Decla-Film (later Decla-Bioscop after 1920) was a German film production and distribution company of the silent era , founded by Erich Pommer and Fritz Holz in February 1915.
61-739: It was formed out of the assets of the German branch of the French film production company Éclair , Deutsche Éclair, which had been confiscated by the German government at the start of World War One . Pommer had previously been director of the Austrian branch of Éclair in Vienna. The firm merged with Deutsche Bioskop AG in Spring 1920, and with Ufa in October 1921. Decla and Decla-Bioscop produced some of
122-581: A Republic at the end of World War I . After the Nazis seized power in 1933 , there was a ceremonial handshake between President Paul von Hindenburg and the new Chancellor Adolf Hitler on 21 March 1933 in Potsdam's Garrison Church in what became known as the " Day of Potsdam ". This symbolised a coalition of the military ( Reichswehr ) and Nazism . Potsdam was severely damaged by Allied bombing raids during World War II . The Cecilienhof Palace
183-532: A centre of science in Germany in the 19th century. Today, there are three public colleges, the University of Potsdam , and more than 30 research institutes in the city. The area was formed from a series of large moraines left after the last glacial period . Today, only one quarter of the city is built up, the rest remaining as green space. There are about 20 lakes and rivers in and around Potsdam, such as
244-493: A conference which defined Germany's history for the following 45 years. Babelsberg , in the south-eastern part of Potsdam, was already by the 1930s the home of a major film production studio and it has enjoyed success as an important center of European film production since the fall of the Berlin Wall . The Filmstudio Babelsberg , founded in 1912, is the oldest large-scale film studio in the world. Potsdam developed into
305-531: A large, modern studio from 1911 at Babelsberg in Potsdam , right outside of Berlin, and production was now concentrated there. The following year (1921), under pressure from its creditors at the Deutsche Bank , Decla-Bioscop became a part of UFA – Universum Film AG , which had been secretly formed by the German government for propaganda purposes in late 1917. The company was absorbed in October 1921 into
366-563: A major part in the French New Wave by allowing for a freer form of shooting 35mm fiction films. Later 16mm silent models such as the 1960 Eclair NPR (aka "Eclair 16" or "Eclair Coutant") and the 1971 Eclair ACL were documentary cinema favorites. The NPR also saw considerable use in television production and was the standard camera used by 16mm film crews in the BBC's Film Department. Due to its light weight and ergonomic design, which housed
427-592: A screenwriter by Pommer in 1918. At the small 'Decla-Atelier' in the Weissensee Studios during winter 1919/1920 it produced the expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari , directed by Robert Wiene. In March/April 1920, Decla merged with rival company Deutsche Bioskop AG becoming known as Decla-Bioscop . Deutsche Bioskop AG was originally founded in 1902 as Deutsche Bioscope GmbH (note spelling) by Jules Greenbaum and sold to Carl Moritz Schleussner in 1908. Deutsche Bioskop AG had constructed
488-432: A sergeant to Rumania in summer 1917, involved in military censorship of stage and film. Under the leadership of Erich Pommer, Decla emerged as one of the leading German film companies of the early Weimar era . Assuming control of Meinert-Film, it appointed Rudolf Meinert to oversee production. Through Decla, Fritz Lang made his directorial debut with the silent film Halbblut in 1919 after initially being hired as
549-401: Is quite different. Those in the north and in the centre consist mainly of historical buildings, the south of the city is dominated by larger areas of newer buildings. The city of Potsdam is divided into 32 Stadtteile (boroughs, both quarters and suburbs/wards together), which are divided further into 84 statistical Bezirke (districts). Today, one distinguishes between the older parts of
610-540: Is served by several motorways : the A 10 , a beltway better known as Berliner Ring , the A 115 (using part of the AVUS ) and is closely linked to the A 2 and A 9 . The B 1 and B 2 federal roads cross the city. Potsdam features a network of urban and suburban buses. Potsdam is connected to national and international air traffic via Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), which is around 40 kilometers to
