Labor Service Part 1, by Hans Curlis (ca. 1939)

Item Information

Title:
Labor Service Part 1, by Hans Curlis (ca. 1939)
Description:
A 16mm silent, black and white film created and directed by Hans Cürlis. The film’s title is “Arbeitsdienst I. Teil” or “Labor Service Part 1.” The film was produced by the Kulturfilm Institut G.m.b. h., Hans Curlis’s film company and the Reichsanstalt fur film und bild In Wissenschaftundunterricht or the “Reich institute for film and images in Science and Classroom” (a branch of the Reich Ministry of Science, Education and Culture founded in 1934). The film’s credits are in German. The film is believed to be taken in 1939. It was filmed in Austria. The first three minutes of the film shows the men completing in endurance and team building exercises. The men are shown running, throwing a heavy ball back and forth between one another, and some sort of stretching exercise where an unidentified man tells each person to complete a different type of stretch and they follow his lead. At around the three minute mark, the men are shown in uniforms and they stand in lines for around the next minute and a half of the film. The remainder of the film shows the men digging holes with shovels and pushing around large wheelbarrows filled with dirt. This may not be all of the film and there is a version with sound. For the longer version with sound, see: https://archive.org/details/1939-Reichsarbeitsdienst. The director, Hans Cürlis, worked for over 50 years as a director and producer of cultural films, documentaries and educational films in German. By the mid-1950s, Cürlis had worked on more than 350 cultural films as a director, producer and screenwriter; his work is estimated at over 500 films in total. His films specifically focused on politics and art. In 1919, Cürlis opened his own production company, the Kulturfilm-Institut GmbH, in 1919. Early in his career, Cürlis's films were very nationalistic. The Reichsanstalt für film und bild In Wissenschaftundunterricht, the Reich Institute for Film and images in Science and Classroom, was a branch of the Reich Ministry of Science, Education and Culture founded in 1934. Over 900 films created. For more info, see here: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Reichsanstalt_f%C3%BCr_Film_und_Bild_in_Wissenschaft_und_Unterricht Reichsarbeitsdienst (translated to 'Reich Labour Service', abbreviated RAD), was a major organisation established by Nazi Germany as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on German economy, militarize the workforce and indoctrinate it with Nazi ideology. It was the official state labor service, divided into separate sections for men and women. In some ways it could be compared to FDR's New Deal organizations such as the CCC or NRA, but in important ways it had a military component that made it significantly different. From June 1935 onwards, men aged between 18 and 25 had to serve six months before their military service. Taken from write-up of youtube video of part II done by Periscope Film LLC Archive at www.periscoperilm.com. See here for write-up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn8r38Nh3LE. Film Technician Note: “Highly shrunken. Spoked reel. At 117'38 emulsion is puckered.”; Date comes from version found online: https://archive.org/details/1939-Reichsarbeitsdienst ; Title on original canister to hold the film reel was “Work Camp DeMarchi”. Not sure what “DeMarchi” means, as a brief search revealed nothing by this name in online records.; It is unsure what this film is doing in our collections. Film was contained with other films on Springfield College History and there was no note or other documentation that told where it came from or why it was kept.;
Creator:
Cürlis, Hans, 1889-1982
Date:
1940–1945
Format:
Film/Video
Genre:
Black and White; Silent; 16mm
Location:
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Collection (local):
College Archives Digital Collections
Series:
Videos and Film
Subjects:
World War, 1939-1945
Cürlis, Hans, 1889-1982
War
War work
Running
Shovels
Wheelbarrows
Dirt
Rocks
Extent:
00:11:19
Link to Item:
http://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15370coll2/id/23372
Terms of Use:
Text and images are owned, held, or licensed by Springfield College and are available for personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that ownership is properly cited. A credit line is required and should read: Courtesy of Springfield College, Archives and Special Collections. Any commercial use without written permission from Springfield College is strictly prohibited. Other individuals or entities other than, and in addition to, Springfield College may also own copyrights and other propriety rights. The publishing, exhibiting, or broadcasting party assumes all responsibility for clearing reproduction rights and for any infringement of United States copyright law.
Contact host institution for more information.
Publisher:
Kulturfilm-Institut GmbH
Language:
German
Identifier:
work-camp