In the early 1920s, the Protestant Church in Germany began using film as an advertising tool. A pivotal work in this regard is Sprechende Hände (Talking Hands), which documents the work of the Oberlinhaus Nowawes near Potsdam, a care home and school for the deafblind. The three-part film inter­weaves three narrative lines that focus respectively on the achievements of the deafblind children, the different depart­ments of the home, and the daily rou­tine; in all cases emphasising the active role of the disabled protagonists. Within the positive atmosphere of the home, the desire to learn goes hand in hand with the innovative teaching methods.

Sprechende Hände was the directori­al debut and commercial breakthrough of Leipzig-born women’s rights activist and co-operative pioneer Gertrud Da­vid neé Swiderski (1872-1936), who also produced the film through her own Gervid-Film company. Following its premiere in Berlin on 28 September 1925, Sprechende Hände was screened at church events well into the 1950s and seen by around half a million people during this time.

Ralf Forster