G.W. Pabst's film Comradeship was filmed in 1931 in a French version and a German one.
The premieres took place in Berlin on 17 November 1931,
and in Paris on 29 January 1932.
The film was based on the historic Courrières mining disaster
on 10 March 1906, when over 1,200 miners were buried alive.
At the time, German miners rushed to the aid of their French comrades.
Pabst dedicated his film, which updated the setting to the present day,
to these German miners.
The German version's original negative, opening credits and ending have not survived.
The original negative of the slightly divergent French version, La Tragédie de la Mine,
is preserved in the archive at the Centre National du Cinema et de l'Image Animée (CNC).
The reconstruction of the German version is based on a dupe positive
from the BFI National Archive.
The CNC negative was used for the ending of the film, which was missing in the BFI footage.
Restoration: Deutsche Kinemathek
in cooperation with the BFI National Archive and the CNC.
2K Digital Restoration: Alpha-Omega, Munich.
Digital Sound Restoration: Digimage Classics, Paris
The restoration of the film was funded
by the German Commissioner for Culture and Media.
Now I won.
No, I won.
Hands off! They're mine.
It's too bad. The French aren't letting in any more unemployed.
But we have border passes.
Let's try anyway.
Give me my marbles back now.
This is the border.
Come and get them if you dare.
You think I'm afraid?
- Must you always fight? - Shame on you!
- He wanted to take my marbles. - Make up!
No, no. Border's closed if you're unemployed.
If you're out of work, you're not welcome anywhere.
No work here.
There's not even any work for us.
They barely have enough work for their own people.
- Do you hear that? The Fatherland's calling. - We have to tighten our belts.
Look at all the coal they have.
But they can't sell it.
Until they do, you won't find any work.
- Good luck! - Good luck.
Good luck!
Hey! Something stinks over there.
They're afraid that the fire from the French side will come this way.
You can really feel the heat here.
Ever since the fire started on the French side three weeks ago.
As long as there's no gas leak.
No, there's no gas.
They build wall after wall over there, but the fire keeps eating its way through.
No, this won't hold.
Is today Saturday?
The night shift needs to build a new one by Monday.
No dynamite here!
No gas.
Listen! No blasting for the time being.
- Not until the new wall is finished. - Understood.
Hey, guys!
Guys!
No blasting today because of the fire.
Fire, fire, all I hear about is fire.
As long as there's no gas, it's not that bad.
What would happen if there were gas?
Don't worry, boy. They're building a new wall on Sunday.
This wall has to be finished by tomorrow morning.
Get to it, guys.
We're going as fast as we can. But in this heat...
What a great way to spend a Sunday.
KURSAAL DANCE HALL
Hey, guys!
Shall we go in and have a drink?
Go on in.
Three tickets.
No, three tickets, no flowers.
- Three tickets. - Over there.
My first conquest in France.
- Three tickets. - OK.
OK, here.
Yeah,yeah.
Parasite-free!
- Look, the musicians are upstairs. - Nice.
- Waiter! - You have to say "garçon" here.
(Sargon...
What can I get you gentlemen?
One, two, three...
- ...beer. - Don't forget the schnapps.
Three beers, three...
Schnapps. I speak German.
Three beers, three schnapps.
And a head of cabbage for my rabbit.
A head of cabbage for Mr Rabbit.
Everything OK, lovebirds?
None of your business.
This is really fun.
I like Dortmunder Union better.
Now that's a girl, eh?
Hey, how do you say "May I have this dance?" in French?
You're a good dancer, Emile.
Not as good as the Parisians.
Hey, do they dance like that in Paris?
Hey, Françoise, you're not leaving town tomorrow, are you?
My holiday is over.
- You promised... - I'll come back.
Nothing's keeping her here. She's a Parisian now.
Excuse me. A dance?
- What does he want? - To dance with you.
I'm not dancing any more.
Tell him in German if you can.
Mademoiselle is not dancing.
What was that?
I got it. "German".
She said "Not with a German".
Germans dance as well as Frenchmen, miss.
Come on.
- I won't be insulted. - Leave the woman alone. Back to your rabbit.
Forget it.
- Let me go. - Behave. You're a foreigner here.
Another round?
Three more beers and three more schnapps?
Why didn't you want to dance?
I'm tired.
- That's it. I'm going. - I'm going to stay.
- Goodbye. - Goodbye.
Good night.
Germans, drink German beer!
- Good night, Mr Engineer. - Goodbye.
- I assume the fire problem's over? - Certainly.
We'll be out of danger with that new wall.
Let's hope it's finished by morning.
- What did he say? - Nothing.
Where are they from?
