A warning from history: The Marriage of Maria Braun

Author: SunnyYi, interested in cinema and history

Rainer Werner Fassbinder, praised as the post-war conscience of Germany, directs a trilogy of women within the background of West Germany after World War II to exhibit and criticize postwar German society (Beyer, 2011). As Reimer (1981, p. 138) expresses, Santayana argues that those who forget the history, are doomed to repeat it. Hence, Fassbinder focuses on the painful history in order to reveal a historical warning via the film. The Marriage of Maria Braun depicts the lifetime of a woman struggling to survive after the war. Some commentators have deciphered Maria's destiny as the indication of German’s progress after World War II (Uecker, 2001, pp. 45-46). There can be an obvious relation between Maria's material satisfactions as well as her end of life and the post-war reconstruction of West Germany.

Firstly, in the film, Maria's material poverty in the early stage and economically developed in the later stage can correspond to the reconstructed history of Germany. In the preliminary stage, Maria's marriage begins in the flames of war and ends with the information of Hermann's death (Fassbinder, 1979), which means that, as a woman, she may lose her financial support and even is deprived of the right to live. Her tough survival situation coincides with Germany's economic woes from 1945 to 1948. According to Nugent (2010), after World War II, Germany's finance was broken, unemployment had reached the highest level and citizens were struggling to survive. Through the unsatisfactory of Maria's life, this film can visualize the dark and poor period of West Germany in order to reach the purpose of warning and criticism.

In the later stage, Maria Braun achieves economic affluence and raises her social status by means of selling beauty and betraying her body, which could be regarded as an authentic depiction of West Germany’s economic wonder created during the post-war reconstruction. Under the circumstance of the implementation of positive financial policies such as the Marshall Plan and free market economy, and the support of the western occupying power, postwar Germany grasped an opportunity and the beneficial conditions to repair the economy (Nugent, 2010). On this occasion, the economy recovered rapidly and realized the biggest economic miracle in German history (Nugent, 2010). According to Beyer (2011, p. 5), Fassbinder reappears such wonder produced by West Germany in the 1950s through Maria's gradual increase of wealth and status in the film. In order to survive, Maria sells her body to the American officer and obtains material resources. After the death of the American officer, she becomes a mistress of the entrepreneur Oswald. With the help of Oswald, Maria meets with success both in business and money (Fassbinder, 1979).

There can be two examples in the film showing the specific connection between Maria’s economic growth and German’s history. One obvious manifestation is that it is the American officer who first assists Maria out of an existential crisis and provides adequate material comforts for her. As Beyer (2011, p. 7) states, it can be considered as a metaphor for American economic assistance to West Germany. Another clear embodiment is that after being Oswald’s secretary and mistress, Maria's costume and manners becomes more exquisite and elegant, indicating the plenty material of herself and the rise of social class. Feinstein (1983, p. 48) explains that the reason Maria's wealth grows increasingly is that Oswald’s textile company has reaped the benefits of the free market economy which is also one of the factors for the German economic miracle.

Secondly, post-war Germany blindly develops the economy and neglects heals trauma, which is also revealed by Maria. According to Río (2005), through Maria's experience, Fassbinder presents the depressed and empty emotions of German society after the war. Maria suffers mental and emotional blow throughout her life. From the moment she receives the news of her husband's death, Maria has been emotionally torn between gaining and leaving. However, she has no time or energy to mourn and heal the wounds of what she has experienced. Instead, Maria forces herself to struggle like a man, separating emotions from work, and becoming aloof and isolated (Uecker, 2001). It seems that merely constant material gain can provide security for her. Reimer (1981, p. 140) declares that as what Maria performs in the film, although post-war Germany creates great achievements in the economy, it pays the price of emotional damage. Nationals are emotionally apathetic and fall victim to economic interests.

After the death of Oswald, Maria inherits his estate and is reunited with her husband. When she believes that she could live a beatific life with her husband, she is conscious that herself and the marriage she is committed to are merely a transaction between her husband and Oswald. The betrayal and collapse of her faith enables it to be impossible for Maria to suppress her psychological trauma, and eventually she chooses to end her life with her husband in the explosion. The explosion could be seen as a concrete manifestation of the hidden dangers and serious consequences that results from the neglect and lacking remedy of the war trauma. It can also be regarded as a fierce critique and condemnation of the cost of the economic miracle and such period of history (Beyer, 2011, p. 8). Moreover, according to Reimer (1981, p. 140), in virtue of the tragic fate of Maria, this film warns of economic extremism in German history, and urges the country to consider carefully about the priorities of development factors and care for the emotional healing of citizens after the war.

In conclusion, Maria's life is the recurrence of Germany's post-war history. Maria's rapid accumulation of material wealth and rise in social status can symbolize the realization of the economic miracle in post-war West Germany. On the other hand, both Maria's struggle for financial resources and her choice to end her life in the bombing can reflect the tragic history that Germany is unable to concern citizens' post-war traumas after World War II. Therefore, the film serves as a reminder and warning to future generations in the way of reappearing history to prevent the disaster from happening again.

Reference List

Beyer, Z. (2011). Fassbinder’s BRD Trilogy: A Lesson in Postwar German History. Film Matters, 2(1), pp.3-8.

Fassbinder, R.W. (Director). (1979). The Marriage of Maria Braun [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from https://video.xjtlu.edu.cn/Mediasite/Play/5ec42d8911cb405c88a9be8d3f891af81d

Feinstein, H. (1983). BDR 1-2-3: Fassbinder's Postwar Trilogy and the Spectacle. Cinema Journal, 23(1), pp.44-56.   

Nugent, C. R. (2010). West German economic reconstruction and moral reconstitution: An examination of economic instability and its impact on ‘Holocaust moments.’ Journal of European Studies, 40(4), 355-373. doi:10.1177/0047244110382491

Reimer, R. C. (1981). Memories from the Past: A Study of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's The Marriage of Maria Braun. Journal of Popular Film and Television, 9(3), 138-143. doi:10.1080/01956051.1981.10661903

Río, E. D. (2005). Between Brecht and Artaud. New Review of Film and Television Studies, 3(2), 161-185. doi:10.1080/17400300500213495

Uecker, M. (2001). A Fatal German Marriage: The National Subtext of Fassbinder’s Di Ehe Der Maria Braun. German Life and Letters, 54(1), 45-59. doi:10.1111/1468-0483.00188