Lübeck in historischen Industriefilmen 1964–72

Having become an important centre of industry by the end of the nineteenth century, Lübeck was once again faced with a challenge by the course of history: deprived of its hinterlands by the division of Germany in 1961, the city had to work to attract industry once again. The 1972 film “Lebendiges Lübeck” (Lively Lübeck), commissioned by the Lübeck Administration for Trade, Shipping, and Industry, tried to do just that. Various shipyards, factories, and industrial sites are shown on 16 mm film, many of which no longer exist: the blast furnace plant, the Flender Shipyard, the huge Villeroy & Boch ceramics factory. The film is a reencounter with them, along with the workers and some of the still-existing companies. The construction of Europe’s largest drawbridge, the Herrenbrücke, inaugurated in 1964 and now also history, is also captured in the film. The films are presented and commented on by filmmaker and film archivist C. Cay Wesnigk.