671-526: Is that it derives from an old West Slavonic term meaning "beneath the oaks", i.e., the corrupted pod dubmi/dubimi ( pod "beneath", dub "oak"). However, some question this explanation. The area around Potsdam shows signs of occupancy since the Bronze Age and was part of Magna Germania as described by Tacitus . After the great migrations of the Germanic peoples, Slavs moved in and Potsdam
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#1732776602862732-791: The Fachhochschule Potsdam was founded as the second college. It had 3,518 students as of 2017. Konrad Wolf Film University of Babelsberg (HFF), founded in 1954 in Babelsberg , is the foremost centre of the German film industry since its birth, with over 600 students. There are also several research foundations, including Fraunhofer Institutes for Applied Polymer Research and Biomedical Engineering, Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics ( Albert Einstein Institute ), Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, and Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology,
793-554: The German Emperor until 1918. Its planning embodied ideas of the Age of Enlightenment : through a careful balance of architecture and landscape, Potsdam was intended as "a picturesque, pastoral dream" which would remind its residents of their relationship with nature and reason. The city, which is over 1,000 years old, is widely known for its palaces, its lakes, and its overall historical and cultural significance. Landmarks include
854-521: The Havel , the Griebnitzsee , Templiner See , Tiefer See , Jungfernsee , Teltowkanal, Heiliger See , and Sacrower See . The highest point is the 114-metre (374 ft) high Kleiner Ravensberg . Potsdam is divided into seven historic city Stadtteile (quarters) and nine new Ortsteile (suburbs/wards, former separate villages), which joined the city in 2003. The appearance of the city boroughs
915-591: The Iron Cross in France in October 1914. From the outset of the First World War, foreign production companies and their films were banned in Germany, and their entire assets confiscated. This included Gaumont, Pathé and Éclair. Despite being stationed at the front, Pommer through his co-founder Fritz Holz, a Berlin film distributor, made a successful bid for the rights to Éclair's German assets. They formed
976-711: The Netherlands and Bohemia . The edict accelerated population growth and economic recovery. Later, the city became a full residence of the Prussian royal family. The buildings of the royal residences were built mainly during the reign of Frederick the Great . One of these is the Sanssouci Palace (French: "without cares" or "no concern", by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff , 1744), famed for its formal gardens and Rococo interiors. Other royal residences include
1037-600: The New Palace and the Orangery . In 1815, at the formation of the Province of Brandenburg , Potsdam became the provincial capital until 1918, except for a period between 1827 and 1843 when Berlin was the provincial capital (as it became once again after 1918). The province comprised two governorates named after their capitals Potsdam and Frankfurt (Oder) . Between 1815 and 1945, the city of Potsdam served as capital of
1098-594: The Regierungsbezirk of Potsdam [ de ] ( German : Regierungsbezirk Potsdam ). The Regierungsbezirk encompassed the former districts of Uckermark , the Mark of Priegnitz, and the greater part of the Middle March . It was situated between Mecklenburg and the Province of Pomerania on the north, and the Province of Saxony on the south and west (Berlin, with a small surrounding district,
1159-567: The River Havel , a tributary of the Elbe , downstream of Berlin, and lies embedded in a hilly morainic landscape dotted with many lakes, around 20 of which are located within Potsdam's city limits. It lies some 25 kilometres (16 miles) southwest of Berlin's city centre. The name of the city and of many of its boroughs are of Slavic origin. Potsdam was a residence of the Prussian kings and
1220-546: The S7 S-Bahn line. The stations served are Griebnitzsee , Babelsberg and the Central Station ( Hauptbahnhof ), the main and long-distance station of the city. Other DB stations in Potsdam are Charlottenhof , Park Sanssouci (including the monumental Kaiserbahnhof ), Medienstadt Babelsberg , Rehbrücke , Pirschheide and Marquardt . The city also possesses a 27 km-long tramway network . Potsdam
1281-666: The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). A continuous Hohenzollern possession since 1415, Potsdam became prominent, when it was chosen in 1660 as the hunting residence of Frederick William I , Elector of Brandenburg , the core of the powerful state that later became the Kingdom of Prussia . It also housed Prussian barracks . After the Edict of Potsdam in 1685, Potsdam became a centre of European immigration. Its religious freedom attracted people from France ( Huguenots ), Russia ,
