Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-2015
Department 1
German
Abstract
The late Weimar film Der träumende Mund culminates in the apparent but unconfirmed suicide of its female protagonist, played by Elisabeth Bergner. Bergner, whose background contributed to the film’s Jewish reception, and who later claimed to have written the film’s screenplay, left Germany and went into exile with director Paul Czinner in 1932. This film and the circumstances of its production and premiere link tragic modes of self-erasure, including the suicides of both many women and many German Jews, to notions of escape, emigration, and reemergence. Its success among Jewish spectators points to its enduring and international appeal.
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
DOI
10.1353/gsr.2015.0046
Version
Post-Print
Recommended Citation
Wallach, Kerry. "Escape Artistry: Elisabeth Bergner and Jewish Disappearance in Der träumende Mund (Czinner, 1932)." German Studies Review 38.1 (February 2015), 17-34.
Required Publisher's Statement
This article is also available on the publisher's website.
Included in
Cultural History Commons, European History Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, German Language and Literature Commons, Jewish Studies Commons, Women's History Commons