:Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation

The foundation was founded in 1966 by the Spitzenorganisation der Filmwirtschafthttps://www.murnau-stiftung.de/filmbestand/geschichte/historie-der-stiftung out of fear that classic German cinema's original stock, and the rights to these films, would be sold off internationally. The stock was originally owned by Bertelsmann. The foundation maintains about 80% of Germany's Nazi-era films and acts as a gate keeper for public access to these films via archives and curated public screenings.

As an archive and rights holder{{Citation needed|date=October 2018}} the Murnau Foundation curates {{According to whom|date=November 2018|a significant part of Germany’s movie heritage.}} Its most important endowment is the unique, cohesive movie stock, which comprises copies and material as well as rights from the former production companies UFA, Decla, Universum-Film, Bavaria, Terra, Tobis and Berlin-Film.{{cite web|url=https://www.murnau-stiftung.de/stiftung|title=Über Die Murnau-Stiftung|date=n.d.|publisher=Murnau Stiftung|language=de|access-date=November 1, 2018|quote=Wichtigstes Stiftungskapital ist der einzigartige, in sich geschlossene Filmstock, der Kopien und Materialien der ehemaligen Produktionsfirmen Ufa, Universum-Film, Bavaria, Terra, Tobis und Berlin-Film – samt den damit verbundenen Rechten – aus über sechs Jahrzehnten deutscher Filmproduktion umfasst.}} This outstanding inventory of cultural and film history – more than 6,000 silent movies and sound films (feature films, documentaries, short movies and commercials) – covers the period from the beginnings of motion pictures to the early 1960s, and includes movies by important directors such as Fritz Lang, Ernst Lubitsch, Detlef Sierck, Helmut Käutner, and Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, the namesake of the foundation. Titles include well-known films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Metropolis (1927), The Blue Angel (1930), The Three from the Filling Station (1930), Münchhausen (1943) and Große Freiheit Nr. 7 (1944).

{{Expand section|date=November 2018}}The foundation runs "the German Film House in a central location in the state capital of Hesse – Wiesbaden" as well as the "Murnau cinema theatre where films are shown to the public and a multi-function area where numerous events and exhibitions are held."{{cite web|url=https://kuenste-im-exil.de/KIE/Content/EN/Networkpartner/friedrich-wilhelm-murnau-stiftung.html|title=Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Foundation|date=n.d.|website=Arts in Exile|access-date=November 1, 2018}}