- They're miners. There's a fire in a gallery. - Afire?
They're always talking about fires.
- How can you keep on working as a miner? - Françoise...
It's my profession.
- I could never live like that. - Françoise!
- Good morning, Jean. - Morning, Emile. Be right there.
Good morning, Emile. Did you sleep well?
Thanks, Mum.
Goodbye.
My suitcase is packed, Mother.
All right then...
Goodbye, Jean.
- What time is your train? - Very soon.
I'm already late.
Then goodbye, Françoise.
Goodbye.
Why do you have to leave?
Stay with us.
It's really sad.
Nothing I can do.
Have a good trip.
Emile is a hard-working man.
A good worker.
And decent.
Yes...
- Are you going down, my boy? - Of course, Grandfather.
- Goodbye. - See you tonight.
Hey, Jean, what's going on?
All Sunday, we were hearing about gas and fire...
We didn't get orders not to go down.
- Emile, take care of the boy for me. - Don't worry.
- I'll be his nanny. - Thanks.
- You'd like to go down with them. - Those were the days...
There's a time for everyone.
Please, Mum. Why don't you all come to Paris with me?
- I'm sure Jean would find work there. - Some people have already gone to Paris.
But the extra money isn't enough for the rent.
Besides, we've always been miners.
That's no reason.
We've already lost Dad.
All we have now is Jean.
I will never marry a miner.
No, mother.
Never.
Is it ready? Is it solid?
- Yeah, yeah. - Good.
- Attention! - Attention!
Attention!
Fire!
Fire! Fire!
- Gas! Let's get out of here. - Gas?
Hurry, hurry!
There's a fire!
Fire!
- Fire! - Gas! Gas!
- Amen! - Jean!
- I'm here. - Come on, don't be afraid.
- Fire! - Gas! Fire!
Fire!
Goodbye, Mother! Goodbye.
The mine!
No, let me go! I want to get off.
- Fire in the mine! - What is it, Marie?
- The big mine is on fire. - The Thibault mine?
Bertrand works there!
- What? - There's another fire in the Thibault mine.
- In the big Thibault mine? - Yes.
- Was there an accident? - The mine is on fire.
My little Georges!
- What's going on? - There's a fire in the mine.
- Where's Charles? - He's just coming up.
Look, the French mine is on fire.
It must be really bad over there.
- The mine! - Fire.
- Our husbands are down there. - Let us in.
Open up!
Let the ambulance through.
What are you doing here? You're not allowed here!
Hurry and get the mechanic.
Why is no one going down?
The lift isn't working.
What are you doing? Don't stand in the way!
Be careful!
Hold tight! It has to go down 2,000 feet.
- Let us in. - You're not allowed in here.
At least tell us what's going on.
Calm down.
The lift isn't working.
- The lift! - It's not working.
- The lift isn't working.
They can't go down.
We want to know what's going on.
Where are our husbands?
- Jean! Hurry! - I'm here.
Georges!
Young lady!
Your suitcase!
Did you hear? The French have had a terrible accident.
I know.
Six hundred men are trapped.
What's your problem? An accident like that is no one's fault.
Yeah, right.
This bloody grind will be the death of us all.
Bloody pressure.
And when it's over
we can go on the dole.
What did you say?
Six hundred?
Yes, that's what the foreman said.
Poor devils.
Hey, do they have enough rescue gear?
Why should I care?
They have more money than we do.
We need to get over there.
- Well, good luck. - Don't leave so soon.
- What do you want? - You're part of the rescue team.
- What are the Frenchmen to me? - Think they'd get us out?
- We know the Frenchmen. - From the Ruhr occupation.
Guys, what do we care about generals?
A miner is a miner.
You think they'll pay your pension if something happens to you over there?
What about the men down there who can't get out?
- Don't they have wives and children? - You'd better think about your wife.
- You think I'm going to suck up to the French? - Just wait
until you're trapped down there and no one helps you.
You'll be crying for your mother.
- Come to think of it... - Am I right?
- Of course. - If we only knew...
- Anton, are you in? - Yeah.
- You coming too? - I'm in.
Then let's go, guys.
Rescue team, get ready.
- What about you, Fritz? Coming? - Sure.
- OK, let's go. - Let's go.
You all are out of your minds.
Cowards don't have to come along.
Lucky for us the tunnels to the French pits are so well sealed.
Otherwise that gas would have come right to us.
This is a heavy blow to the French.
They're going to be busy.
Come on, foreman. Hand over the rescue gear.
Be reasonable. I can't just...
- You know how it is. - Miners are trapped under there.
- I have to ask management. - They're not against it.
Give us the key. There's no time to lose.
