This 1943 German version of the story of the sinking of the Titanic is pure German propaganda. While remarkable that a film such as this could be produced while Germany was at war, the film is full of historical inaccuracies, and many real life people had their roles in the sinking fictionalized.
In the film the British and the wealthy are the villains, not the iceberg. J. Bruce Ismay, the president of the White Star Line is shown as wanting to get the ship into NY a full day earlier then expected and he is shown as willing to do whatever in his power that he can do to achieve that goal. While this is probably historically accurate, the role of John Jacob Astor is not. In the film Astor is attempting to buy the majority of the stocks of the White Star Line so that by the time the ship reached NY he will own not just Titanic, but the entire shipping line.
The heroes of the film are, SURPRISE, all German. The fictional second officer in command Peterson who all along warned the owner and the captain that there was ice ahead, and a wealthy Baltic woman, one of the thought to be villains of the film, who comes around at the end and tries to save some people. While it is remarkable to see how Germany took a tragedy and altered all the facts to fit a propaganda need, it must also be remembered that many films made here in the U.S. were types of propaganda as well.
Be sure to watch for the scene in the film when the engines stop and all the steerage passengers leave the steerage part of the ship to ask the captain what happened, and the confrontation comes on the steps in the Grand Ballroom in the first class part of the ship.
The theater where the film was having it opening night showing was bombed and the film was taken out of circulation for decades.
In the film the British and the wealthy are the villains, not the iceberg. J. Bruce Ismay, the president of the White Star Line is shown as wanting to get the ship into NY a full day earlier then expected and he is shown as willing to do whatever in his power that he can do to achieve that goal. While this is probably historically accurate, the role of John Jacob Astor is not. In the film Astor is attempting to buy the majority of the stocks of the White Star Line so that by the time the ship reached NY he will own not just Titanic, but the entire shipping line.
The heroes of the film are, SURPRISE, all German. The fictional second officer in command Peterson who all along warned the owner and the captain that there was ice ahead, and a wealthy Baltic woman, one of the thought to be villains of the film, who comes around at the end and tries to save some people. While it is remarkable to see how Germany took a tragedy and altered all the facts to fit a propaganda need, it must also be remembered that many films made here in the U.S. were types of propaganda as well.
Be sure to watch for the scene in the film when the engines stop and all the steerage passengers leave the steerage part of the ship to ask the captain what happened, and the confrontation comes on the steps in the Grand Ballroom in the first class part of the ship.
The theater where the film was having it opening night showing was bombed and the film was taken out of circulation for decades.