Documentaries
Mysterious Neuschwanstein Castle
No other place is as charged with myths, longings and secrets as the royal Neuschwanstein Castle. The foundation stone was laid on 5 September 1869. Previously unknown photos of the construction site, intimate diary entries by the young Ludwig and unpublished descriptions by the village chronicler condense and fathom the phenomenon of Neuschwanstein. The childhood dream of a young prince becomes the most exciting building project in the world.
A castle built for just one person - Ludwig II, the fairytale king. Neuschwanstein Castle is inextricably linked with the tragic fate of the Bavarian king.
Previously unknown photos of the large construction site, intimate diary entries by the young Ludwig and unpublished descriptions by the village chronicler condense and fathom the phenomenon of Neuschwanstein. Is it the work of a wasteful madman, or the ingenious conception of a misunderstood genius? What is certain is that it is the childhood dream of a king who has fallen out of time.
"The king's sudden death has given the castle a flying start in its career as a tourist attraction," says Ludwig, Prince of Bavaria, a relative of the fairytale king. "It's a built fantasy. You're not in a house, you're in a dream."
Today it is not only a symbol of Bavaria, but a legend whose unbroken appeal reaches around the world.
Written and directed by Oliver Halmburger
Koproduktion mit BR 2019
Locations: Neuschwanstein Castle
Genre: Documentary, 45 min / 52 min
Saudi Arabia - The Rise of the House of Al Saud
Saudi Arabia bears the name of the clan that made the country a kingdom in 1932. Its power goes back to a pact that combined religious devotion with political calculation. The Arabian Peninsula is where Islam originated.
Production 2020 for ZDF, Terra X
Buch und Regie: Oliver Halmburger, Heike Schmidt, Thomas Staehler
Genre: Documentary, 43min.
Ordinary Men - The Forgotten Holocaust
Six million Jews were murdered during the Second World War. Four million died in the death camps, but two million people were killed in systematic mass shootings. The perpetrators came face to face with their victims. They shot men, women, children - day after day, obediently and assiduously, as if it were normal work. Tens of thousands of Germans belonged to the mobile commandos of the Einsatzgruppen and police battalions. Who were these men, how could they commit such murders? What did the few survivors report, how did they escape the mass deaths and live on with the cruel experience?
Written and directed by: Manfred Oldenburg, Oliver Halmburger
Production: broadview, 2021 for ZDF
Genre: Dokumentation, 43Min
