Let's start with a couple of definitions. The 'Rubble' or 'Debris' film (from the German Trümmerfilm) is used to describe those films made by Germany immediately after the end of World War II. As their name implies, many of these feature bombed-out cities as their primary locations. DEFA stands for Deutsche-Film-Aktiengesellschaft. It was East Germany's state-owned film studio, founded in post-war Germany and authorised to make movies inside the Soviet occupation zone and overseen by the Soviet Military Administration. One of its main aims was to aid in the denazification of Germany. Eureka are now releasing five of DEFA's films in a box set with extras, so let's take a look at what we get:
Disc One
The Murderers are Among Us (1946)
The first-ever rubble film tells the story of Susanne (Hildegard Knef) who returns from a concentration camp to her Berlin apartment only to find a stranger living there. This is Han Mertens (Wilhem Borchert), a surgeon, who is carrying with him a terrible secret from the war, one which comes back to haunt him when he realises the commanding officer of the concentration camp in which he served is still alive.
From the opening shot it's obvious that, as well as being well-made, THE MURDERERS ARE AMONG US plans to pull no punches depicting the degree of devastation wrought by the bombing of Berlin. Director (and writer) Wolfgang Staudte manages some impressive camera setups (eg from on top of an overloaded train entering Berlin) and overall this is an excellent film with a lot to say while also telling an engrossing story.
Extras on disc one include a commentary track from Sergio Angelini which is very helpful if you've not encountered the rubble films before. From the Rubble is a 28 minute piece from Claire Knight about the founding of DEFA, Rebuilding Berlin is a 23 minute documentary from 1946 and to finish off there's newsreel footage from The Eyewitness from 1946 that includes material about the shooting of the film.
Disc Two
Somewhere in Berlin (1946)
The children (which basically means boys) who play on the rubble heaps are the main subject of this one, plus the adults they come into contact with. These include thief Waldemar (Fritz Rasp who would later appear in several Rialto Film Edgar Wallace krimis), a local artist, and a man who sells them stolen fireworks in exchange for food. When little Gustav's father returns from the war it signifies a change for all his family.
The depiction of ordinary people taking advantage of the post-war situation must have been pretty unflinching for the period, and while that side of things is dealt with seriously, the film finishes with a note of tremendous optimism, suggesting Berlin will be rebuilt by its people, but it perhaps doesn't quite gel with what we've seen before.
Police Raid (1947)
A complete change of pace as we get a film that feels a lot more like the noir gangster pictures Hollywood was turning out at the time. Inspector Naumann (Paul Bildt) is determined to crack an organisation of black marketeers based at the Ali Baba club. A raid goes wrong and it turns out one of his men is an informant. The case is closed but Naumann carries on investigations on his own, with disastrous consequences.
Director Werner Klingler would go on to make 1962's THE TERROR OF DR MABUSE for Artur Brauner and here he demonstrates a keen ability for the police procedural, opening the film with scenes of crowds milling close to bombed out landmarks and contrasting these with the slick environs of the nightclub and those who profit from it.
Extras in disc two include commentary tracks on SOMEWHERE IN BERLIN from Elizabeth Ward and POLICE RAID by Sergio Angelini. Crimewave is a 20 minute visual essay by Sebastian Heiduschke which looks at plenty of imagery from the film. Rebuilding Potsdam is a 30 minute archival documentary from 1946 and we get another issue of The Eyewitness newsreel from 1946
Disc Three
Marriage in the Shadows (1947)
A change of pace again for this tale that begins in 1933. Elisabeth Maurer (Ilse Steppat) is a famous actress. Unfortunately she's Jewish and Nazism is on the rise. She marries fellow actor, the non-Jewish Hans (Paul Klinger) but their marriage is doomed to end in tragedy.
MARRIAGE IN THE SHADOWS is a remarkable film with a gut punch of an ending. Much of the dialogue in the earlier scenes will be terrifyingly prescient of events today as the proponents of Nazism face off against the more rational and tolerant. It's loosely based on the true story of the fate of the German actor Joachim Gottschalk and with its theatrical background the early scenes are reminiscent of some of the UK's output of the period.
The Blum Affair (1948)
Another film based on a true story, and another 'period piece' (it's set in 1926, during the Weimar republic). Dr Jakob Blum (Kurt Ehrhardt) is a Jewish industrialist who is accused of murdering his accountant, Wilhelm Platzer (Arno Paulsen). The actual murderer is a thief, Karlheinz Gabler (Hans Christian Blech) who is encouraged by the authorities to accuse Blum because Blum is a member of the current opposing political party. The courtroom drama that then ensues is riveting.
Again, like MARRIAGE IN THE SHADOWS, THE BLUM AFFAIR does a good job of contextualising the historical period in which its story takes place. Unemployment is high, people are desperate for work, and an advertisement for the position of a cashier in a remote bank is how Gabler goes about his crime.
Extras on disc three include commentaries on MARRIAGE IN THE SHADOWS (by Sean Allan) and THE BLUM AFFAIR (by Rolland Man, written by David Melville Wingrove). Confronting the Past is 25 minutes from Sue Vice on DEFA and the Holocaust and there's a 37 minute archival documentary on 'Death Camp Sachsenhausen' with a warning at the beginning regarding its content that some may need to take heed of. There's also another issue of The Eyewitness, this time from 1947.
Finally, the set comes with a 60 page book featuring new writing on the films and a hardcase to keep everything in. This is a fascinating, educational and important set of films and full marks to Eureka for bringing them to a much wider audience in such an excellent package.
Wrack and Ruin: The Rubble Film at DEFA is out from Eureka Entertainment in a three disc Blu-ray set on Monday 15th September 2025
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