What's going on here?
I need to talk to the director first.
The off-duty shift's rescue team wants to help the French miners.
- Good luck, people. - Good luck.
What do you want?
We want the rescue gear.
- Who is this man? - Wittkopp, from Area 7.
- We're volunteering. - Do you think they need you?
There are never enough rescue workers.
Listen, I was just thinking...
We are actually closest to them.
Our men could be there much sooner
than the rescue crews from the French pits.
What if something happens to our men?
We'll have the men from the mid-day shift.
That's right.
How do you even plan to get across the border?
Just let us worry about that.
Pit foreman.
- Give them the gear. You're in charge. - Yes, sir.
Get ready, miners. We're getting the gear.
Hey! The guys from the early shift are going over to the French side.
What? The Frenchmen who threw us out yesterday?
- What's that got to do with it? - Let's go, Kaplan!
- Are we going down or not? - Yes, sir, Sergeant.
- Ready? - Ready.
Let's go!
Good luck!
Please connect me with Director Berteux.
- I have the French pit on the line, sir. - Thank you.
Mr Berteux?
Good day. Our rescue crews just left.
Not at all. That goes without saying.
We're happy to help.
Good luck!
Come back soon!
Good luck!
Gustav, you haven't had anything to eat yet.
Come back!
- Thanks, Mother. - Make sure nothing happens to you.
We'll be back.
Anna... Half of the crew over there is buried.
We need to go over there.
They have wives and children of their own.
Don't cry, Anna.
You need to understand that.
Sister, please take me with you to the Thibault mine.
Is one of your family members in the mine?
Your husband?
No.
My brother and...
his friend.
Georges!
Farewell. And good luck. Good luck.
Georges!
When I was a little boy, an accident like this happened here.
The lift got stuck and they had to spend a half day repairing it
before the miners could get out.
- German rescue team! - German rescue crew!
Do you think the French will let them cross?
Hey, Girard, telephone!
FRENCH CUSTOMS OFFICE 650 FT.
If they start with the passport business, we'll lose precious time.
Don't stop, foreman.
Step on it! Keep going!
Watch out! That idiot is shooting.
Hey!
Hey! Don't shoot!
Let them go through. That's a German rescue team.
Yes? Two vehicles with German rescue teams.
Good, thanks. OK.
Let me know as soon as you get any news from the rescue teams.
Look at the flag.
The flag.
- Mum! - Françoise!
What about Jean?
Our rescue teams are down there. There's still hope.
Who is it? Who?
- It's Albert. - He's still alive.
It's Albert.
He's still alive.
Rose, it's your husband.
- Albert! - Ma'am...
Go to the other side.
Albert!
Albert, answer me.
Albert, can you hear me?
You were with Jean and Emile.
Please!
- Answer me. - They're all...
All of them down there...
They're all dead.
That's not true.
If he's alive, then the others are, too.
We need to rescue them. Let's force open that gate!
Open the gate!
Please be patient. The rescue workers are down there.
- You're lying! You're letting them die. - No, definitely not.
- They want to save the mine. - What about our husbands?
Take the flag down. They're not dead.
Open up!
' Open the gate! ' I beg of you!
Get the engineer. We need to notify the troops.
Did you hear that? They want to call in the troops.
They want to shoot at us.
Here they come.
- Hey! - German rescue team.
' Open the gate! - Open up,
Open up! German rescue team.
What? Germans?
German rescue workers! They've come to help us.
' Open the gate! ' Open the gate!
Let them through.
Germans! That's incredible.
The German rescue teams are at your disposal.
We thank you and your men for coming to help us rescue ours.
We hope that none of you suffers because of your dedication. Good luck!
Good luck!
- You think they made it over? - Don't worry, Wittkopp will get the job done.
- If we didn't have to work... - Too bad. Just our luck.
- We could have met them halfway. - Yeah, great.
- Also a pleasure. - Yes, sir!
Lunchtime.
Hey, he's leaving.
Say something. I'm really sick of you and your secrets.
Good luck!
- He's mad. Where's he going? - No idea.
Kasper!
- Hey, Kasper! - Kasper!
We can't let him go by himself.
Kasper!
Man!
Slow down. Nobody can keep up.
Do you see? That's the way to the French side.
They broke through here during the war. This is one pit.
You get it?
- Are you insane? - You want to break through here?
If anyone finds out, we'll be fired tomorrow.
You can stay here, darling.
- The Frenchmen aren't fans of yours anyway. - The Frenchmen...
I actually shouldn't go over. France insulted me.
But I'll show them. I'll give it to them straight.
German rescue crew.
Thanks for your help.