The foundation's most prominent film restoration was the 2010 re-release of Fritz Lang's Metropolis which was originally screened at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival. It has additionally restored, with financial support from the prior owners of their film stock, Bertelsmann, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari which premiered "at the Berlinale in February 2014"{{cite web|url=https://www.bertelsmann.com/news-and-media/news/bertelsmann-brings-restored-film-classic-the-cabinet-of-dr.-caligari-to-paris.jsp|title=Bertelsmann Brings Restored Film Classic 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' to Paris|date=September 28, 2015|publisher=Bertelsmann|access-date=November 1, 2018}} which it won an award for best archive restoration in 2015 from FOCAL International.{{Cite news|url=https://www.focalint.org/focal-international-news/news/1926/footage-award-winners-honoured-at-focal-internationals-12th-annual-gala-awards-ceremony|title=Footage Award Winners Honoured at FOCAL International's 12th Annual Gala Awards Ceremony|date=May 22, 2015|work=FOCAL International|access-date=November 1, 2018|quote=Best Archive Restoration / Preservation Title Sponsored by ACSIL • Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari - Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung (Germany)|archive-date=November 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106132237/https://www.focalint.org/focal-international-news/news/1926/footage-award-winners-honoured-at-focal-internationals-12th-annual-gala-awards-ceremony|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bertelsmann.com/news-and-media/specials/the-cabinet-of-dr.-caligari/|title='The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' – A Classic Goes Digital|publisher=Bertelsmann|access-date=November 1, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bertelsmann.com/news-and-media/news/bertelsmann-brings-restored-film-classic-the-cabinet-of-dr.-caligari-to-paris.jsp|title=Bertelsmann Presents Restored Movie Classic 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' in New York: Highlight of the German Films Festival 'KINO! 2016'|date=April 12, 2016|publisher=Bertelsmann|access-date=November 1, 2018}} The foundation was also involved in the restoration of Fritz Lang's Destiny which had "faded and degraded almost beyond recognition."{{cite web|url=http://moviessilently.com/2016/08/26/interview-with-anke-wilkening-of-the-friedrich-wilhelm-murnau-stiftung-regarding-the-restored-destiny/|title=Interview with Anke Wilkening of the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung regarding the restored 'Destiny'|last=Kramer|first=Fritzi|date=August 26, 2016|website=Movies Silently|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827070626/http://moviessilently.com/2016/08/26/interview-with-anke-wilkening-of-the-friedrich-wilhelm-murnau-stiftung-regarding-the-restored-destiny/|archive-date=August 27, 2016|url-status=live|access-date=November 1, 2018}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/destiny-an-eye-popping-restoration-of-fritz-lang-s-classic-1.3109330|title=Destiny: an eye-popping restoration of Fritz Lang's classic|last=Brady|first=Tara|date=June 8, 2017|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=November 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801035303/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/destiny-an-eye-popping-restoration-of-fritz-lang-s-classic-1.3109330|archive-date=August 1, 2017|url-status=live|quote=The Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation and its partners spent more than a year restoring the original colours and intertitles to a film that, since its 1921 heyday, had faded and degraded almost beyond recognition.}} The foundation maintains about 80%{{Cite news|url=https://www.welt.de/kultur/history/article13843450/Wie-viel-Gift-steckt-noch-in-den-Vorbehaltsfilmen.html|title=Wie viel Gift steckt noch in den 'Vorbehaltsfilmen'?|last=Rodek|first=Hanns-Georg|date=January 31, 2012|work=Welt|access-date=November 1, 2018|language=de}} of Germany's Nazi-era films (called "{{ill|Vorbehaltsfilm|de}}" in German) referring to this collection of 40 films{{cite web|url=https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Ich-klage-an-3384846.html|title=Ich klage an!|last=Schmid|first=Hans|date=March 27, 2010|website=Telepolis|language=de|access-date=November 1, 2018}} as "reserved" films which are "propagandistic productions created under Hitler, which may only be used for scientific evaluation in Germany and within the framework of political education."{{Cite news|url=https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/kultur/film/hitlers-propaganda-filme-wenn-aus-dem-einmarsch-eine-heimkehr-wird-3119930|title=Hitlers Propaganda-Filme Wenn aus dem Einmarsch eine Heimkehr wird|last=Westphal|first=Anke|date=March 5, 2014|work=Berliner Zeitung|access-date=November 1, 2018|language=de}}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web|url=https://www.kinofenster.de/filme/ausgaben/kf0105/ein_sonderfall_deutscher_kulturgeschichte_vom_umgang_mit_nspropagandafilmen/|title=Ein Sonderfall deutscher Kulturgeschichte: Vom Umgang mit NS-Propagandafilmen|last=Heinzelmann|first=Herbert|date=September 21, 2006|website=KinoFenster.de|language=de|access-date=November 1, 2018}} This collection includes the notorious Jud Süß, Kolberg and I Accuse.{{Cite journal|last=Sampson|first=Sally|date=1993|title=The Limits of Liberty|journal=Index on Censorship|volume=22|issue=10|pages=2–3|doi=10.1080/03064229308535609|doi-access=free}}

The treatment of reserved films by the Murnau Foundation has been met with criticism. Critics accuse the foundation of misusing copyrights for film censorship and not for the intended purpose of copyright law where, they argue, the government should institute a ban through legislation instead. Unlike the FSK, there are no legal evaluations for the decisions of the Board of Trustees. Critics also point out the opaque process of deciding which films should be reserved, noting that there is no transparent criteria, the experts consulted are not publicized, and any reports used are not publicized. For instance, the film The Old and the Young King contains Nazi propaganda, however, it was allowed to be screened publicly. Additionally, the nature of the reserved film screenings has been criticized, since the only option is to view them with accompanying expert supervision, commentary, and discussion.

{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|style=width: 600px;|

• Film preservation
• Conservation and restoration of film
• Lists of film archives
• Lost film
• Cinematheque
• Silent film
• Sound film
• Nazism and cinema
• Reichsfilmarchiv
• Antisemitism
• Racial antisemitism
• Racial policy of Nazi Germany
• Why We Fight
• Berlin International Film Festival

}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.murnau-stiftung.de/ German homepage: Mernau Stiftung]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110929125438/http://www.murnau-stiftung.de/en/00-00-00-willkommen.html English homepage: Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Foundation September 29, 2011 archive]
• [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMHYNpOPuaxbgVzBAj8wm4Q/feed Official YouTube channel]

{{F. W. Murnau}}

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