Munich Stories The Regina–Lichtspiele
Kaufingerstraße 23-26 80331 München-Altstadt
In February 1923, the monumental silent film Nathan the Wise was to celebrate its Munich premiere at the Regina-Lichtspiele in Kaufingerstraße. It never happened. The film’s passionate appeal to reason, tolerance and humanity had already become the target of National Socialist attacks during the production period. This article tells the story of its reception against the backdrop of the growing strength of the National Socialist Party in the ‘capital of the movement’ in the early 1920s.
![Exterior view of the Regina-Lichtspiele | Despite considerable anti-Semitic hostility, Nathan the Wise was released in Germany at the end of 1922. The Munich premiere was scheduled for 9 February 1923 in the programme of the Regina-Lichtspiele cinema in Kaufingerstraße. "But although the cinema took the precaution of not advertising the film in advance, the first menacing letters arrived that very afternoon. The cinema owner received a threatening phone call the same evening claiming to [...] ‘smash his place to pieces the following evening’ if he failed to remove the film from the programme. (Quote: Stefan Drössler: ‘Der Fall “Nathan der Weise”’, in: Manfred Noa. Nathan the Wise, film booklet for the DVD edition, 4th, improved edition 2020, no p.) | Source: from: Monika Lerch-Stumpf, ed.: New paradises for cinema addicts. Munich cinema history 1945 to 2007, Munich 2008, 89.](https://dmao.ondho.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ad1ed794b3eb7bdf319597eb2af4b102.jpg)
