****************************************************************************** **** Some remarks to Researching "Pastor Hall" may be a little bit too long - but this is the first hint of this film , to whom I have a special relation: Researching for a documentary on Martin Niemoeller we heard in the 80's about the film "Pastor Hall", but never got hold of it, therefore it's interesting to hear that this film really was screened in Columbia, Maryland. Our feature length documentary named "Martin Niemoeller - the man who defied Hitler" was publishes 1985 - a year before Niemoeller died in Wiesbaden, Germany. We shot thousands of meters in 1992 and only stopped shooting caused by Niemoellers illness. Whole lifetime he was an engaged and controversial personality that changed several times in his life very dramatically. He started as submarine commander in WW I, became an ultraconservative nationalist minister in the 20th, became leader of the "confessing church", opposing Hitler, not for political reasons, but to stand up for the free right to minister. Niemoeller was jailed as "personal prisoner" of Hilter to concentration camps. At this time his story was known world wide and was the basic for lecturers, radio dramas and obvious to the film "Pastor Hall". Eleanor Roosevelt seemed at that time to be a big admirer of Pastor Niemoeller, but turned her opinion after the war, because in her eyes turned out not to be such a hero as she imagined. Niemoeller was responsible for an declaration of the Protestant church, blaming themselves that they did not resist the Nazi system as they should have done. After W.W.II he became head of the Protestant church of the German state of Hesse, was one of the first people that contact to Soviet-Union in the 50th, for him seemed "the mammon (the money) to be more dangerous than communism", was engaged in anti rearmament activities in Germany, was one of the presidents of the World Council of Churches. He traveled to nearly every country of the world, included North Vietnam, also a very controversial activity, and in the 70th he was engaged in the peace movement. Surely a very interesting biography. He refused to be named as a political person, but some of his activities had important political impacts. His motto - and that's the direct translation of the German title of the docu was "What would Jesus say about that". Our film was screened in German cinema and aired in TV in Germany and other European countries and includes unique footage and intersting biographic statements of Niemoeller. Its completely edited without any commentary. I asked the Niemoeller archive if they have any knowledge of the film "Pastor Hall", but they hadn't heard of it - neither any material. Sorry. Added title and main credits of our documentary: Martin Niemoeller - Was wuerde Jesus dazu sagen (English title: Martin Niemoeller - the man who defied Hiltler) 35 mm color / black and white Running time 110 minutes directed by Hannes Karnick and Wolfgang Richter coproduced with: Berlin Public TV "SFB" production company: docfilm, Darmstadt, Germany first screening Ocotber 1985 ****************************************************************************** **** Hannes Karnick docfilm KARNICK & RICHTER OHG Heidelberger Landstr. 89 D-64297 Darmstadt Germany Office: Phone +49 (0) 6151 51771, Fax+ 49 (0) 6151 52100 Email: [log in to unmask] ****************************************************************************** **** ---- To sign off SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]