History 1945

Due to the illness of Emil Jannings, the shooting of WO IST HERR BELLING? (director: Erich Engel) is stopped in January.

In March, Viktor Tourjansky produces the film DREIMAL KOMÖDIE, which is only shown for the first time after the end of the war.After the end of the war, the intact Bavaria location is transferred to the 6870th District Information Services Control Command (DISCC) of the US Army on May 10.To start with, the Bavaria continues under the same managing director, Erich Walter Herbell. The two other managing directors, Helmut Schreiber, who later becomes world famous with a magic show under the pseudonym of Kalanag, and Helmut Keil, leave. On June 2, Kommerzienrat Wilhelm Kraus is appointed administrator, his deputy is Georg Roeber. At the end of June, Erich Walter Herbell is dismissed.In agreement with the 6870th DISCC, Kraus endeavours to transfer the Bavaria assets into ownership or property of the City of Munich or the State of Bavaria. The efforts fail due to instructions from Washington. The Bavaria Filmkunst is banned from any production activity of its own, it may merely rent out its assets. The first company in the Bavaria complex to restart work is the copying factory, carrying out orders from the WELTIMFILM. WELTIMFILM is a weekly newsreel produced from July 28 as an American-British co-production for their occupied zones.Kraus resigns from his office on October 2, Roeber becomes his successor and is appointed trustee by the Americans on October 27.

In order to supply films to the cinemas, which had opened again, a hire company, the Allgemeine Filmverleih (AFI), is opened on the site.