page_title: Ernst Thälmann (film)
section_title: Contemporary response
hierarchical_section_title: Ernst Thälmann (film) / Reception / Contemporary response
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Berlin, Friedrichstadtpalast, Foyer Zentralbild Sturm9.3.1954 Festliche Uraufführung des Films Ernst Thälmann Sohn seiner Klasse. Am 9. März 1954 wurde im Berliner Friedrichstadtpalast der große Defa-Farbfilm Ernst Thälmann - Sohn seiner Klasse in einer festlichen Premiere uraufgeführt. UBz: Die Premierenbesucher im Foyer des Friedrichstadtpalastes.
context_page_description: Ernst Thälmann is an East German film in two parts about the life of Ernst Thälmann, leader of the Communist Party of Germany during much of the Weimar Republic, directed by Kurt Maetzig and starring Günther Simon in the title role. The first part, Ernst Thälmann - Sohn seiner Klasse, was released in 1954. It was followed by the 1955 sequel. Ernst Thälmann - Führer seiner Klasse.
context_section_description: Ernst Thälmann - Son of his Class premiered in the Friedrichstadt Palast, on 9 March 1954; over 3,000 people attended, including Wilhelm Pieck and Walter Ulbricht. In a speech he carried after the screening, Pieck called the film a "message to all peace-loving Germans, especially our youth". The picture was distributed in eighty prints.  It was the first film ever to be released simultaneously in East and West Germany, after the 1954 Berlin Conference brought about a temporary rapprochement between the two states.
  The first part was excessively promoted by the press; not infrequently, tickets were handed out without charge, and mandatory screenings were held in collective farms and for school children. Within 13 weeks of its release, Son of his Class was viewed by 3.6 million people. Director Kurt Maetzig, Willi Bredel, Michael Tschesno-Hell, cinematographer Karl Plintzner and actor Günther Simon were all awarded East Germany's National Prize, 1st Class, on 7 October 1954. The film also won a special Peace Prize in the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, in the same year.
  Leader of his Class, that had its premiere in Berlin's Volksbühne on 7 October 1955, was strongly endorsed by the government, as well. Within 13 weeks, it was viewed by 5.7 million people. His appearance in the film won Günther Simon the Best Actor Award in the 1956 Karlovy Vary Festival.
caption: The premiere of Son of his Class in Berlin's Friedrichstadt Palast. Note the Thälmann Protome on the left.
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