The Star of Africa

Der Stern von Afrika is a 1957 black-and-white German war film portraying the combat career of a World War II Luftwaffe fighter pilot Hans-Joachim Marseille. The film stars Joachim Hansen and Marianne Koch and was directed by Alfred Weidenmann, whose film career began in the Nazi era. Der Stern von Afrika was premièred on 13 August 1957 in Berlin and was popular at the German box office. The film was criticised for hewing closely to wartime propaganda in its portrayal of the German war effort and for avoiding an honest confrontation with the past. Plot The film begins shortly before the outbreak of World War II with Jochen Marseille (Joachim Hansen) attending a Luftwaffe school in Berlin. His squadron is transferred to the Afrika Korps in North Africa. Marseille quickly becomes the most successful fighter pilot. His unit loses more and more pilots to the Desert Air Force, and Marseille begins to doubt the usefulness of his operations. He travels to Berlin to receive a high military decoration where he falls in love with a teacher, Brigitte (Marianne Koch).