Murderers Among Us (1946)

Murderers Among Us (“Die Mörder sind unter uns”
Directed by Wolfgang Staudte
Written by Wolfgang Staudte
1946/Germany
Deutsche Film
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways. — Buddha [/box]

This is a good, but not great, exploration of how various Berliners cope with their wartime experiences in the rubble of their defeated city.

Suzanne (Hildegarde Neff) comes home looking great after a stint in a concentration camp. She finds Hans Mertens, a bitter alcoholic ex-serviceman, living in her bombed out apartment.  Instead of evicting him, she gives him a few days to find another place to live. Within a few days, he has become a permanent boarder and she is cooking and cleaning for him despite his continued drinking and abusive behavior.  While cleaning, Suzanne finds an  unopened letter that was to be opened on the death of the sender, a Ferdinand Brückner.

When Hans refuses to deliver the letter, Suzanne takes on the job herself.  She finds Herr Brückner still alive and happily reunited with his wife, to whom the letter was written, and children.  The affable Brükner is happy to hear that Hans lives as well.  To say the least, Hans is not so happy to learn Brükner is alive.  He packs a pistol when he goes calling on the man.  Through a series of flashbacks we learn why.

For me the highlights of this film were the authentic images of 1945 Berlin and evocative use of same by the director.  The story is basically the triumph of love and forgiveness over hate and revenge.  It was well done.  I liked the perfomance of the actor who played Herr Brükner best.  Interesting that a returned war criminal is portrayed as such a complacent, good-natured family man.

This was the first film made in Germany after the war.  It was made in the Soviet sector of Berlin and launched what was to become the East German film industry.

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