Contents: Short Synopsis ……………………………………………………………………..….. page 2 Long Synopsis ……………………………………………………………………..….. page 3 Interview extracts from the film …………………………………………………….…. page 5 Protagonists’ Biographies ……………..……………………………………………….. page 16 Key Crew Biographies..…………………..……………………………………………. page 21 Imprint …………………………………………………………………………………. page 27 1 Short Synopsis: Ski Heil - The two planks that mean the world Recreational sport, competitive sport, and tourist attraction: today skiing is a matter of course, but it wasn´t always this way: 80 years ago, four Austrian mountain boys raced down the snow-capped mountains on self-made skis, organized the first competitive races, and became the co-founders of a mass movement. « Ski Heil » is a deeply personal journey through the lives of my father, Richard Rossmann, and his skiing colleagues Karl Koller, Eberhard Kneisl and Guzzi Lantschner. It traces not only their pioneering achievements, but a shared love for skiing and the mountains which stayed with them over a lifetime - sometimes opening up glittering opportunities, sometimes providing a framework to overcome personal and political dilemmas. From early on, the fate of all four men was closely linked to Austrian and German history. One was the private ski instructor of Albert Speer; one was a student of the Reichs Sport Academy in Berlin; one was a cameraman for Leni Riefenstahl; three of them were members of the Olympic Ski Racing Team in 1936. « Ski Heil » is a film about passion and repression, about men and their values that can’t be easily categorized in today’s world. 2 Long Synopsis: Ski Heil - The two planks that mean the world Recreational sport, competitive sport, and tourist attraction: today skiing is a matter of course, but it wasn´t always this way: 80 years ago, four Austrian mountain boys raced down the snow-capped mountains on self-made skis, organized the first competitive races, and became the co-founders of a mass movement. « Ski Heil » is a deeply personal journey through the lives of my father, Richard Rossmann, and his skiing colleagues Karl Koller, Eberhard Kneisl and Guzzi Lantschner. It traces not only their pioneering achievements, but a shared love for skiing and the mountains which stayed with them over a lifetime - sometimes opening up glittering opportunities, sometimes providing a framework to overcome personal and political dilemmas. All four were born during the chaos of World War I in Austrian mountain villages. Coming from modest backgrounds the boys were fascinated by the new sport from Norway, which gave them a new feeling of freedom and equality high up above the demands of daily life. They eagerly competed in the very first races and contests. Before the outbreak of the World War II, they had all taken part in international competitions. ! Guzzi Lantschner became World Skiing Champion in 1932. The year before he was picked as an actor and went on to play a leading role in the alpine success movie “White Ecstasy”, where he co-starred along with Leni Riefenstahl. Soon afterwards, by then a director, Leni Riefenstahl introduced him to the movie world in Berlin. My father Richard Rossmann took part in the 1936 Winter Olympics and went on to study at the Reichs Sports Academy in Berlin, the centre of the German sporting elite. Karl Koller became the junior Austrian champion, earning his money as a private skiing instructor of men like Albert Speer and other political heavy weights. Eberhard Kneisl won silver at the 1936 World Championships in Innsbruck and made it to the Olympics in the same year. With unusual frankness, the four men recall how they were initially taken in by the ideas of early National Socialism, by its supposedly new energy and opportunities, by its cult of the body and “The Anschluss” – which made Austria a part of The German Reich. While Guzzi Lantschner went on to help promote the ideals of the Nazis, working as Leni Riefenstahl’s camera man on “Triumph of the Will” and “Olympia”, the others were increasingly alarmed by events such as the Reichskristallnacht, the outbreak of war, the fate of the Jews and other political developments. They slowly began to distance themselves from “the movement” and never became members of the NSDAP. However their talent in Alpine sports continued to serve them well throughout the war, as they were recalled from desperate situations at the front. While Guzzi Lantschner was freed from active service, in order to shoot war footage for the German news reels, the other three managed to become Alpine guides for the “German Wehrmacht”. After the defeat in 1945, they returned home. Only Guzzi Lantschner left for Argentina. And yet again, it was skiing that provided the framework to rebuild all their post war lives. 