Herta Scheel

The Baltic captain Terje Wiggen works as a pilot on the island of Muhu. When the mate of the ship “Carola” calls in sick, he jumps at the chance of reviving his life as a sailor. WWI breaks soon after the departure. By and by the ship’s company gets worn down by dead calm. On account of the plague-ridden captain, Wiggen disposes of the contaminated water reserve. Discontent among the crew rises until they take the sole lifeboat and leave their mate behind. Wiggen unsuccessfully tries to bring the ship under control. At the last minute he is rescued off the Japanese coast. At his return he promises to never leave his wife and child again. But the German Imperial Navy begins to blockade the waterways of the island. Wiggen paddles to Sweden with the intention of smuggling provisions for his family. On his way back he is detained by a German captain. After five years of imprisonment he returns to Muhu once more. Wiggen is hellbent on vengeance. (Deutsche Kinemathek)

Blood and Soil (German: Blut und Boden) refers to the ideology focussing on a concept of ethnicity based on descent (Blood) and homeland (Soil). It celebrates the relationship of a people to the land that they occupy and cultivate and places high esteem on the virtues of the bucolic (as opposed to urban) living. From this propaganda film, we learn, how hard it is to be a peasant when liberals rule the state. A family of peasants is forced to sell their property and run away to a big city, where they are forced to live in the poverty. Thankfully when the Nazis take power, they may finally come back and live a happy life. Besides the main plot, there is also educational elements here: Germans are informed how few of them will remain in 2050 year if they don't start a mass reproduction.