{{Short description|1959 West German film}} {{Infobox film | name = Roses for the Prosecutor | image =File:Roses for the Prosecutor.jpg | director = [[Wolfgang Staudte]] | producer = [[Kurt Ulrich]] <br> [[Heinz Willeg]] | writer = [[George Hurdalek]] <br> Wolfgang Staudte | starring = [[Martin Held]] <br> [[Walter Giller]] <br> [[Ingrid van Bergen]] | cinematography = [[Erich Claunigk]] | music = [[Raimund Rosenberger]] | editing = [[Klaus Eckstein]] | studio = Kurt Ulrich Filmproduktion | distributor = Neue Filmverleih | country = West Germany | language = [[German language|German]] | runtime = 97 minutes | released = {{Film date|1959|9|24|df=yes}} }} '''''Roses for the Prosecutor''''' ({{langx|de|Rosen für den Staatsanwalt}}) is a 1959 West German [[comedy film]] with tragical and critical elements, directed by [[Wolfgang Staudte]] and starring [[Martin Held]], [[Walter Giller]] and [[Ingrid van Bergen]]. It was one of the few German movies of the 1950s which openly addressed the [[Nazi Germany|German Nazi era]].
It was shot at the [[Göttingen Studios]] in [[Göttingen]] near [[Hanover]] and above all, in [[Kassel]]. The film's sets were designed by the [[art director]] [[Walter Haag]].
==Plot== In the final days of [[World War II]], German soldier Rudi Kleinschmidt is arrested for the perceived [[theft]] of "[[Scho-Ka-Kola|air force chocolate]]" which, in reality, he bought through the [[black market]]. During his [[court-martial]], [[judge]] Wilhelm Schramm accuses Kleinschmidt of [[Wehrkraftzersetzung]] and aiding the enemy, and [[Sentence (law)|sentences]] him to death. However, his [[Capital punishment|execution]] is prevented by an Allied [[strategic bombing|air raid]] and he narrowly escapes and manages to get hold of the execution warrant signed by Schramm.<ref name="Filmzentrale" >{{cite web |title=Rosen für den Staatsanwalt|trans-title=Roses for the Prosecutor|url=http://www.filmzentrale.com/rezis/rosenfuerdenstaatsanwaltub.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215033148/http://www.filmzentrale.com/rezis/rosenfuerdenstaatsanwaltub.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=February 15, 2008|language=de |work=filmzentrale.com|access-date=17 November 2018 }}</ref><ref name="Filmportal" >{{cite web |title=Rosen für den Staatsanwalt|trans-title=Roses for the Prosecutor|url=https://www.filmportal.de/film/rosen-fuer-den-staatsanwalt_7e1eba0cb1234ec1a98660952eab6268|language=de |work=filmportal.de|access-date=17 November 2018 }}</ref><ref name="Imdb" >{{cite web |title=Roses for the Prosecutor (1959)|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053227/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl|work=[[IMDb]]|access-date=17 November 2018 }}</ref>
Fifteen years later, Rudi is making a meagre living as a [[Hawker (trade)|street peddler]]. When he goes to visit his friend, Lissy Flemming, Kleinschmidt once again encounters Schramm, now a successful [[Prosecutor#Germany|prosecutor]] after keeping his [[Nazism|Nazi]] past a secret and portraying himself as having [[Resistance during World War II|resisted]] the [[Nazi Germany|regime]]. Schramm initially does not recognize Kleinschmidt, but nevertheless feels uneasy about him.
Eventually, Schramm remembers Kleinschmidt, and afraid of his past being exposed, attempts to scare Kleinschmidt out of town by having the local police [[Harassment|harass]] him and even getting him temporarily [[arrest]]ed. This enables Schramm to secretly seize the old execution warrant from Rudi's property inventoried by the police.
Though Kleinschmidt is initially willing to leave, he suddenly changes his mind, hoping to [[Trial de novo|reopen]] his case and to expose Schramm's past.<ref name="Filmzentrale" /><ref name="Filmportal" /><ref name="Imdb" /> He then smashes a [[Display window|shop window]] to steal two boxes of the very same chocolate, which leads to his arrest.
