Frank Leberecht

Record of the 1934 German expedition to Nanga Parbat, led by Willy Merkl and with the full backing of the new Nazi government. Peter Aschenbrenner and Erwin Schneider reached an estimated height of 7,895m on July 6, but were forced to return because of worsening weather. On July 7 they and 14 others were trapped by a ferocious storm at 7,480m. During the desperate retreat that followed, three famous German mountaineers, Uli Wieland, Willo Welzenbach and Merkl himself, and six Sherpas died of exhaustion, exposure and altitude sickness, and several more suffered severe frostbite.

Epic documentary about the German expeditions to Nanga Parbat up to 1937. After a first unsuccessful attempt in 1932 and the tragic second expedition led by Willy Merkl in 1934, in 1937 Karl Wien led another expedition to the mountain following the same route as Merkl's expeditions. Progress was made, but more slowly than before due to heavy snowfall. About 14 June seven Germans and nine Sherpas, almost the entire team, were at Camp IV below Rakhiot Peak when it was overrun by an avalanche. All sixteen men died. The film was assembled in 1938 with rescued 16mm material shot during the 1937 attempt and footage from the previous expeditions.

Animated film about a bird.

Short educational film about the democratic decision-making processes in a small community.

Short film about Stephan, a child with disabilities.

Short film about the cathedral in Mainz.

Record of the 1934 German expedition to Nanga Parbat, led by Willy Merkl and with the full backing of the new Nazi government. Peter Aschenbrenner and Erwin Schneider reached an estimated height of 7,895m on July 6, but were forced to return because of worsening weather. On July 7 they and 14 others were trapped by a ferocious storm at 7,480m. During the desperate retreat that followed, three famous German mountaineers, Uli Wieland, Willo Welzenbach and Merkl himself, and six Sherpas died of exhaustion, exposure and altitude sickness, and several more suffered severe frostbite.

Epic documentary about the German expeditions to Nanga Parbat up to 1937. After a first unsuccessful attempt in 1932 and the tragic second expedition led by Willy Merkl in 1934, in 1937 Karl Wien led another expedition to the mountain following the same route as Merkl's expeditions. Progress was made, but more slowly than before due to heavy snowfall. About 14 June seven Germans and nine Sherpas, almost the entire team, were at Camp IV below Rakhiot Peak when it was overrun by an avalanche. All sixteen men died. The film was assembled in 1938 with rescued 16mm material shot during the 1937 attempt and footage from the previous expeditions.

Epic documentary about the German expeditions to Nanga Parbat up to 1937. After a first unsuccessful attempt in 1932 and the tragic second expedition led by Willy Merkl in 1934, in 1937 Karl Wien led another expedition to the mountain following the same route as Merkl's expeditions. Progress was made, but more slowly than before due to heavy snowfall. About 14 June seven Germans and nine Sherpas, almost the entire team, were at Camp IV below Rakhiot Peak when it was overrun by an avalanche. All sixteen men died. The film was assembled in 1938 with rescued 16mm material shot during the 1937 attempt and footage from the previous expeditions.

Animated film about a bird.

Animated film about a bird.

Short educational film about the democratic decision-making processes in a small community.

Short film about Stephan, a child with disabilities.

Short film about the cathedral in Mainz.

A German Film Award gold medal winning documentary about electro-technics.

Record of the 1938 German expedition to Nanga Parbat. In June 1938, the vanguard of the German expedition to the Himalayas, after many laborious detours through the labyrinth of the glaciers, had reached Camp IV at 6200m of altitude. A violent storm, which raged for over five days, left the team blocked in camp IV, with food and fuel in decidedly low quantities. They send an S.O.S., which is collected by the aviators in Srinagar, who manage to get food, parachuting them, to the unfortunates blocked by snow. The team, led by Paul Bauer, will still have to retire due to adverse weather conditions.

Documentary film material was produced during the 1938 expedition to Nanga Parbat, led by Paul Bauer. The German Himalaya Foundation had planned a feature-length film with the title Berg im Monsun (Mountain in the Monsoon), once again, edited by Frank Leberecht. The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 as well as extended contract negotiations between Tobis and the foundation during 1940 delayed post-production of the film, and it was only in spring 1945 that Tobis could report to the foundation that the film was about to be finished. The impending collapse of the Third Reich that very spring, made impossible its release in theaters.