Figure 1.--A popular television series made during the 1980s was "Heimat 1". It was more sophisticated than the formulistic Heimat films of the 1950s.

A French reader has mentioned a television series called simply "Heimat" directed by Edgar Reitz. It is laid out as a trilogy. "Heimat 1" was first written in the mid-1980s. "Heimat 2" was released in the 80s end. Finally "Heimat 3" was completed in the 90s. "Heimat 1" seems the most representative in terms of scenery and life style. The story is set in a rural region named Hunsruck, between the Mosel and Rhein rivers (southwestern Germany). The time line extended from the 1920s up to the 1980s. Our French reader has selected some images from Heimat 1, part 9, (title: " Hermännchen ", from the name of the 3rd family child, who is 14-15 years old in (1955-1956). The series has been shown many times for 15 years on Austrian, French, and German television.

TV-Ology

A French reader has mentioned a television series called simply "Heimat" directed by Edgar Reitz. It is laid out as a trilogy. "Heimat 1" was first written in the mid-1980s. "Heimat 2" was released in the 80s end. Finally "Heimat 3" was completed in the 90s. "Heimat 1" seems the most representative in terms of scenery and life style. A commonly used device is to use black and white and color to shit back and forth between historic and contemporary times.

Heimat Films

Heimat in German means Homeland. A classic Heimat film is a highly sentimental, tear-jearker of a movie. A German reader writes, "some time you wrote about the German tv series "Heimat" and put it in the Heimatfilm section. That's not right. "Heimat" is not a Heimat film. It absolutely does not fit in the Heimatfilm genre." Our reader is of course correct. These modern productions like "Heimat" are not classic Heimat films. (Note that classic Heimat films never had the word Heimat in the title.) We tend to see them as an evolution of the genre, but another interpretation as our reader expresses is to see them as a different type of production. A German reader writes, "I would 'Heimat" here off your list of Heimat films. It is absolutely not a Heimatfilm. I think I saw enough of both of them to able to say that. A German who reads Heimat classified as Heimatfilm will (I am sure) consider this information as wrong! 'Heimat' is also not modern version of a Heimatfilm. It is simply a (rather realistic) chronicle of a family over decades that lives in an invironment of wood an mountains. That means that it is not a Heimatfilm!"

Three Productions

The story is set in a rural region named Hunsrück, between the Mosel and Rhein rivers (southwestern Germany). The lives of one family provide the organization vehicle for the series. There were three different productions, all inter related. The time line extended from 1919 (immeduately after World War I) to 2000 (when Heimat 3 was made). "Heimat 1" was broadcast in 1984. It was initially known as "Heimat". The Full title was, "Heimat: Eine Deutsche Chronik - A German Chronicle. The series depicts the experiences Maria Simon, a woman living in a small village -- Schabbach (a fictional Rhineland village). Notice the name Simon. This is not a distinctly German name, but illustrates the intertwwined French-German heritage of the Rhineland. The series covers the period from 1919 to 1982. There were 11 episodes. "Heimat 2" was titled, "Heimat: Chronik einer Jugend" - Chronicle of a Youth). This was broadcast followed in 1992. "Heimat 2" picks up on the story of the Simon family. This series is about Maria's youngest son Hermann. He leaves the small rural village of Schabbach. He achieves considerable success as a composer in the cosmopolitan Bavarian city of Munich. Much of the series is set in the turbulent 1960s. There are 13 episodes. "Heimat 3" was broadcast in 2004. The full title was "Chronik einer Zeitenwende" - Chronicle of a Changing Time. The series picks up on Hermann again who returns to Schabbach. The series chronicles events from the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) through 2000. There are 6 episodes with differences between the broadcast and movie versions.

Television and the Movies

I am a bit confused here about the media format. I believe "Heimat 1" was made for TV broadcasting. "Heimat 2" and "Heimat 3" were made as I understand it for both TV broadcasting as well as movie release. We are not sure precisely how this was done. "Heimat 2" for example was done in 13 episodes with a run time of about 24 hours. Just how you release a 24 hour film for movie theaters. It certainly suggests that German movie fans are a dedicated lot.

National Distribution

The series has been shown many times for 15 years on Austrian, and German television. It was also shown on French television because of a joint Frenc-German network. Heimat 1 was shown on PBS in America. We are unsure to what extent the series has been shown in other countries.

Created: 1:46 AM 12/9/2004
Last updated: 1:24 AM 10/23/2005