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#17327766028621342-538: The Weissensee Studios . Decla produced its first 12 films here in 1915. Pommer was transferred to the Russian front later in 1915, was wounded in the leg, and returned to Berlin in 1916. After being released from hospital in summer 1916 he trained recruits before joining Bild- und Filmamt (BuFA, Picture and Film department) at the German War Ministry in 1917, the forerunner of UFA . He was transferred as
1403-673: The 18-meter still camera rolls into 120-meter rolls for use as motion picture film, and pushed it to ASA 800 during development. A handheld Eclair camera was used in the shower scene in the 1960 film Psycho . An Eclair 16 was used by L.M. Kit Carson (and discussed, on camera) in Jim McBride 's ground-breaking film, David Holzman's Diary (1967). Two years later, the NPR was chosen by director Michael Wadleigh to shoot his documentary Woodstock . Wadleigh used sixteen NPR cameras. In Woodstock: From Festival to Feature , he explained some of
1464-525: The Brandenburg and Berlin region. Potsdam was historically a centre of European immigration. Its religious tolerance attracted people from France, Russia, the Netherlands and Bohemia. This is still visible in the culture and architecture of the city. The most popular attraction in Potsdam is Sanssouci Park , 2 km (1 mi) west of the city centre. In 1744 King Frederick the Great ordered
1525-572: The Decla-Film-Gesellschaft Holz & Co. in February 1915. Holz resigned in mid-1915, but Decla kept the name even after Holz left the company. With the company being guided by Pommer's wife Gertrud, Erich Morawsky [ de ] and/or Carl Wilhelm who also directed a number of its early films., Decla acquired the lease of the studio at no. 9 Franz Josef-Straße, originally built by Continental-Kunstfilm , part of
1586-543: The French author Léon Sazie in the Paris-based newspaper Le Matin. The movies would go on to be very successful commercially, but Sazie came to feel that they were too different from his idea for the series, and so sued the director, Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset , and the Eclair company for excessive alteration of the source material. The courts ruled that 6,000 francs were to be paid to Sazie in damages, but Eclair appealed
1647-414: The French product with minor differences) were manufactured simultaneously for a few years until Éclair-Debrie (UK) Ltd ceased activities in 1973. Production then continued in France with a good degree of success, but the company eventually declined in the late-1970s and early-1980s until it was eventually sold to Aaton S.A. in 1986 who ceased all camera production, offering only a license for maintenance of
1708-689: The GFZ – German Research Centre for Geosciences , the Potsdam Astrophysical Institute, the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, The Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, which employs 340 people in researching climate change . As well as universities, Potsdam is home to reputable secondary schools . Montessori Gesamtschule Potsdam , in western Potsdam, attracts 400 students from
1769-529: The brand name for releases for some time. As late as 1924 Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen , a big-budget prestige UFA production, was released as a Decla-Bioscop Film. Significant members of Decla-Film and Decla-Bioscop that continued to work with and through UFA include Fritz Lang , F.W Murnau , Ludwig Berger , Thea von Harbou , Karl Freund , Otto Hunte , Carl Mayer , and Hermann Warm . These directors and their creative teams of photographers, set designers, dressers and musicians assembled by Pommer helped pave
1830-624: The business is a unit of Group fr:Ymagis , offering creative and distribution services for the motion pictures industries across Europe and North America such as editing, color grading , restoration, digital and theatrical delivery, and versioning. The company is currently made up of two entities: Eclair Cinema and Eclair Media. The company produced many silent shorts in France starting in 1908, and soon thereafter in America. The American division produced films from 1911-1914 such as Robin Hood , one of
