'Murderer's House' - University of Victoria
'Murderer's House' - University of Victoria
'Murderer's House' - University of Victoria
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defeat and loss which is <strong>of</strong>ten accepted as the public memory <strong>of</strong> Germans‟ reaction to<br />
their country‟s capitulation. In contrast, Lene‟s personal reaction to Germany‟s surrender<br />
and Hitler‟s death is one <strong>of</strong> joy and relief. Thus, Sanders-Brahms juxtaposes the public<br />
collective traumatic memory <strong>of</strong> the German experience <strong>of</strong> the end <strong>of</strong> the war with Lene‟s<br />
personal joyful reaction.<br />
The themes <strong>of</strong> the “Maikäferlied” also emphasize elements <strong>of</strong> Lene and Anna‟s<br />
personal story. Like the cockchafer, Lene and her daughter are living through a period <strong>of</strong><br />
conflict. The song encourages the cockchafer to flee, lest it be lost in the destruction <strong>of</strong><br />
war. Lene and Anna have also had to flee Berlin to avoid the aerial bombing raids.<br />
Moreover, the cockchafer‟s father is in battle as Anna‟s father, Hans, is absent from his<br />
family as he has been enlisted to fight. Further, the small insect‟s mother is in<br />
Pomerania, and Lene and Anna are in the German east, having fled the air raids in Berlin.<br />
Sanders-Brahms‟ film does not show the flight <strong>of</strong> German civilians from the advancing<br />
Russian army and the raping <strong>of</strong> German woman by Russian soldiers. However, her<br />
original film script depicted Lene and Anna fleeing from the Red Army, Lene‟s rape by<br />
Russian soldiers, and the subsequent termination <strong>of</strong> her pregnancy by a female Russian<br />
doctor (Sanders-Brahms, Film-Erzählung 77-80). 51 Just as the cockchafer‟s mother is<br />
caught up in the destruction <strong>of</strong> Pomerania, so Lene too, in the film script, is caught up in<br />
the destruction <strong>of</strong> the German east by Russian troops. Therefore, in many ways, the<br />
circumstances <strong>of</strong> the small beetle in Maikäferlied parallel those <strong>of</strong> Lene and Anna in the<br />
film narrative.<br />
51 In her film, Sanders-Brahms decided to insert Lene‟s telling <strong>of</strong> the “Räuberbräutigam” fairy-tale instead<br />
<strong>of</strong> her rape by Russian soldiers and the subsequent abortion. Sanders-Brahms regarded the substitution as<br />
one <strong>of</strong> the more successful aspects <strong>of</strong> the film (Sanders-Brahms, Film-Erzählung 116).<br />
67