Habermann

Juraj Herz : 2010

It is 1937, in a small village in Sudetenland. The saw mill owner August Habermann, a Sudeten German, is the biggest employer in his village and a respected and rich man. He marries Jana, a young, beautiful Czech woman. The fact that she is half Jewish does not really bother him. Habermann is not interested in politics or ideology, least of all the national socialist one. Just like his best friend, the Czech forester Brezina. In his mill, Habermann employs German and Czechs alike, he speaks both languages and is deeply attached to the country where both nationalities have lived for centuries. However, when the German army invades his town, he is forced to compromise in a futile attempt to protect Jana and his employees, setting off a chain of violent events which lead to tragedy. Based on true events, depicted in the novel by Josef Urban, the film addresses the taboo subject of the atrocities during the so-called "wild transfer" of Czechoslovakia's German population immediately after World War II.