Ernst Thälmann – Leader of the Working Class (1955)
October 6, 1955
History, Drama
2h 20m


This film is the second of a two-part historical and biographical portrait of the communist politician and anti-fascist Ernst Thälmann. Autumn, 1918: Somewhere on Germany’s western front, Ernst Thälmann, age twenty-four, is calling on his fellow soldiers to put down their guns and join him in the communist struggle at home. When Hamburg’s Police Commissioner blocks a much-needed food shipment to the workers of Petrograd, Ernst battles to see it allowed through. Until his murder on August 18, 1944, Ernst remained true to his political convictions in the face of many setbacks.
Cast & Crew
- Director
- Kurt Maetzig
- Ernst Thälmann Günther Simon
- Fiete Jansen Hans-Peter Minetti
- Änne Jansen Karla Runkehl
- Maurice Rouger Michel Piccoli
- Quadde Werner Peters
- Soldat Fred Delmare
- Paul R. Henker
- Karl Brenk
Recommendations
Keywords
- german democratic republic
- socialism
- biography
- working class
- communism
- thälmann
- proletarian
- anti-fascism
- proletariat