Ernst Thälmann – Son of the Working Class
09/03/1954
This film is the first of a two-part historical and biographical portrait of the communist politician and anti-fascist Ernst Thälmann. In early November 1918, Ernst Thälmann is an unwilling soldier serving on the western front. As the revolutionary movement at home is threatened by the betrayal of the Social Democrats and fissures in the working class, Thälmann calls on his fellow soldiers to put down their weapons and unite with the workers in the communist struggle at home. Thälmann’s qualms about which side he is fighting on continue, but when the local police attempt to prevent a shipment of provisions and supplies from reaching the people in Petrograd, he intervenes and the ship is unloaded. With this moment of clarity, Thälmann continues to follow his political convictions and joins the workers at the Hamburg uprising in October 1923.
Movie Information
Günther Simon
as Ernst Thälmann
Hans-Peter Minetti
as Fiete Jansen
Erich Franz
as Arthur Vierbreiter
Erika Dunkelmann
as Martha Vierbreiter
Johannes Arpe
as Höhn
Raimund Schelcher
as Krischan Daik
Karla Runkehl
as Änne Harms
Gerhard Bienert
as Otto Kramer
Robert Trösch
as Kuddel Riemöller
Wolf Kaiser
as Major Zinker
Werner Peters
as Hauptmann Quadde
Martin Flörchinger
as Karl Liebknecht
Steffie Spira
as Clara Zetkin
Hans Flössel
as Scheidemann
Walter E. Fuß
as Karl Borns
Rudolf Klix
as Willbrandt
Hans Klering
as Asmussen
Gerhard Lau
as Hein Heber
Sergei Kalinin
as Sowjetischer Kapitän
Werner Pledath
as Hauck
Karl Kendzia
as Adolf Wahlkeit
Carla Hoffmann
as Rosa Thälmann
Judith Harms
as Rosa Luxemburg
Peter Schorn
as Lenin
Karl Weber
as Friedrich Ebert
Oswald Foerderer
as Martin Bünse
Lotte Loebinger
as Emma Kramer
Wilfried Ortmann
as Hannes Harms
Hans-Edgar Stecher
as Peter Brinkmann
Gerd Jäger
as Josef Wissarionowitsch Stalin
Karl Eugen Lehnkering
as Gustav Stresemann
Joe Münch-Harris
as Gustav Noske
Arthur Pieck
as Wilhelm Pieck
Hermann Dieckhoff
as Dr. Matthies
Erich Brauer
as Freese
Wilhelm Gröhl
as Brandler
Otto Ernst Tickardt
as Mahlmann
Willi Schwabe
as Berber
Harry Preuß
as Tarnow
Nico Turoff
as Brandler
Ursula Röschmann
as Frau Harms
Kurt Dunkelmann
as Trenow
Günther Polensen
as Bauer
Sonja Haacker
as Freese
Wilhelm Otto Eckhardt
as Puttkamp
Frithjof Rüde
as General Vogt
Adolf Peter Hoffmann
as Alland
Erich Mirek
as Karl
Alfred Bohl
as Walter
Karl Brenk
as Hinnerk
Oskar Neugebauer
as Eddi
Paul Funk
as Paul
Leonid Ritter
as Sowjetischer Matrose
Alexej Plesnizow
as Vertreter der Petrograder Gewerkschaften
Charlotte Küter
as Frau mit Revolver
Jean Brahn
as Polizist
Walter Lendrich
as Häftling
Willi Narloch
as ZK-Vertreter
Harry Studt
as Oberst im Geheimdienst
Axel Triebel
as General
Harro ten Brook
as General
Hans Fiebrandt
as Frontsoldat
Wilhelm Hinrich Holtz
as Geschäftsführer im Kaiserhof
Wolf von Beneckendorff
as Russischer Emmigrant
Ludwig Sachs
as Spitzel
Dorothea Thiesing
as Gemüsefrau
Friedrich Gnaß
as Hauswirt
Rudolf Fleck
as Gefängniswärter
Kurt Sperling
as Gewehrzähler
Eberhard Kratz
as Reichswehroffizier
Hans Rose
as Erster Arbeiter
Carl Lange
as Zweiter Arbeiter
Hermann Stetza
as Dritter Arbeiter
