From Stalinism to Cinephilia: The Emergence of East German Film Culture in the 1950s

This article analyses the institutional developments in East German film culture during the 1950s and focuses on the so far under-researched filmaktiv movement (groups of individuals engaged in the promotion and discussion of films along political guidelines), and on a first wave of film clubs that arose around 1956. The study will illuminate the role played by both initiatives in the context of the state cultural policies as well as within a broader, international history of film culture. Even though they were rapidly integrated into state structures, in 1951 the aktivs opened up a new field of cultural exchange and cinematic activism. Openly opposed by the Ministry for Culture, the clubs challenged the state policies in a different way by successfully implementing an alternative approach to film consumption. In film cultural terms, the film clubs represented both an adaptation to national realities and a reaction to contemporary international trends. Compared to the work of the aktivs, they embodied a s...