The Devil from Mühlenberg: The dark legend of the GDR classics!

The Devil from Mühlenberg: The dark legend of the GDR classics!

On July 4, 2025, we remember a very special treasure in film history: “The Devil from Mühlenberg”, a fairytale film from DEFA that premiered in 1955. With over four million viewers, it was an absolute highlight in GDR cinemas, and this film still cuts a good figure in public broadcasters today.

In this fairytale film we experience the dramatic story of a greedy mill owner who does everything he can to get the farmers to have their grain ground in his mountain mill. To achieve his goal, he disguises himself as a devil, steals flour from the nearby forest mill and finally sets it on fire. The farmers who preferred the cheaper forest mill find themselves in a tricky situation: they now have to work in the mountain mill, which is associated with an increase in the price of flour. What particularly stands out here is the protagonist Anne, who transforms wonderfully from her role as a maid into a heroine after discovering the mining miller's machinations.

Plot and characters

“The Devil from Mühlenberg” is based on a legend from the romantic Harz and not on a fairy tale by Wilhelm Hauff, as is often assumed. Jörg and Anne, the two main characters, fight bravely against the mountain miller's atrocities. As the situation worsens, they find themselves on an emotional wrong path. Jörg, the forest miller's son, is desperately looking for a way to secure his livelihood, while Anne initially falls into the mountain miller's clutches, but eventually comes to her senses with the help of forest spirits.

The oppressive plot reaches its climax when Jörg and Anne rebuild the forest mill and rally the farmers around them. Symbolically of the mountain miller's greed, he is ultimately struck by lightning and turned into stone by the spirits - a warning message for everyone who puts their own advantage over the well-being of the community.

The path to the film

The film was partly shot in the magical Harz mountains and in the well-known Babelsberg studio, with the premiere taking place on April 7, 1955 at the Babylon cinema in Berlin. The main roles are played by Eva Kotthaus as the courageous Anne and Hans-Peter Minetti as Jörg, who is looking for his love. Kotthaus, who was born in Düsseldorf in 1932 and died in 2020, impressively shows the transformation of her character, while Minetti, a skilled actor who appeared in around 60 DEFA productions, died in 2006.

Like the film itself, the legacy of “The Devil from Mühlenberg” remains in the memory of the cultural landscape. You can see that this film not only offers entertainment, but also conveys educational messages about solidarity and the dangers of greed.

So next time you get a chance to see this film, enjoy not only the story but also the nostalgic feel of a bygone era. As many viewers know, “The Devil from Mühlenberg” simply puts you in a good mood and makes you think - regardless of when and where you watch it.