Jadup und Boel

Short Summary (English)

A small town in the Altmark district is looking forward to its 800-year jubilee. When reminiscing, people remember the name of a young girl, who ended up here as a resettler with her mother in 1945. She was called Boel - a strange name, just as outlandish sounding as that of the present mayor, Jadup, who also landed in this corner of the Altmark district in 1945.

In those days, when Jadup swappped his white flag for a red gym shirt, they met for the first time. He teaches Boel, who observes him attentively, reading and writing and speaks to her about the new times full of hope. His red shirt was an optical signal for this - something which, however, evoked the hatred of many well-established inhabitants.

There was something conspicuous about Boel's hands:

they were covered with warts. Jadup could not help her in this respect and someone else meanly took advantage of Boel's helplessness. Gossip spread like a bushfire and finally reached political dimensions. But Boel kept silent, also to Jadup, which he could not understand. In his naivety, he was not aware of Boel's love for him. Disappointed in her trust, the girl then disappeared for ever. Jadup forgot Boel, until he was unexpectedly reminded of her by his son, Max., who as chairman of the Club of Young Historians, has to express his opinion about the behaviour of a young girl. She had reacted to an essay topic set by Jadup, the Mayor, in a way not expected by the teachers. The girl means to Max what Boel had meant to Jadup. And now, remembering his own unresolved youth experience, understanding and recognition are aroused in Jadup. Whereas he failed, he can now - under similar circumstances - help his son to master the situation.

Source: Progress Film-Verleih

Film Crew

Director

• Rainer Simon

Script

• Rainer Simon

Scenario

• Paul Kanut Schäfer

Camera

• Roland Dressel

Film Editing

• Helga Gentz

Cast

• Kurt Böwe (Jadup)
• Katrin Knappe (Boel)
• Gudrun Ritter (Barbara)
• Timo Jacob (Max)
• Käthe Reichel (Frau Martin)
• Michael Gwisdek (Gwissen)
• Franciszek Pieczka (Unger)
• Horst Lebinsky (Arne)
• Rolf Martin-Kruckenberg (Wenzel)
• Christian Böwe (Junger Jadup)
• Inga Kaltenhäuser (Edith)
• Uta Rauchfuß (Eva)
• Susanne Wisniewski (Marion)
• Dieter Bellmann (Mitarbeiter)
• Evelyn Cron (Anita)
• Christian Grashof (Kaufhallenleiter)
• Bernd Herold (Pionierleiter)
• Heide Kipp (Frau Unger)
• Siegfried Hilbig (Handwerker)
• Dirk Nawrocki (Junger Wenzel)
• Annette Roth (geb. Woska) (Lehrerin)
• Erdmute Schmid-Christian (Handwerkersfrau)
• Heidemarie Schneider (Verkäuferin)
• Berthold Schulze (Tröger)
• Manfred Zetzsche (1. Sekretär)
• Gert Gütschow (Vorsitzender)
• Hildegard Alex (Genossin)
• Günter Junghans (Genosse)
• Thomas Neumann (Genosse)
• Eckhard Becker (Genosse)
• Gertraud (auch: Trude) Kreißig (Lehrerin)
• Katrin Martin (Lehrerin)
• Carin Abicht (Lehrerin)
• Roland Kuchenbuch (Lehrer)
• Franz Viehmann (Schuldirektor)
• Ronald Reuter (Pianist)
• Karin Beewen (Verkäuferin)
• Ilse Bastubbe (Verkäuferin)

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Assistant Director

• Doris Borkmann (Assistenz-Regie)

Assistant Camera

• Dieter Lück

Production Design

• Hans Poppe

Script Editing

• Erika Richter

Music

• Reiner Bredemeyer (Musikberatung)

Sound

• Klaus Heidemann
• Christfried Sobczyk (Tonmischung)

Costume Design

• Werner Bergemann

Make-Up

• Kurt Tauchmann
• Christa (auch: Christel) Grewald

Props

• Wigbert Stern

Production Management

• Herbert Ehler

Unit Production Management

• Ralph Retzlaff
• Harald Jahn

DEFA Photography

• Wolfgang Ebert

Short Summary (German)

Jadup ist der angesehene Bürgermeister der altmärkischen Kleinstadt Wickenhausen. Ein Ereignis versetzt den selbstbewussten, routinierten Politiker in Unruhe. Beim Einsturz eines alten Hauses ist ein Buch zum Vorschein gekommen, das Jadup als junger Bursche kurz nach dem Krieg dem Mädchen Boel geschenkt hatte. Durch das Buch werden alte Gerüchte wieder lebendig. Jadup war Umsiedlerkind. Zwischen beiden entwickelte sich eine enge Freundschaft. Jadup hatte ihr Lesen und Schreiben beigebracht, seine Begeisterung für die neue Zeit auf sie zu übertragen versucht. Boel liebte ihn, und seinetwegen wollte sie ihre Warzen auf den Händen loswerden. Sie ließ sie von jemandem besprechen und wurde dabei vergewaltigt. Der Vorfall wirbelte viel Staub auf. Einige wollten den Russen die Vergewaltigung in die Schuhe schieben. Man bedrängte Boel, doch sie offenbarte den Täter nicht. Jadup stand ihr in der schweren Situation nicht bei. Boel verließ die Stadt und blieb verschwunden. Die Auseinandersetzung mit der Vergangenheit lässt Jadup seine gegenwärtige Haltung kritisch sehen - und verändern. Er korrigiert auch sein Verhältnis zum Sohn, der sich in einer vergleichbar schwierigen Situation befindet. Sein Credo heißt nun, für die Wahrheit zu leben.

(Quelle: Das zweite Leben der Filmstadt Babelsberg. DEFA-Spielfilme 1946-1992)

Short Summary (Other Languages)

Jadup, rispettato sindaco della cittadella di Wickenhausen, viene turbato dal ritrovamento di un libro che aveva regalato da bambino a Boel, una sua amica profuga. All'epoca la bambina era stata stuprata, ma non aveva mai rivelato il nome del colpevole. Sentendosi abbandonata in un momento così difficile anche dal suo amico Jadup, aveva lasciato il paese senza fare mai più ritorno. Questo confronto con il passato porta il sindaco a rivedere il suo comportamento, soprattutto con suo figlio, che si trova ad affrontare una situazione altrettanto difficile. D'ora in poi il suo credo sarà quello di vivere all'insegna della verità. (Italienisch)