Walzerkrieg (lit. The War of the Waltz, Germany 1933) is Ludwig Berger's most successful film. The 'war' over the best Waltz unfolds in Vienna in the first half of the 19th century. The film is dominated by Waltz music, dance and song. Walzerkrieg is not only one of the highlights of early German sound film operettas, but also marks a decisive point for German film production in socio-political terms. Even before filming began, there was a special meeting of the UFA Board on 29 March 1933 to discuss the continued employment of Jewish employees. The day before that, Joseph Goebbels had held a speech before several filmmakers. UFA obediently complied with the expectations of the Nazi regime even before the regime had passed the first anti-Semitic laws and regulations. As such, the UFA Board of Directors decided there and then to dismiss 20 employees, among them some of the people working on Walzerkrieg. The script by Hans Müller and Robert Liebmann was still accepted in 1932, but the authors were dismissed with immediate effect. The studios also wanted to get rid of director Ludwig Berger, but his contract with UFA had already been signed. The head of the UFA Orchestra, Werner Richard Heymann, received an offer to stay, but he decided not to accept the extenetion of his contract and emigrated to Paris.
At the film's premiere on 4 October 1933, neither the scriptwriters nor the director or the actor Adolf Wohlbrück later Anton Walbrook were mentioned in the opening credits.
At the film's premiere on 4 October 1933, neither the scriptwriters nor the director or the actor Adolf Wohlbrück later Anton Walbrook were mentioned in the opening credits.
