Dr. Ahrendt's Decision ()Die Entscheidung des Dr. Ahrendt on DEFA Foundation's website. is an East German black-and-white film directed by Frank Vogel, released in 1960.
Plot Dr. Ahrendt has developed a new type of iron smelter. When his invention fails to produce the required results, he begins to doubt himself, and is even considered as a liar by some. However, the workers in the factory are determined to achieve the goals set forth, and together with the scientist they manage to prove that the machine can be used as planned.
Cast Johannes Arpe as Dr. Heinrich Ahrendt Rudolf Ulrich as Martin Kröger Willi Schrade as Andreas Morgner Erika Radtke as Gisela Ahrendt Josef Stauder as Karl Szepinski Fritz Diez as Scholz Gisela May as Mrs. Kröger Fritz H. Kirchhoff as Dr. Maurer Paul Streckfuß as Kurt Werner Lierck as Rudi Hans Klering as Franz Roman Silberstein as Ede Helga Göring as Irma Hans Hardt-Hardtloff as Erwin Hans Flössel as Musner Siegfried Weiß as Kripphahn
Production The film was one of the so-called "mission films", commissioned in great number by the East German government during the late 1950s and early 1960s, that were intended to promote distinct political aims.Joshua Feinstein. The Triumph of the Ordinary: Depictions of Daily Life in the East German Cinema, 1949–1989. . Page 273. Dr. Ahrendt's Decision was meant to set an ideal model for behavior and attitude for the industrial workers.Ralf Schenk. Das zweite Leben der Filmstadt Babelsberg. DEFA- Spielfilme 1946–1992. . Page 143.
Reception Heinz Kersten wrote that the film resembled Socialist Realist pictures, and was intended to promote the economical aspirations of East Germany, by motivating the populace to work harder.Heinz Kersten. Das Filmwesen in der Sowjetischen Besatzungszone Deutschlands. Bundesministerium für Gesamtdeutsche Fragen (1963). ASIN B0000BK48Q. page 115.
Marianne Lange noted that Dr. Ahrendt's Decision portrayed the transformation of simple workers to ambitious, skilled labor.Marianne Lange. Arbeiterklasse und Kultur: Autorenkollektiv unter Leitung. Dietz (1969). . Page 255. The West German film service regarded it as "boring propaganda".Die Entscheidung des Dr. Ahrendt on Zweitausendundeins.de.
References
External links
Die Entscheidung des Dr. Ahrendt on PROGRESS' website.