| Das schreckliche Mädchen (The Nasty Girl) | |
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 Region 2 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Michael Verhoeven |
| Written by | Michael Verhoeven |
| Produced by | Michael Senftleben |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Axel de Roche |
| Edited by | Barbara Hennings |
| Music by |
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| Distributed by | Miramax (United States) |
Release date |
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Running time | 94 minutes[1] |
| Country | West Germany |
| Language | German |
The Nasty Girl (German:Das schreckliche Mädchen,lit. 'the terrible girl') is a 1990 West Germandrama film based on the true story ofAnna Rosmus.
The film received anAcademy Award nomination forBest Foreign Language Film at the63rd Academy Awards.[2]
AGerman high school student, Sonja (Lena Stolze as a fictionalised version ofAnna Rosmus), wins an essay contest and embarks on a trip to Paris. Martin Wegmus begins teaching physics at Sonja's school, and one of her classmates falls in love with him. Almost by chance, Mr. Wegmus and Sonja share a kiss. The teacher promises to return for her. The following year, she enters the contest again, choosing "My Town During the Third Reich" from the available topics. Her research leads her to discover that her picture-perfect town had been intimately involved in theThird Reich, with nearly all of the city's prominent families having been members of theNazi party long before it rose to power. As she delves deeper, local authorities stonewall her efforts.
Undeterred, Sonja persists and learns that there were eightconcentration camps in the area, and that all the Jews were forcibly expelled from the town and had their property confiscated. Sonja marries Martin, and the townsfolk believe she has abandoned her pursuit of uncovering Nazi involvement. Despite this, Sonja bears two daughters and pursues studies in history at the university. She resumes her research into the town's Nazi past and succeeds in winning court cases that grant her access to archives, although she still must resort to trickery to obtain desired information. The hostility of the townspeople escalates from verbal abuse to death threats and physical assaults as they endeavor to silence her with increasing desperation, but nothing dissuades her. Her husband feels emasculated as he is compelled to care for the children. The family survives a bomb attack, yet Sonja persists with her research.
Ultimately, the townspeople change their stance, even going so far as to erect a bust of Sonja at the town hall. However, Sonja views this gesture as an attempt to silence her and rejects the honor.
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