Examining the Goals and Management Style of Dr. Emil Georg von Stauß, the Weimar Film Industry’s Most Powerful Man: 1917–23

Universum-Film AG (Ufa) was the Weimar Republic’s largest film company, but few studies examine the man at its top, Emil Georg von Stauß, Vorsitzender of the Aufsichtsrat from Ufa’s founding in 1917 until 1927. This study examines his management before the financial crunch of the post-inflation period using understudied Deutsche Bank documents. While this period is often understood as Ufa’s good years, the company was in almost-constant financial turmoil, in part due to von Stauß’s management decisions. He also pushed to produce films that promoted German cultural education and at times intervened in the production process to this end.