ing theWeimar Republic. Moreover,itdepended on the extensive exchanges that
allowed leftist artists and writers to look for new models of culturalproduction
in the Soviet Union. Inconceivable without the traffic in ideas between Moscow
andBerlin,KuhleWampewas the product ofaunique collaboration involving
directorsBertoltBrecht and Slatan Dudow (1903–1963), composer Hanns Eisler,
and screenwriter Ernst Ottwalt (1901–1943), who wereeither KPD members or
sympathizers at the time of the film’sproduction. Brecht’sexperiments with
new media technologies such asradio and film and his legal battles with the
UFAstudio hadresulted in his penetratinganalysis of the culture industry
and intensified his search foramaterialist aestheticbased on new conceptions
of character,role, and performance. Especiallyhis developmentofLehrstücke
had made him explore new acting and stagingtechniques that could turnaudi-
ences into political actors.The Bulgarian-born Dudow had alreadyaddressed the
problem of working-class housing in the documentary shortZeitprobleme:Wie
der Arbeiter wohnt(1930,How theBerlinWorker Lives) and, after thewar,
would continue to make feature films for the East German DEFA studio. Mean-
while, Eisler,astudent of Arnold Schönbergturned frequent Brecht collaborator,
had abandoned the twelve-tone system in favorofthe more agitationaltones and
hybrid musicalstyles that distinguishedtheKampflied(see chapter 4) and later
led to his selection as the composer of the GDR nationalanthem.Adifferent kind
of convert,Ottwalt had joined theKPDand BPRS afterayouthful episodeinthe
Freikorps, which herecounted in theautobiographical novelRuhe und Ordnung
(1929,Law and Order).
Descriptions of the collective involved in the making ofKuhleWampeoften
fail to mention Hertha Thiele (1908–1984), theBerlin-basedstageactress who
had just appeared in Leontine Sagan’sMädchen in Uniform(1932,GirlsinUni-
form), the lesbian cult classic. InKuhleWampe,her friendship with her work col-
league and fellow communist Gerda(playedbyMartaWolter )iseasilythe most
stable and supportive relationship in the narrative.HereThiele is cast as Anni
Bönike, who is the onlymemberofher working-class familywith apaying job
as aspot welder and who helps her evicted familyfind temporary refuge in a
tent settlement outsideBerlin. Shegets engagedtoher boyfriendFritz (played
by Ernst Busch) because of an unplanned pregnancyand laterbreaks this en-
gagementand has an abortion (alluded to in scenes cut from the censoredver-
sion). She then moves inwith her best friend and joins the workers’sport move-
ment.With ashort blond bob parted on the side, practical dark skirt,and white
blousewith tie, Thiele is thevery embodiment of the NewWoman. Alreadyher
first appearance in the film establishes her statusasthe completeopposite of her
mother,the type of older,worn-out working-class woman familiar from the
works ofKätheKollwitz and HeinrichZille. Despite similarities in bodytype
Kuhle Wampeand“Those Who Don’tLike It” 323