................................................................. v List of Figures ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... vii DEFA’s Positive Heroes: An Introduction ................................................................................................................................................1 Theoretical Approach ...................................................................................................................................................................................9 The Thälmann films: the symbolic hero and the Vorbild .......................................................................................................... 16 Mothers and martyrs ................................................................................................................................................................................. 19 The Mitläufer and the Masses................................................................................................................................................................. 21 The decline of the positive hero............................................................................................................................................................ 23 Aims .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 25 Chapter 1: The Thälmann films: shaping the facets of the positive hero ............................................................................... 26 Production History ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 29 Thälmann as a model leader................................................................................................................................................................... 33 Thälmann or Hitler? ................................................................................................................................................................................... 47 Fiete and Änne as Vorbilder .................................................................................................................................................................... 66 Chapter 2: Mothers and Martyrs: foregrounding the Vorbild...................................................................................................... 78 Socialist Mothers .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 81 Mothers as Martyrs ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 88 The Thälmann films: Änne as a socialist mother-martyr .................................................................................................... 90 Senseless death: (not) dying for the cause in Rotation......................................................................................................... 94 The German Vaterland and ‘Mother Russia’ in Ich war neunzehn ................................................................................ 100 Mothers and Martyrs............................................................................................................................................................................... 115 Stepping forward, stepping back: generational transition in Stärker als die Nacht ............................................ 119 A vicious circle of martyrdom? Doubling and repetition in Die Toten bleiben jung ............................................ 130 Becoming a maternal Vorbild: Die Buntkarierten ................................................................................................................ 142 The didactic imperative of socialist motherhood................................................................................................................. 150 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 152 Chapter 3: Mitläufer and conversion narratives: founding a socialist state on fascist ground ................................ 154 Why examine Mitläufer narratives through the lens of religious conversion? ........................................................... 163 Rambo’s ‘sequential stage model’ of conversion ....................................................................................................................... 172 1. Context ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 174 Context: The Mitläufer as working class ................................................................................................................................... 176 vi Context: The Mitläufer as a child .................................................................................................................................................. 177 Context: Fathers and sons ..............................................................................................................................................................
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