Gerhard Lamprecht

The essential foundation of the registered association ‒ the Verein Deutsche Kinemathek (converted into the Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek in 1971) ‒ was formed in 1962 with the Berlin Senate’s purchase of Lamprecht’s private collection. It still serves scholarly purposes today. The Kinemathek acquired Lamprecht’s actual estate in 1976 and 1977. Film archivist Hans Barkhausen wrote the expert opinion on it ‒ and this is as much a part of the archival holdings as other papers that accompany these purchases. Material collections exist for most of Lamprecht’s films, including shooting schedules and press clippings, work contracts, keywords and handwritten reminders. Lamprecht’s “Tageskalender” (daily calendar) represents a central source of film history research. He began his notations after the Second World War, which reflect the intensive and extensive interconnectedness of the chronicler with the film world in and outside of Berlin. Lamprecht had a special relationship with Lotte Eisner and Henri Langlois, two important representatives of the Cinémathèque Française. Inventory lists on Lamprecht’s film and cinema specialist library, his film photos, the technical equipment, and about his collections on normal-width and smaller cine films offer informed insights into the life of a sociocritical film director and an idealist film collector, who was active during four social systems in the 20th century. (Text: Rolf Aurich)