Wunschkonzert (1940)
During the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, the young Inge Wagner and Luftwaffe Fliegerleutnant (Flight Lieutenant) Herbert Koch meet, and within a few days fall in love. They make plans for their joint future, but before they can get married, Herbert is seconded to the Condor Legion and ordered to the Spanish Civil War; he is forced to leave immediately without giving Inge any explanation. The mission is top secret and all contact with home is forbidden, including by letter, and he is unable to contact her with an explanation. When after several months the operation is over, and Herbert is recovering from a severe injury, he is at last able to write to Inge, but she has moved in the meantime and he is unable to trace her.
Inge meanwhile is unable to forget Herbert, and is prepared to wait for him. Three years go by. When the war begins with the Invasion of Poland in 1939, the men from Inge's area all go off to the front, including Inge's childhood friend, Helmut Winkler, whose proposal of marriage she has turned down, but who continues to hope for her hand. Helmut is assigned to a Squadron where he is put directly under Herbert, who has meanwhile been promoted to Hauptmann (Group Captain). The two become friends, not knowing that they both love the same girl.
Since the beginning of the war, a big musical event has taken place in Berlin every week, which is broadcast on the radio as Wunschkonzert für die Wehrmacht and provides a channel for greetings and messages between the front and home. When Herbert, remembering the beautiful days with Inge, asks for the Olympic fanfares, Inge, who is listening at home like every one else, hears it and is encouraged by this sudden sign out of the blue to discover Herbert's whereabouts, with renewed hope of seeing him again. They exchange letters, and arrange to meet in Hamburg.
However, at the last moment before the meeting, Herbert and Helmut are both ordered off on a reconnaissance flight over the Atlantic and are shot down. A German U-boat picks them up. Meanwhile, Inge is waiting in vain. Helmut is taken wounded to the military hospital, where all three meet in his sickroom. After sorting out the confused situation – Herbert assumes that Inge and Helmut are engaged – the two lovers are reunited.
Film programs
Books with substantial mentioning of Wunschkonzert
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Rolf Giesen, Manfred Hobsch Hitlerjunge Quex, Jud Süss und Kolberg, Die Propagandafilme des Dritten Reiches. Dokumente und Materialien zum NS-Film Berlin, 2005 |
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Jo Fox Filming Women in the Third Reich Oxford - New York, 2000 |
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Cinzia Romani Die Filmdiven im Dritten Reich München, 1982 |
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Gregor Ball/Eberhard Spiess Heinz Rühmann und seine Filme München, 1982 |
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Christa Bandmann / Joe Hembus Klassiker des Deutschen Tonfilms, 1930-1960 München, 1980 |
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