The Great Sacrifice

Opfergang (The Great Sacrifice or Rite of Sacrifice) is a 1944 German film directed by Veit Harlan. It is based on Rudolf G. Binding's work of the same title, with alterations for propaganda purposes. Synopsis Albrecht Froben, though married to Octavia, falls in love with his neighbor, Äls Flodéen. She, however, is slowly dying from a debilitating disease. During an epidemic, Albrecht goes to bring her daughter to safety but he catches typhoid and is quarantined in hospital. Octavia, realising the love match, and hearing that Äls is now bedridden and dying, dresses up as him and rides by her gates every day to keep her spirits up—her bed is next to the window. Albrecht returns. Äls has a dream in which she talks to her projection of Albrecht and concludes that she does not wish to take part in this union and accepts death. Albrecht is reconciled with his wife. Cast Kristina Söderbaum as Äls Flodéen Irene von Meyendorff as Octavia Froben Carl Raddatz as Albrecht Froben Franz Schafheitlin as Mathias Ernst Stahl-Nachbaur as Sanitätsrat Dr. Terboven Otto Treßler as Senator Froben, Octavia's father Annemarie Steinsieck as Frau Froben, Octavia's mother Frida Richard as Frau Steinkamp, who cares for Äls's child Ludwig Schmitz as carnival speaker Edgar Pauly as the servant of the Frobens Charlotte Schultz as Äls's nurse Paul Bildt as the notary for testament Motifs Nazism makes no overt appearance in the film, which appears a work of entertainment, but it includes themes frequently found in Nazi propaganda. Sacrifice and death are constant motifs in the movie — Äls even recounts how she had to put down her ill dog — and Albrecht's return to his wife is a reflection of a realization of the tragic side of life.