Katharina Blum
By Megan Sheely

Katharina Blum was a wronged woman. She was stripped of her honor by the police and by the press. Schlöndorf and von Trotta’s portrayal of the yellow press in 1960 Germany was one that epitomizes the reality of the result of the Student Movement. Eventually, the peaceful students were taken over by angry, violent rioters. This caused the police and the government to react irrationally and irresponsibly.

Katharina was a young woman who fell in love with Ludwig, a suspected terrorist. Unbeknownst to her, the police were watching him as he was engaging in a one-night stand with her. They arrested Katharina, after Ludwig escaped, because she was associated with a terrorist. The weeks and months to follow wreaked havoc on Katharina’s life, causing her to commit murder. The press changed statements given by Katharina’s friends and family, including her dying mother. A reporter actually sneaked into her mother’s quarantined hospital room, possibly causing her death. Most of her neighbors and friends turned their backs on her, leaving her life and spirit to be destroyed.

When her love, Ludwig, was put into prison without any information to prove his guilt, Katharina fell apart. She was no longer a suspect, but felt that she could not live without Ludwig. She killed both the reporter and photographer that made her life miserable. She went to prison for 8-10 years, hoping to be released when Ludwig was. I think that if I were put in Katharina’s position, I would have done the same thing, regardless of whether or not my lover went to prison. Imagining all of the frustration and the anger that she must have felt towards the press, I believe that I would have reacted in the same manner.

Sadly, people were forced to endure the pain that the fictitious Katharina faced. The film, based on the novel by Heinrich Böll, depicted life for many people who opposed the government. They were hounded by the press, just as Böll was. They had every right to protest and use peaceful means of disagreement, but the government did not have a right in prosecuting innocent people without first proving their guilt. Somehow, the government became very authoritarian once again and the groups erupted in riots. It wasn’t fair to the people of Germany, to promise them democracy and then not practice it. The press and the police should never work hand-in-hand, as they did during the Nazi regime. Obviously, that combination can only result in trouble.

It was interesting to me, how the people of Germany never "second guessed" the information presented in the newspapers. They believed what they read and not what they knew. Katharina’s own friends, besides the two or three that stood by her, beleaguered her with questions about her involvement in the affair. These were people who knew her very well, and yet still persisted in asking her inane questions about an experience she never had.

Logically, people in today’s society would be more moral and more intelligent than to believe everything they read in the tabloids. Unfortunately, our society is not. While most people read the articles presented in the tabloids with a grain of salt, some insist that nothing written or seen is in anyway altered. It could be that our lives don’t seem as exciting or as interesting as those in these newspapers. We should learn to appreciate the freedom and rights that we have in the United States and that German citizens have now. The film should make one think about one’s moral obligation to others. Should we continue to spread rumors and gossip about neighbors and friends? After seeing this film, the answer becomes clear. Gossip and unsupported statements can ruin lives and end others.

Works Cited

Esa, Mohamed. In-class lecture and class notes. http://wwwfac.wmdc.edu/German/German1125/index.html
Schlöndorf, Volker and Margareta von Trotta. "Die verlone Ehre der Katharina Blum." Germany: 1977.