1891-524: The case resulting in the amount to be paid increasing to 10,000 francs, with an additional 250 francs for any future violations. The company was acquired in late 1968 by UK-based Canadian film producer Harry Saltzman who then founded the Éclair-Debrie (UK) Ltd. company and moved production to the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, Soremec-Cehess took over the French side of the company and resumed production in France, so English Eclair cameras (similar to
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1952-549: The challenges he faced using a then seven-year-old camera in a manner that would have been unheard of for 35mm movie cameras, let alone the relatively untried NPR. Potsdam Potsdam ( German pronunciation: [ˈpotsdam] ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Brandenburg . It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region . Potsdam sits on
2013-476: The city (areas of the historic city and places suburbanized at the latest in 1939) – these are the city center, the western and northern suburbs, Bornim, Bornstedt, Nedlitz, Potsdam South, Babelsberg, Drewitz, Stern and Kirchsteigfeld – and those communities incorporated after 1990 which have since 2003 become Ortsteile – these are Eiche, Fahrland, Golm, Groß Glienicke, Grube, Marquardt, Neu Fahrland, Satzkorn and Uetz-Paaren. The new Ortsteile are located mainly in
2074-507: The city has a humid continental climate ( Dfb ), which also shows a slight influence of the continent different from the climates predominantly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean . Low averages below freezing for almost all winter causing snows that are frequent and winters are cold, but not as stringent as inland locations or with greater influence from the same. Summer is also relatively warm with temperatures between 23 and 24 °C,
2135-531: The construction of a residence here, where he could live sans souci ("without worries", in the French spoken at the court). The park hosts a botanical garden ( Botanical Garden, Potsdam ) and many buildings: Three gates from the original city wall remain today. The oldest is the Hunters' Gate ( Jägertor ), built in 1733. The Nauener Tor was built in 1755 and close to the historic Dutch Quarter. The ornate Brandenburg Gate (built in 1770, not to be confused with
2196-584: The construction of the Berlin Wall . The walling off of West Berlin not only isolated Potsdam from West Berlin, but also doubled commuting times to East Berlin . The Glienicke Bridge across the Havel connected the city to West Berlin and was the scene of some Cold War exchanges of spies . After German reunification , Potsdam became the capital of the newly re-established state of Brandenburg . Since then there have been many ideas and efforts to reconstruct
2257-735: The early-1980s came too late to save the company from bankruptcy and were hardly produced, if at all : the Eclair EX16 (similar to ACL with fixed viewfinder and 24/25fps fixed motor) and the Eclair PANORAM (first dual format 16+ Super16 camera with "Varigate" system). The instant clip-on design of the camera magazine of the Caméflex and later the NPR, ACL, EX16 and PANORAM models' coaxial pre-threaded loop magazines revolutionized filmmaking, in particular documentary films , since magazine changes could now be made in seconds without
2318-556: The east. Potsdam is a university town . The University of Potsdam was founded in 1991 as a university of the State of Brandenburg. Its predecessor was the Akademie für Staats- und Rechtswissenschaften der DDR " Walter Ulbricht " , a college of education founded in 1948 which was one of the GDR's most important colleges. There are about 20,000 students enrolled at the university. In 1991
2379-623: The elevation to rank of urban Bezirk or affiliation with Potsdam governorate, respectively): Berlin was the capital of Prussia and later of the German Empire , but the court remained in Potsdam, where many government officials settled. In 1914, Emperor Wilhelm II signed the Declaration of War in the Neues Palais (New Palace). The city lost its status as a "second capital" in 1918, when Wilhelm II abdicated and Germany became
2440-469: The film spools at the back of the camera rather than on top, the NPR was seen as a considerable improvement over its predecessors. For 16mm cameramen out in the field, this ease of use and maneuverability was vital to capture the right shot, often in hostile conditions. NPR stands for N oiseless P ortable R eflex and ACL comes from the letters of the names of its designers A gusti (Austin) C oma and Jacques L ecoeur. The last models designed by Eclair in
2501-628: The first filmed versions of the classic story in 1912. Deutsche Eclair, later Decla-Film , was established as its German studio branch. In 1909, Eclair took part in the Paris Film Congress , an attempt by major European producers to form a cartel similar to the MPPC in America. Originally a film production company, Eclair started building cameras in 1912. An Eclair studio, the Eclair Moving Picture Company,