3 « Ski Heil » is a deeply personal journey through the lives of four very different men, who tell their story with unusual frankness, helping to understand the generation, that formed the pre- and post war life in Austria. « Ski Heil » is a film about passion and repression, about men who grew up during a time different from ours, and about values that can’t be easily categorized in today’s world. 4 Interview extracts from the film: Karl Koller on his passion for skiing Karl Koller: Skiing is its own world. The most important thing is freedom. Freedom is above everything. Not being trapped, being free in nature on two boards that mean the world . 5 Eberhard Kneisl on the early days of skiing Eberhard Kneisl: The first skiing was with staves. The staves out of wine barrels, they were like this. And so we tacked leather over them, then with loden shoes and an alpine staff, we mounted our skis and glided down the steeper paths. It was novel. Well it was very primitive. When I had my third winter at school I won the Austrian Youth Skiing Competition in the 10 to 14 years category. Next time it was in Windischgarten and I won again. And that’s how it progressed. Better skis, better bindings, better stuff. And that’s when skiing took off as a sport. Then it got bigger, more comfortable. That’s when skiing took shape. 6 Richard Rossmann on his participation at the Winter Olympics in Garmisch 1936 Richard Rossmann: So you were together with Eberhard Kneisl in the Austrian Olympic Team. Why weren’t you allowed to compete? Richard Rossmann sr: We were already up at Garmisch for the training. At the Kreuzeck where the race took place. I already did the stretch 2 or 3 times to train. And two days later, the word came: “We were to go home, we wouldn’t be competing”. And all because the Germans saw that they wouldn’t have a chance. They had a few good skiers. Like Pfnuer from Berchtesgarden. He was the only real contender. But, against our team, the Austrians, like Josl Gstrein or Eberhard Kneisl, nobody would have had a chance, we would have cleaned up. The FIS, this committee was composed of lots of neutral states… So the Germans proposed, the Nazis proposed, that the Austrians weren’t to compete. But the real reason was that the Germans would never have won the Olympics. Because during the week as ski instructors we were getting 6 shillings, we were seen as professionals. So then Pfnuer won. But they invited Toni Seelos to be a forerunner. And according to our people, he was six seconds faster than Pfnuer, the winner. 7 Richard Rossmann: So did that cause a stir? Richard Rossmann sr: Well, yes, in skiing circles, it was passed around. But, outside of that it was kept a secret. It didn’t make it to the press. “Germany won the Olympics in Alpine Skiing”, that was the line. Richard Rossmann: Did the Austrians protest to the Olympic committee? Richard Rossmann sr: There was no protest against the Nazis. They just kicked us out of everything. 8 Guzzi Lantschner on his collaboration with Leni Riefenstahl Guzzi Lantschner: Because I was a good skier and because I was known for that. That’s how I got into this world, how they took me in. Riefenstahl was very open. We clicked very early on. And Riefenstahl supported me, when I went into the movie business later on in Berlin. It was pretty exciting for me because I knew so little and because I got a break in the movie industry. It wasn’t such a big industry back then, but still, already, there was a little industry. I learned a lot of practical stuff from Riefenstahl. When we did those films about the 1936 Summer Olympics. The 1936 Olympics were a lot of work. Riefenstahl got a lot of opportunities through contact with the government and the top officials. And we did what we had to do. The existing techniques weren’t sufficient for our requirements. So we invented a lot of new techniques. Techniques that were never used before. I had a lot of trust in Riefenstahl and vice versa, she loved to collaborate with me. 9 Eberhard Kneisl on the Nazis Eberhard Kneisl: I just preferred to stay home. I couldn’t get into the whole thing. Some were for the Nazis and some were against. Richard Rossmann: And what did you think about the Nazis? Eberhard Kneisl: I basically wasn’t really interested in any of that stuff. I mostly just avoided the whole issue. Because, what can you say... 10 Karl Koller on the “Ski Corps” Karl Koller: The Ski Corps. That was right at the beginning, as I was mobilized. By this I mean 1940. I was called to Mittenwald. I hadn’t known, but they were assembling a ski corps there.