Prewar life in Vienna
Creator(s)
- Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Digital History
- Ernst Herzstark (Camera operator)
- Kurt Herzstark (Subject)
- Österreichisches Filmmuseum
Biographical History
Ernst Herzstark (19060=-1992) was born in Vienna as a son of the calculator engineer, Samuel Jakob Herzstark. 1920 after middle school he starts an apprenticeship at Herzstark & Co; afterwards sale traineeship and company employee; shows little interest for his job; marries Emilie "Milka" Wojnar. 1932 - 1938 runs the Kristall-Palast-Kino at the Wiener Prater (Erste-Mai-Straße 40) which his father had bought in 1931. 1937 after the death of the father the cinema becomes property of the mother due to political circumstances 1945 cinema get destroyed during combat actions; after the war CEO at Herzstark & Co.
Kurt Herzstark was born in Vienna as a son of the calculator engineer Samuel Jakob Herzstark. 1916 after middle school apprenticeship as a precision mechanic Herzstark & Co. (Vienna) and the Astra-Werke (Chemnitz). 1925 company employee and by 1937 (death of the father) CEO of Herzstark & Co.1939 patent issuance for the “Curta-Rechenmaschine”. 1943-07-28 arrested because of "relationships to German-blooded girls". 1943-10-29 deportation to Buchenwald; department head in the Gustloffwerke (precision engineering). 1945-05-02 leaves Buchenwald; returns to Vienna. 1946 moves to Liechtenstein; production of the “Curta-Rechenmaschine” by the Contina-AG. 1952 consultancy work for German and Italian office machines manufacturers. 1988 Curt Herzstark dies in Liechtenstein.
Scope and Content
Home movies under the label "Herzstark Filmjournal" with German intertitles. Young women and men at leisure, playing games in the garden. Title card: “Hohe Schule der Hundedressur: Wilde Bestie vorgef. von Papa Herzstark“ Mr. Herzstark trains the family dog in the yard. Title card: "Grossmutters Film Debut“ Grandmother sits on a bench and waves for the camera. Title card: "Wird einer gefallen? Hutprobe im Garten vor dem Ausflug!“ Family members playfully try-on hats and look in the mirror. Title card: "Eine die fuers Huete-probieren Verstaendnis hat.“ Young woman in hat points off-camera. Title card: "Herzstark Filmjournal" with double-arrow. Title card: “OBER ST. VEIT: Wintersport am roten Berg.“ Winter sledding on hill, crowd observes. Title card: “Der Eingeweihte stellt sich an einen Platz woselbst es etwas zu sehen gibt.“ Repeated shots of women and men taking turns sledding down the hill, some take a tumble. Title card: "Portschach am Worthersee: motorboad fahrt am see!” Boating on lake surrounded by waterfront homes. Title card: “Ried, Nied Osterr: Ein neues, angeblich in Preis und Leistung epochales Kleinauto wird einer“ Title card: "Gruppe Von Industriellen, die dessen Erzeugung ubernehmen Sollen, von Konstrukter vorgefuhrt“ Men examine an automobile, then drive it on a track.
Note(s)
This film is featured in the Ephemeral Films Project: National Socialism in Austria. Watch the historic film through an innovative film player showing contemporary images, geographical mapping, and shot-level analysis at efilms.ushmm.org.
Genre
- Film
- Amateur.