The Eleventh Plenum launched in December of 1965. It resulted in twelve feature films by DEFA being banned by Communist Party leaders. One of these films was was the 1965 film, Das Kaninchen bin ich (English: The Rabbit is Me), which was one of the first two films target by the Eleventh Plenum. Das Kaninchen bin ich deals with the politics of court and law, and how it effects other aspects of the lives of every day people living in East Germany in the 1960s; it also discusses changes in the GDG following the construction of the Berlin Wall. Kurt Maetzig, who directed the film, likely wasn’t surprised by it being banned, as it was based on a novel that had previously been turned down for publication by the GDR’s cultural ministry (Feinstein 151). Despite these strikes against it, Maetzig still chose to make the film, because he must have felt it was an important movie to make.
DEFA had long been quiet on political topics, even before the Eleventh Plenum. Instead, the studio typically made genre films or even simple propaganda for the state (Feinstein 152). Das Kaninchen bin ich was one of its early forays into political criticism. It broke social taboos by showing the adulterous relationship between the young Maria and Deister, the older judge who presided over her brother’s trial. While highlighting corruptions and hypocrisy of the system, the movie also "suggested the possibility of socialism’s redemption through a communal solidarity, depicted as latently present in the interstices of the existing state… In this sense, ordinary life functions in the film as an antidote" to the political stage (Feinstein 152-153). This metaphor is supported by Maria’s claim, late in the film, that she — the simple everyday girl — is the rabbit to the snake of Deister’s wife, who represents an older and more politically savvy woman.
Das Kaninchen bin ich was made only four years after the Berlin Wall was built and the total division between West Germany and East Germany was implemented. Its commentary on the the political state of the GDR was tied up with this new division. Director Frank Beyer, who also had a film banned for twenty years by the Eleventh Plenum, in an interview, once said: "They always told us before, we stand here at the very front line of the socialist camp. Here is the borderline, and we are here in the very first trench… and, as is known, you don’t debate in the front trench… you follow orders, you obey… And [thus] I had the feeling after the Wall’s construction, now we are no longer in the front trench. Now we can talk with each other in another fashion. We can deal with each other in a critical fashion. We can talk about things that were forbidden before" (Feinstein 153). The idea of the Berlin Wall allowing greater freedom of communion with Eastern Germany was reflected in Das Kaninchen bin ich. When pressed by Maria over the three-year sentencing of her brother compared to the 90-day sentence of Grambov, Deister, a few times, explains that political changes allowed for Grambov to get a lighter sentence. Specifically, he references the border now being secured.
Although this sentiment aligns with the government’s insistence that the Berlin Wall was to protect its citizens from the fascist government of West Germany, Maetzig puts the words in the mouth of Deister, a corrupt judge who symbolizes the secrecy and flaws of the state. In the interplay between politics and the common people, Maetzig seems to suggest that the official answers of protection and safety in response to the question of why the Berlin Wall exists — or why other political decisions were made — fails to resonant with or speak to the common people of the GDR. Maria isn’t satisfied with Deister’s answers about the handling of her brother’s trial, just as many citizens of East Germany were unsatisfied by the government’s explanations of the Berlin Wall and other restrictions placed on the people of the GDR.
Das Kaninchen bin ich was uniquely new in its portrayal and criticism of corruption within the judicial system. It drew a clear connection between the world of politics and the world of the every day GDR citizen; it shows how the machinations of one affects the other, and how the common people try to understand and influence the political sphere. As a testament to its legacy, the other films banned by the Eleventh Plenum were colloquially called "rabbit films" in reference to its title.
DEFA had long been quiet on political topics, even before the Eleventh Plenum. Instead, the studio typically made genre films or even simple propaganda for the state (Feinstein 152). Das Kaninchen bin ich was one of its early forays into political criticism. It broke social taboos by showing the adulterous relationship between the young Maria and Deister, the older judge who presided over her brother’s trial. While highlighting corruptions and hypocrisy of the system, the movie also "suggested the possibility of socialism’s redemption through a communal solidarity, depicted as latently present in the interstices of the existing state… In this sense, ordinary life functions in the film as an antidote" to the political stage (Feinstein 152-153). This metaphor is supported by Maria’s claim, late in the film, that she — the simple everyday girl — is the rabbit to the snake of Deister’s wife, who represents an older and more politically savvy woman.
Das Kaninchen bin ich was made only four years after the Berlin Wall was built and the total division between West Germany and East Germany was implemented. Its commentary on the the political state of the GDR was tied up with this new division. Director Frank Beyer, who also had a film banned for twenty years by the Eleventh Plenum, in an interview, once said: "They always told us before, we stand here at the very front line of the socialist camp. Here is the borderline, and we are here in the very first trench… and, as is known, you don’t debate in the front trench… you follow orders, you obey… And [thus] I had the feeling after the Wall’s construction, now we are no longer in the front trench. Now we can talk with each other in another fashion. We can deal with each other in a critical fashion. We can talk about things that were forbidden before" (Feinstein 153). The idea of the Berlin Wall allowing greater freedom of communion with Eastern Germany was reflected in Das Kaninchen bin ich. When pressed by Maria over the three-year sentencing of her brother compared to the 90-day sentence of Grambov, Deister, a few times, explains that political changes allowed for Grambov to get a lighter sentence. Specifically, he references the border now being secured.
Although this sentiment aligns with the government’s insistence that the Berlin Wall was to protect its citizens from the fascist government of West Germany, Maetzig puts the words in the mouth of Deister, a corrupt judge who symbolizes the secrecy and flaws of the state. In the interplay between politics and the common people, Maetzig seems to suggest that the official answers of protection and safety in response to the question of why the Berlin Wall exists — or why other political decisions were made — fails to resonant with or speak to the common people of the GDR. Maria isn’t satisfied with Deister’s answers about the handling of her brother’s trial, just as many citizens of East Germany were unsatisfied by the government’s explanations of the Berlin Wall and other restrictions placed on the people of the GDR.
Das Kaninchen bin ich was uniquely new in its portrayal and criticism of corruption within the judicial system. It drew a clear connection between the world of politics and the world of the every day GDR citizen; it shows how the machinations of one affects the other, and how the common people try to understand and influence the political sphere. As a testament to its legacy, the other films banned by the Eleventh Plenum were colloquially called "rabbit films" in reference to its title.
For a list of the sources referenced, check out our list of books here.
Das Kaninchen bin ich can be purchased on Amazon. Kenyon students can also watch it online through Kanopy Streaming.
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