Eh? What kind of monkey cage is that?
Border?
"Border 1919"? Ever seen anything like that?
Just think, it goes up 2,000 feet. To above the ground.
You just don't see it up there.
I always said that the French had something against me.
They don't want to let us in.
- To hell with them. - They'll see.
Hard! Let 'em have it.
And we work our arses off...
Hey,Jean...
How many...
How many carloads today?
Emile, my boy.
Did Françoise leave?
One,two...
So...
- You still know the way, don't you? - Don't be scared.
That's the way home to Mother.
Bloody hell! This is a fine mess.
Hey. There's one.
Another one's lying over there.
He's dead.
It's Bijou.
Mate, straight ahead here.
- I'm following the horse. He knows better. - Hurry up.
- We're not getting any more air here. - Get a move on!
Well, Grey?
Let's see where you've led us.
- He doesn't understand German. - Stop that.
Sometimes a horse like this is brighter than a person.
Let's see why he likes it here.
Hey, it's the ghost of the mine.
It's just an old miner, you idiot.
- You're right. - Do you see?
This is Georges, my grandson. I found him.
- What? - Yes.
- Yeah, yeah. - Yes.
- What's wrong with the boy? - He's just a little kid.
Get back!
Damn it!
Now we can't get out.
So...now we're finished.
Buckle it tightly.
Come back soon.
Hello?
Hello!
Is someone there?
Hello?
Is someone there?
Hello!
Germans!
Shoot! Shoot them down!
My God...
Two more up there...
Pass the boy through. The air is much better in here.
Don't worry, it's not bad.
We need an ambulance right way.
Here we go!
Hey, have any of you seen Karli?
- Is anyone from the rescue teams missing? - No, everyone's here.
Are all your people above ground?
- Are any of our people down there? - No, everyone's come up.
Everyone's above ground.
What now? Blocked?
We can't get out?
Then we'll ride this trolley to heaven.
Hello? Hello?
I can keep up the search, but there are only corpses down there.
Check down there.
Nothing here.
Maybe in that corner.
There! There it is.
Hello!
Who? Yes!
Yes, yes!
There are five men trapped here.
In the engine room.
What? Germans? Where?
What? Five men trapped.
In the engine room. Hello?
Yes! Yes.
Five men.
The engine room, yes.
Yes, yes!
- Five more men. - Five more men.
Hey! There are five more men
in the Kufschmidt engine room.
- They called. - Did you hear? Five more men.
Then let's go, boys.
There are still five men down there. We're going to get them.
What's going on? What are they up to?
There are still people down there. Let's go!
Good day, gentlemen. Sorry you had to wait.
Well...
I've been told that there are five men still alive and trapped in the engine room.
A rescue team has already gone down to free them.
There they are.
Yes, there they are.
Georges, they're coming! They're getting us out.
They're coming. Yes!
They're coming to get us out. Yes!
There is an insert missing at this point in the surviving footage:
Cover page of the Berliner Tagesblatt with an article about the mining disaster
and the release of wounded German rescue workers from the hospital...
In a nutshell: what can I say? We were dead. Weren't we, Kasper?
And Kasper said:
"If I had some chewing tobacco, that would be terrific."
What do you think I did then?
I got on the phone and told the director:
"Sir," I said, "would you send some chewing tobacco to our burial?"
Here they come.
Come down, my boy.
Where's our sworn enemy?
Where's our sworn enemy? There he is.
There you are, Grandad.
Go ahead, Jean, say something.
Comrades!
All of us here are miners.
And it's because we're all miners that you've brought me up here.
And it's because we're all miners
that our comrade Kasper forced open the bars in Area 1315.
And he did it because only two enemies lurk on our side of the border:
gas and war.
Hurrah!
I'm telling you:
We must never forget that.
We are all miners.
Thanks, comrades.
We're not saying "Farewell", only "Until we meet again".
- Right! Bravo! - Until we meet again.
Until we meet again.
- Until we meet again. - Bravo, Jean!
Comrades!
I couldn't understand what our French comrade just said.
But we all understood what he meant.
It doesn't matter if you're German or French.
We're all workers.
And a miner is a miner.
But why do we only stick together when we're doing badly?
Are we to sit idly by until they fill us
with so much hatred that we shoot each other down in another war?
The coal belongs to us all
regardless of whether we shovel it on this side or the other.
And if the bosses can't come to an agreement,
we'll stick together.
Because we belong together.
Long live our French comrades.
- Good luck! - Good luck!
BORDER 1919
Now everything is in order again.
Everything must be in order.
Well, that'll hold again.
- Have you finished the report? - Yes.
Here.
THE END