Schramm once more serves as the prosecutor in his case, but during the [[Trial#Criminal|trial]] he defends Kleinschmidt instead, raising suspicion. Eventually, he absentmindedly demands that Kleinschmidt be sentenced to death, exposing his true self.<ref name="Filmzentrale" /><ref name="Filmportal" /><ref name="Imdb" />
The trial is stopped and Schramm attempts to escape. Afterwards, Kleinschmidt intends to leave town, but ultimately decides to start a new life with Lissy.<ref name="Filmzentrale" /><ref name="Filmportal" /><ref name="Imdb" />
==Production== Staudte did not believe the film could actually be made and stored the idea for it in his desk, where it was discovered by Manfred Barthel, who forwarded it to his boss, producer [[Kurt Ulrich]]. Ulrich found a company Europa-Verleih, who were willing to produce the film for DM 900,000. However, Staudte estimated that it would cost DM 1.3 million to make. Europa-Verleih, which had financed a number of socially critical, poorly received films before, and lost money in the process, was unwilling to invest that much. It took a further three months to find the eventual investor, Neue Filmverleih in [[Munich]].<ref name="Zind" />
Staudte had to reduce his budget to DM 1 million and change the script from a drama to a comedy in order to be able to make the film. Despite this, he still had to moderate the film to allow it to appeal to the general West German public and not offend it.<ref name="Zind" />
== Cast == * [[Martin Held]] as senior prosecutor Wilhelm Schramm * [[Walter Giller]] as Rudi Kleinschmidt * [[Ingrid van Bergen]] as Lissy Flemming * [[Camilla Spira]] as Hildegard Schramm * [[Werner Peters]] as Otto Kugler * [[Wolfgang Wahl]] as Defense Counsel * [[Paul Hartmann (actor)|Paul Hartmann]] as president of the country court Diefenbach * [[Wolfgang Preiss]] as Attorney General * [[Inge Meysel]] as Erna, housemaid at the Schramms * [[Werner Finck]] as Haase * [[Ralf Wolter]] as Hessel * [[Roland Kaiser (actor)|Roland Kaiser]] as Werner Schramm * [[Henry Lorenzen]] as Graumann, waiter at Lissy's * [[Wolfgang Neuss]] as Paul, a truck driver
==Reception== The Nazi area received very little coverage in the first decades of the post-war West German movie industry which was dominated by ''[[Heimatfilm]]'' and light entertainment. ''Roses for the Prosecutor'' was one of the rare instances in which [[Law in Nazi Germany|the German justice system under the Nazis]] was openly discussed in West German film.{{sfn|Linder|1999|p=399}} Few directors dared to touch on the subject, but [[Wolfgang Staudte]]'s ''Roses for the Prosecutor'' typified post-war Germany, where former Nazis rose to high ranking political and government positions without consequences for their previous actions.<ref name="Filmzentrale" />
The film was criticised for making Schramm too comical a figure for such an important subject, while Giller received praise for his convincing portrait of Kleinschmidt as a victim of wartime and postwar justice.<ref>{{cite news |date=7 October 1959|title=Rosen für den Staatsanwalt (Deutschland).|trans-title=Roses for the Prosecutor|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-42622851.html|language=de |work=[[Der Spiegel]]|access-date=17 November 2018 }}</ref>
==Real life== In the movie, Schramm can be seen purchasing the far right ''[[National Zeitung|Deutsche Soldaten-Zeitung]]'', which subsequently used this fact for advertising in cinemas, using the slogan "Read the ''Deutsche Soldaten-Zeitung'', like Dr. Schramm".<ref name="Spiegel" >{{cite news |date=13 March 1963|title=Deutsche National Zeitung|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-45142623.html|language=de |work=[[Der Spiegel]]|access-date=17 November 2018 }}</ref>
The antisemitic Zirngiebel who is allowed to escape with Schramm's help reflects the real-life case of {{ill|Ludwig Zind|de}}, who had to escape Germany for a time after verbally abusing Jewish concentration camp survivor Kurt Lieser with an antisemitic tirade.<ref name="Zind" >{{cite news |date=2 September 1959|title=Kriegsrichter|trans-title=War judges|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-42622485.html|language=de |work=[[Der Spiegel]]|access-date=17 November 2018 }}</ref>
During filming, the case of judge {{ill|Otto Wöhrmann|de}} in [[Celle]] came to light, which had many similarities to the fictional Schramm.<ref name="Zind" /> During the war, Wöhrmann had sentenced two German soldiers to death for ''Wehrkraftzersetzung'', but the court documents were destroyed in a bombing raid. Subsequently re-tried, the two received jail sentences instead. Wöhrmann's story came to light in 1959 and he went on leave while also requesting an investigation, which cleared him of [[perverting the course of justice]] and had him re-instated.<ref>{{cite news |date=22 June 1960|title=Der SPIEGEL berichtete ...|trans-title=Der Spiegel reported ...|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-43066096.html|language=de |work=[[Der Spiegel]]|access-date=18 November 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=8 July 1959|title=Richter: Rückhaltlos im Einsatz|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-42625996.html|language=de |work=[[Der Spiegel]]|access-date=18 November 2018 }}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
=== Bibliography === * {{cite book | last =Linder | first =Joachim | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QELZ_5OxseoC&pg=PA399 | title =Verbrechen - Justiz - Medien: Konstellationen in Deutschland von 1900 bis zur Gegenwart | language=de |trans-title=Crime - Justice - Media: The constellation in Germany from 1930 to the present | publisher = [[De Gruyter]] | year = 1999 | isbn = 978-3484350700}}
== External links == *{{IMDb title|0053227}}
{{Wolfgang Staudte}}
[[Category:1959 comedy films]] [[Category:1959 films]] [[Category:German comedy films]] [[Category:German satirical films]] [[Category:West German films]] [[Category:Films directed by Wolfgang Staudte]] [[Category:German World War II films]] [[Category:1959 German films]] [[Category:Films shot at Göttingen Studios]] [[Category:1959 German-language films]] [[Category:West German black-and-white films]]