Ehe im Schatten

Based on the fate of Joachim Gottschalk and his wife Meta, the film tells the story of an actor couple. Maetzig subtly shows how Nazi laws increasingly penetrate everyday life, culminating in Kristallnacht, when violence escalates. The prospect of deportation marks the end point – the couple chooses to commit suicide together. One of the very few early German films to focus on the persecution of Jews.
(Klaus Davidowicz)