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2562-539: The foundation for the future of Weimar cinema. Some articles about the following films may attribute them to Decla-Bioskop or other production companies, although they were made by Decla-Film before the merger in March/April 1920. Eclair (company) Eclair, formerly Laboratoires Éclair, began as a film production, film laboratory, and movie camera manufacturing company established in Épinay-sur-Seine , France by Charles Jourjon in 1907. What remains of
2623-478: The giant film concern, which dominated German cinema in the interwar years. A rival, and higher offer, from National-Film was rejected. Erich Pommer was appointed as head of production for the whole outfit. Danish filmmakers such as Benjamin Christensen ( Seine Frau, die Unbekannte , 1923) worked here as well. Although Decla was now a part of UFA, the success its films had enjoyed led to the continued use of
2684-536: The heat waves being influenced by the UHI of Potsdam. The average winter high temperature is 4.0 °C (39.2 °F), with a low of −1.3 °C (29.7 °F). Snow is common in the winter. Spring and autumn are short. Summers are mild, with a high of 24.3 °C (75.7 °F) and a low of 13.5 °C (56.3 °F). The Potsdam weather station has recorded the following extreme values: The name "Potsdam" originally seems to have been Poztupimi . A common theory
2745-564: The many existing cameras. The film processing and post-production side of Éclair continues to operate. Among their early models was the Caméréclair of 1928, then the Camé 300 Réflex, both successful studio cameras. Their real breakthrough design, the Caméflex (shoulder-held portable 35mm camera with instant-change magazines, with later 16/35mm dual format option) introduced in 1947, played
2806-594: The mayor was selected by the NSDAP and the city council was dissolved; it was reconstituted in token form after 1945, but free elections did not take place until after reunification . Today, the city council is the city's central administrative authority. Local elections took place on 26 October 2003 and again in 2008. Between 1990 and 1999, the Chairman of the City Council was known as the "Town President" but today
2867-677: The most well-known films of the Weimar era, including Homunculus , Die Pest in Florenz , The Spiders , The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari , Destiny , Phantom and Die Nibelungen . In 1910 Erich Pommer had become director of the Austrian branch of the French Gaumont Film Company in Vienna . At the same time, another French film production company, Éclair , which also sold its own brand of movie camera equipment,
2928-561: The need to spend time threading the film through the camera. The ACL model used a focal plane shutter for exposure and a side-to-side oscillating mirror for reflex viewing to keep the camera body size to a minimum. Jean-Luc Godard used an Eclair Cameflex when filming Breathless in 1959. Godard wished to film using ambient light, and the Cameflex was the only motion picture camera capable of using ASA 400 35 mm Ilford HPS still camera film. Cinematographer Raoul Coutard spliced
2989-412: The north of the city. For the history of all incorporations, see the relevant section on incorporation and spin-offs. Structure with statistical numbering: At the end of 2019, a change was made to the administrative structure: Officially the climate is oceanic - more degraded by being far from the coast and to the east ( Köppen : Cfb ), but using the 1961–1990 normal and the 0 °C isotherm
3050-549: The original appearance of the city, including the Potsdam City Palace and the Garrison Church . Since 2000 Potsdam has been one of the fastest-growing cities in Germany. Largest groups of foreign residents: Potsdam has had a mayor ( Bürgermeister ) and city council since the 15th century. From 1809 the city council was elected, with a mayor ( Oberbürgermeister ) at its head. During Nazi Germany ,
3111-633: The parks and palaces of Sanssouci , Germany's largest World Heritage Site, as well as other palaces such as the Orangery Palace , the New Palace , Cecilienhof Palace , and Charlottenhof Palace . Potsdam was also the location of the significant Potsdam Conference in 1945, the conference where the three heads of government of the USSR, the US, and the UK decided on the division of Germany following its surrender,
