The Greatest Moment of her Life (2014)

The Greatest Moment of Her Life is the English title of a historical and biographical drama which premiered on German television (ARD) in 2014. The main character is the German female politician Elisabeth Selbert who played an important role when the constitution of West Germany was being written (1948-1949). Here is some basic information about this drama:

** Original German title: Sternstunde ihres Lebens

** Director: Erica von Moeller

** Writer: Ulla Ziemann

** Soundtrack: German

** Run time: ca 90 minutes

The cast includes the following:

** Iris Berben as Elisabeth Selbert (1896-1986) – a lawyer and a politician – SDP = the Social Democratic Party

** Anna Maria Mühe as Irma Lankwitz – Elisabeth’s secretary

** Lena Stolze as Frieda Nadig (1897-1970) – a politician – SDP

** Max von Thun as Heinrich Bode – a politician – SDP

** Walter Sittler as Albert Finck (1895-1956) – a politician – CDU = the Christian Democratic Union

** Petra Welteroth as Helene Weber (1881-1962) – a politician – CDU

** Dietrich Mattausch as Konrad Adenauer (1876-1967) – a politician - CDU

** Eleonore Weisgerber as Helene Wessel (1898-1969) – a politician - the Centre Party (Zentrum)

** Maja Schöne as Lore Mertens – Irma’s cousin

** Steffen Will as Kurt Mertens – Lore’s husband

** Rudolf Kowalski as Adam Selbert (1893-1965) – Elisabeth’s husband

POST-WAR GERMANY

In 1945, when World War Two ended, Germany was divided into four occupation zones, one for each of the great powers: the UK, the US, France and the USSR. In 1949, two German states were established: the three western zones were united and turned into West Germany, while the eastern zone was turned into East Germany.

The old capital Berlin, which was located in the middle of the eastern zone, was divided into four sectors, one for each of the great powers. The three western sectors were known as West Berlin, while the eastern sector was known as East Berlin.

In 1949, East Berlin was proclaimed as the capital of East Germany. Strictly speaking, this was a violation of the international treaty about Berlin, but this was what the USSR wanted and the three western powers allowed it to happen.

Since West Berlin was an international area and not a part of West Germany, it could not be the capital of West Germany. The German politicians had to find another place. They chose Bonn, a small town located by the River Rhine.

Before West Germany could become a country, it needed a constitution. This document was written by German politicians in Bonn from 1948 to 1949. Elisabeth Selbert was one of 65 politicians who worked on this document. Different groups worked on different topics. Elisabeth was in a group which focused on basic rights and duties.

THE MAIN CHARACTER

Elisabeth Rohde was born in Kassel in 1896. She grew up there and lived there for most of her life. She came from a poor family. When she was a young woman, she wanted to study, but there was no money to pay for this. Only later, did she get a chance to study.

In 1918 she met her future husband Adam Selbert. They were both members of SPD, the Social Democratic Party. They were married in 1920 and they had two children. In 1930, Elisabeth completed her education as a lawyer. How did this happen? How did she manage to do this?

Her husband Adam was a progressive man who believed that a women had the right to an education. He offered to stay at home and look after the children, while she studied to become a lawyer. Such an offer was quite unusual for the time!

THE HISTORICAL DRAMA

Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. Therefore I feel free to mention some of them in this review.

While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown here, but the basic story is true.

The story is set in Germany, beginning in 1948 and ending in 1949. Most scenes are set in Bonn, in a large building with meeting rooms and offices where the politicians are working on the constitution. A few scenes are set in other places, for instance in Adam and Elisabeth’s home in Kassel.

While working in Bonn, Elisabeth has one hope and one dream: she wants the new constitution to include a paragraph which says: 

“Men and women have equal rights.”

This may sound simple, but in Germany of 1948, this was not simple at all. This formulation was regarded by many as being far too radical. Elisabeth was facing a difficult task.

First, she had to convince the members of her own party, the SPD. Next, she had to convince members of the other parties, the Centre Party and the conservative party (CDU). While the first step was not so difficult, the second step was almost impossible.

In fact, her suggestion was defeated. And she almost gave up. But then she decided to fight back. She found a way to convince the other politicians that her suggestion was right. How did she manage to do it? How did she win? I am not going to tell you. If you want to know the answer, watch the drama all the way to the end.

What do reviewers say about this drama? On IMDb it has a rating of 63 per cent which corresponds to 3.2 stars on Amazon. On the German version of Amazon there are at the moment nine reviews of this product. The average rating is 4.4 stars. If you ask me, the former rating is too low, while the latter rating is much more appropriate. Why?

The script is quite good and the actors play their roles well. The story is very interesting and sometimes emotional. In addition, it is based on a true story. There is much to like here.

However, I cannot go all the way to the top. Why not? For two reasons. 

(1) Sometimes the drama is a bit slow. 

(2) There are some historical inaccuracies. Most of them are minor, but one of them cannot be described as minor:

Towards the end of the drama, when CDU politician Konrad Adenauer reads the paragraph for which Elisabeth fought so hard – paragraph 3 section 2 – he does not read the version that was adopted in 1949. He reads a revised version that was introduced in 1994! This mistake is quite surprising, because this paragraph is the main topic of the drama. How could the director and the writer let Adenauer read the wrong version?

I like this drama and I want to give it a good rating, but as you can see there are some flaws here and there. I have to remove one star because of them. Therefore I think it deserves a rating of four stars.

PS # 1. A better and more direct translation of the original German title might be: Her Finest Hour.

PS # 2. The revised version of paragraph 3 section 2 says the German state must ensure that equality between men and women is a fact of life and not just an empty declaration.

PS # 3. Iris Berben (born 1950) is a famous German actress who has starred in numerous movies and television series. Her son Oliver Berben (born 1971) is also in the movie business. He is a producer.

*****

  This stamp was issued by the the 

German Postal Service in 1987.

It is a part of a series about 

women in German history.

Elisabeth Selbert (1896-1986)

*****