Berlin 36

Gretel Bergman is a talented German athlete. Not having the opportunity to train in Nazi Germany because of her Jewish origin, she, at the insistence of her father, who was worried about her, went to the UK , where she became the champion of the country in high jump . Discussing their participation in the Summer Olympics in Berlin, the United States put forward a condition on the equal participation of Jewish athletes from Germany to the German Olympic Committee and in particular drew attention to the internationally acclaimed athlete Gretel Bergman. Under the threat of his family, Gretel returns to Germany and sets off to train for the German team in equal conditions with other team members. Nevertheless, the sports functionaries of Germany put in front of her coach Waldman to debunk the success of Bergman in sports, reduce her athletic performance and thereby remove her from the Olympic competitions. But coach Waldman, admiring talent, efficiency and discipline, Gretel, is not able to sacrifice his principles, for which he was removed from his position as a coach and replaced by coach Kulmbach, a dedicated party . From that moment on, a difficult time began for Gretel Bergman. She was isolated, experienced the hatred of others, led by a trainer, trying to spoil her athletic performance by any means and reduce the athlete's self-esteem.

Gretel's only rival is her roommate in the training camp, Maria Ketteler, who is actually the man with which the National Socialists are planning to take the top step of the pedestal in women's high jump competitions. The prototype of Maria Ketteler was Dora Ratien and the real story of her life. Gretel learns the secret of Mary, but despite the complexity of the situation, they maintain friendly relations.

Gretel showed the best results in the pre-Olympic competitions, but under the far-fetched pretext the athlete allegedly ill was removed from the competition. Upon learning of this, Maria Ketteler deliberately breaks her decisive attempt at the competitions, and thus the National Socialists lose their hopes for the gold medal. Maria Ketteler takes only fourth place and exchanges a smile with Gretel, who is present at the podium as a spectator.

At the last minutes of the film, the real Gretel Bergman, who in 2009 shares her memories of the events of 1936, appears on the screen. She emigrated to the United States in 1937 and lived with her husband in New York . The film history of Gretel Bergman and Maria Ketteler’s acquaintance in many respects does not correspond to the real historical circumstances of the Gretel Bergman and Dora Ratien dating.

• Carolina Herfurt - Gretel Bergman
• Sebastian Urzendowski - Maria Ketteler (prototype by Dora Ratien )
• Axel Prahl - Hans Waldman
• Robert Gallinowski - Siegfried Kulmbach
• Johan von Bülow - Karl von Halt
• Thomas Time - Hans von Chammer and Austen
• Julie Engelbrecht - Elizabeth "Lilly" Vogt
• Angelika Barch - Doctor in the Department of Health

• Berno Bahro; Jutta Braun: Berlin '36 - Die unglaubliche Geschichte einer jüdischen Sportlerin im "Dritten Reich". Das Buch zum Film. vbb Verlag für Berlin-Brandenburg, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-86650-037-2

• Official site (him.)
• Filmportal.de (German)
• " Berlin 36 " (Eng.) On the Internet Movie Database