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#17327766028623172-410: The post is the "Chairman of the City Council". The mayor is elected directly by the population. The current mayor is Mike Schubert of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) since 2018. The most recent mayoral election was held on 23 September 2018, with a runoff held on 14 October, and the results were as follows: The city council governs the city alongside the mayor. The most recent city council election
3233-585: The rank of urban districts. The principal towns were Brandenburg upon Havel , Köpenick , Potsdam, Prenzlau , Spandau and Ruppin . Until 1875 Berlin also was a town within the governorate. After its disentanglement a number of its suburbs outside Berlin's municipal borders grew to towns, many forming urban Bezirke within the governorate of Potsdam such as Charlottenburg , Lichtenberg , Rixdorf (after 1912 Neukölln), and Schöneberg (all of which, as well as Köpenick and Spandau, incorporated into Greater Berlin in 1920). The urban Bezirke were (years indicating
3294-463: The war, were demolished. When in 1946 the remainder of the Province of Brandenburg west of the Oder-Neiße line was constituted as the state of Brandenburg , Potsdam became its capital. In 1952 the GDR disestablished its states and replaced them by smaller new East German administrative districts known as Bezirke . Potsdam became the capital of the new Bezirk Potsdam until 1990. Potsdam, south-west of Berlin, lay just outside West Berlin after
3355-421: Was an urban governorate and enclave within the governorate of Potsdam between 1815 and 1822, then it merged as urban district into the governorate only to be disentangled again from Potsdam governorate in 1875, becoming a distinct province-like entity on 1 April 1881). Towards the north west the governorate was bounded by the rivers Elbe and the Havel, and on the north east by the Oder . The south eastern boundary
3416-420: Was established in Fort Lee, New Jersey . It suffered a devastating fire in 1914 in which many early film prints were lost . A western studio set was also established in Tucson, Arizona . Jules Brulatour was involved with the company and Dorothy Gibson one of its stars. Between 1911 and 1913, Eclair released a series of films revolving around the fictional character Zigomar that had been created in 1909 by
3477-404: Was held on 9 June 2024, and the results were as follows: The Landtag Brandenburg , the parliament of the state of Brandenburg is in Potsdam. It has been housed in the Potsdam City Palace since 2014. Potsdam is twinned with: Potsdam, included in the fare zone "C" ( Tarifbereich C ) of Berlin 's public transport area and fare zones A and B of its own public transport area, is served by
3538-440: Was looking to increase its presence in Austria. Pommer left Gaumont and established the Austrian subsidiary branch of Éclair in 1913 with Marcel Vandal and Charles Jourjon , answering directly to Paris and not through Berlin. At the time the German branch of Éclair (Deutsche Éclair) in Berlin was being run by Pommer's British friend Joseph ("Joe") Powell. When World War One broke out in August 1914 Pommer returned to Germany and won
3599-467: Was probably founded after the 7th century as a settlement of the Hevelli tribe centred on a castle. It was first mentioned in a document in 993 as Poztupimi , when Emperor Otto III gifted the territory to the Quedlinburg Abbey , then led by his aunt Matilda . By 1317, it was mentioned as a small town. It gained its town charter in 1345. In 1573, it was still a small market town of 2,000 inhabitants. Potsdam lost nearly half of its population due to
3660-564: Was the scene of the Potsdam Conference from 17 July to 2 August 1945, at which the victorious Allied leaders Harry S. Truman , Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin met to decide the future of Germany and postwar Europe in general. The conference ended with the Potsdam Agreement and the Potsdam Declaration . The government of East Germany (formally known as the German Democratic Republic (German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik , DDR)) tried to remove symbols of "Prussian militarism ". Many historic buildings, some of them badly damaged in
3721-403: Was to the neighbouring governorate of Frankfurt (Oder). About 500,000 inhabitants lived in the Potsdam governorate, which covered an area of about 20,700 square kilometres (7,992 sq mi), divided into thirteen rural districts , partially named after their capitals: The traditional towns in the governorate were small, however, in the course of the industrial labour migration some reached
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