Habermann

Habermann

Year: 2011

Runtime: 104 min

Language: German

Director: Juraj Herz

DramaRomanceWar

As tensions escalate in 1938's tumultuous Europe, a prosperous mill owner's tranquil existence in the Sudetenland is shattered, his world torn apart by the looming specter of war.

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Timeline & Setting – Habermann (2011)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Habermann (2011). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

1937–1945

The story unfolds from 1937 through the war’s end in 1945. It begins with the pre-war milieu and the Munich Agreement, then follows the occupation and Nazi rule in the Sudetenland. The period culminates in liberation and a violent post-war reckoning that rewrites local memory.

Location

Eglau, Sudetenland

Eglau is a mill town in the Sudetenland where a family-owned mill operates as both a sawmill and a gristmill. The community comprises Sudeten Germans and Czechs living side by side, with rising tension as political changes sweep through the region. The mill, hospital/spa, and local administration anchor life here as World War II approaches.

🏭 Industrial town 🧭 Ethnic tension 🗺️ Border region

Last Updated: November 22, 2025 at 15:26

Main Characters – Habermann (2011)

Meet the key characters of Habermann (2011), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

August Habermann

Wealthy ethnic German mill owner in Eglau who believes in peaceful coexistence between Sudeten Germans and Czechs. He is apolitical and marries Jana, a Czech woman who is later revealed to be half-Jewish. He is protective of his Czech workers, especially Masek, the son of his housekeeper Eliška, and he tries to shield them from abuse. He ultimately succumbs to the regime’s cruelty, bribing Koslowski to stop executions, and dies when the mob hangs him at the mill.

💼 Industrialist 🕊️ Moral Dilemma 👨‍👩‍👧 Family

Jana Habermann

A Czech wife of August; she is later revealed to be half-Jewish. She endures persecution and is separated from her husband, facing a concentration camp ordeal before escaping with her daughter with help from Red Army soldiers. Her resilience anchors the family’s memory after their exile and she carries the weight of the marriage’s tragic consequences.

❤️ Family 🧭 Survival 🇨🇿 Czech identity

Karel Březina

August’s Czech best friend who warns him about the fate of Czechs after annexation and later confronts the consequences of collaboration. He is a cautious ally who tries to navigate a dangerous landscape and ultimately exposes the truth about mob violence after liberation.

🗺️ Loyalty 🕰️ Memory 🇨🇿 Czech identity

Kurt Koslowski

SS Sturmbannführer who brutalizes Czech workers, enforces harsh orders, and arranges executions to punish resistance. He escalates violence, breaks his word, and becomes a key instrument of oppression that catalyzes the town’s descent into terror.

⚔️ Oppression 💀 Brutality

Masek

Son of Eliška, the Habermann housekeeper, and a Czech worker who becomes entangled in the mill’s deadly power struggles. He is involved in violence and is later claimed as Habermann’s heir, only to be lynched by a local mob that views him as a traitor.

🪙 Inheritance ⚔️ Violence 🧭 Ethnic tension

Eliška

Housekeeper to the Habermann family and mother of Masek; her secret about Habermann’s paternity adds to the film’s web of loyalties and betrayals. She aids in the revelation of hidden inheritance and becomes part of the combustible power dynamics surrounding the mill.

👩‍👧‍👦 Family 💰 Exploitation 🧭 Loyalty

Hans Habermann

August’s younger brother who joins the Wehrmacht, adopts Nazi ideology, is wounded, and later deserts. His arc explores the friction between family ties and ideological allegiance during the war.

🪖 Family conflict 🧭 Ideology

Hora

The Czech bookkeeper at Habermann’s mill who is killed by Koslowski, a death that sparks further violence and escalates the town’s fear and resistance.

🧾 Bookkeeping ⚰️ Violence

Hartel

The collaborating mayor of Eglau who supports the Nazis and fuels the mob’s violence; he is implicated in the later memory debates about leadership of the mob and the real Hubert Habermann’s lynching.

🏛️ Authority ⚖️ Betrayal

Jana's Daughter

The daughter of Jana, who endures displacement and exile alongside her mother. She embodies the human cost of war and forced migration in the Sudetenland.

👧 Child 🆘 Rescue

Last Updated: November 22, 2025 at 15:26

Major Themes – Habermann (2011)

Explore the central themes of Habermann (2011), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🕊️ Moral Dilemma

August Habermann strives to keep peace by employing both Sudeten Germans and Czechs, navigating a fragile coexistence. He confronts abuse from Koslowski and makes difficult compromises to protect workers, family, and business. The film shows how ordinary people bend or break under political pressure, raising questions about complicity, memory, and responsibility.

⚔️ Oppression

Koslowski’s brutality and the loyalty of local authorities reveal how state power weaponizes fear. The random executions, forced transfers, and mass intimidation devastate communities and erode trust. The violence is intimate as it seeps into work, family life, and everyday choices, culminating in a murderous mob.

🗺️ Memory & Betrayal

After liberation, a lynch-mob atmosphere erupts as old grievances collide with new memories. The revelation that Masek’s claimed inheritance is tied to a crime unsettles perceptions of kinship and property. The epilogue notes that Karel Březina accused the mayor of leading the mob that lynched the real Hubert Habermann, underscoring how memory can be contested and unresolved.

Last Updated: November 22, 2025 at 15:26

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