Hans Karl Breslauer directed The City Without Jews (German: Die Stadt ohne Juden), an Austrian Expressionist film, based on Hugo Bettauer’s novel of the same title.
The film is one of the few surviving Expressionist films from Austria and has therefore been well researched.
The film was first shown on 25 July 1924 in Vienna.
In his novel, published in 1922, Hugo Bettauer succeeded in creating an allegorical vision of the near future, though the book was intended as entertainment and as satirical response to the primitive antisemitism of the 1920s.
Bettauer’s most popular work, the book was translated into several languages, and sold over a quarter of a million copies.
Shortly after the film’s premiere, Hugo Bettauer was murdered by Otto Rothstock, former member of the Nazi Party. He was lionized by the antisemitic Austrian masses and was released less than two years after having been committed to psychiatric institution.
Narrative
In Austria, the Christian Social Party comes to power, and new Chancellor Dr. Schwerdtfeger, a fanatic antisemite, resents his people being ruled by the Jews. As a result, he has a law passed by the National Assembly forcing all Jews to emigrate by year’s end.
The law is embraced by the non-Jewish population. After the Jews leave, cultural life becomes impoverished. In theatres, only plays by Ludwig Ganghofer and Ludwig Anzengruber are performed. Many cafes are empty, or are converted into beer halls.
After initial upturn, the economy declines, as business is diminished, and has moved to other cities, such as Prague and Budapest. There’s running inflation and unemployment.
The political characters of the book (although not of the encourage recognition with real politicians; Bundeskanzler Schwerdtfeger, for example, is based on Ignaz Seipel.
The film also notes love relationship between Lotte (Anny Milety), Viennese girl (Wiener Mädel) and daughter of member of the National Assembly who voted for the banishment of the Jews, and Jewish artist Leo Strakosch (Johannes Riemann).
At the end, the National Assembly resolves to bring the Jews back. However, to achieve the necessary majority, Lotte and Leo, who have already illegally returned to Austria with forged papers identifying him as a French painter, have to remove the antisemitic representative Bernard (played by Hans Moser), which they do by getting him drunk. He is committed to psychiatric institution represented in Expressionist scenery, where in claustrophobic and asymmetrically painted cell, he sees himself threatened by Stars of David.
The film diverges from the book, as the action is revealed as a dream of the antisemitic Councillor Bernard. This turn of events was described in the original film program. Bernard awakes from his dream, finds himself in the tavern and says to the baffled Volbert: ‘Thank God that stupid dream is over—we are all just people and we don’t want hate—we want life—we want to live together in peace.'”
The city in the film is called “Utopia”, instead of “Vienna.” The film also has conciliatory happy ending. These deviations were meant to reduce controversial political impact.
The film was Hans Moser’s second role. The female lead was played by Anny (or Anna) Milety, whom he later married (in 1925). The well-known Jewish actors Gisela Werbisek (billed as “Werbezirk”) and Armin Berg appeared only in minor roles, as Kathi the cook and Isidor the commissionaire. The Expressionist backdrops and decor were the work of Julius von Borsody.
A campaign of vilification against Bettauer was instigated, due to this film and his other activities. In the spring of 1925 he was murdered by Nazi Party member Otto Rothstock, hailed as hero. Despite being found guilty of murder, he was sent to a mental hospital and, after 18 months, set free.
In 1933, the film was shown for the last time, again causing a stir, when it was screened in the Amsterdam theatre Carré as protest against Hitler’s Germany.
The German Bundesarchiv in Coblenz made an “emergency copy”, which was then reconstructed on behalf of the Filmarchiv Austria (Austrian Film Archive) by the company HS-ART Digital Service of Graz using the “DIAMANT” software developed by Joanneum Research; faded parts were then re-colored. In October 2008, the film was made available on portable medium as part of the DVD series Der österreichische Film.
In 2015, a copy of the whole film was found in a flea-market in Paris. The Austrian Film Archive organized crowd-funding campaign to save the film, with more than 700 people contributing €86,000 (£72,000; $107,000). This full version of the film was digitally restored and re-released in 2018.
