„The love of life“ – the life story of the Wehrmacht deserter Ludwig Baumann

30,000 German soldiers of the Wehrmacht who deserted during the Second World War were sentenced to death by the Nazi military justice system. One of them was Ludwig Baumann, who was drafted into the navy in 1942 at the age of 19. Despite being sentenced to death, imprisoned in a concentration camp and deployed on the Eastern Front, Ludwig Baumann survived. After 1945, he fought at all social and political levels for the cancellation of sentences against deserters. The few who survived were not rehabilitated in post-war Germany and received no compensation. Thanks to Ludwig Baumann’s efforts, the Nazi military justice sentences against Wehrmacht deserters were cancelled in 2002. This touching portrait by director Annette Ortlieb gives an insight into the eventful life and struggles of Ludwig Baumann and is a tribute to humanity and against war.

What does Ludwig Baumann’s commitment mean for today’s discussions about war, resistance and humanity? How did Baumann manage to keep fighting for justice and humanity despite everything – and what can we learn from this today? We would like to discuss these and other questions with the film’s director, Annette Ortlieb, after the film.

Annette Ortlieb studied educational science at the University of Münster and cultural, educational and PR work in Bremen. She has been working as a freelance filmmaker in the fields of documentary film, short film and camera since 2003. The film „Die Liebe zum Leben“ was released in 2023 and was funded by nordmedia Niedersachsen/Bremen, Filmbüro Bremen, Senator für Kultur Bremen, Waldemar Koch Stiftung and Heinrich Böll Stiftung in Bremen, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung Berlin as well as MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein and Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Hamburg as cooperation partners. In 2024, the film was awarded the rating „particularly valuable“ by the „German Film and Media Rating“.

An event organised by the Fritz Bauer Forum in cooperation with the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung NRW, the Bochum Peace Plenum and DFG-VK Bochum/Herne..