The City without Jews (1924)
1h 27m | PG-13
In the Republic of Utopia, because of the bad economic crisis ailing the nation, the Jews are made the scapegoats for the economic and social ills affecting the population; therefore, the government decides to expel them. Leo Strakosch is among the exiled. He is engaged to Counsellor's Linder's daughter. He gets into the Republic, in a clandestine way, to show to the society the wrongness of their anti-semitic prejudice. Bettauer's novel differs essentially from the film version. "Vienna" was named "Utopia." Even a happy ending was provided.
Director: H.K. Breslauer
Studio: H. K. Breslauer-Film
Genre: Drama
Video: 720p
Cast
Johannes Riemann
as Leo Strakosch
Hans Moser
as Rat Bernart
Karl Tema
as Rat Linder
Anny Miletty
as Tochter Lotte
Eugen Neufeld
as Bundeskanzler
Ferdinand Mayerhofer
as Rat Volbert
Reviews
It is somewhat ironically apposite to watch this now in the UK where we are still having politically charged conversations about anti-Semitism. This silent film is a wonderfully satiric rendition of the Bettauer story about the citizens of a city who fear that it is steadily being taken over by the Jews. Via a series of regulations and eventually law the Jewish are persecuted then ultimately banished. Thereupon, their chickens come home to roost; their city collapses into chaos and the Jews are invited to return - very much on their own terms. The futility and short-sightedness of a "blame culture" is writ large. Personally, I didn't see this as a precursor of the Holocaust; though I can see how the polarised vision of Jewish faith and ethics could certainly provide the oxygen ultimately required for such irrational hatred. It also served to remind me of the huge talents of the musicians who provided the accompaniments to many films like this.