JohannisthalSynchron was a production company for the dubbing of films and series based in Berlin-Johannisthal. It was one of only two dubbing studios in the GDR, the other being Fernsehen der DDR Studio für Synchronisation, which was owned and operated by DFF, or Fernsehen der DDR (GDR television), respectively.
History[]
On January 20, 1920, Johannisthaler Filmanstalten GmbH (Jofa) was founded in a former Albatros Flugzeugwerke factory building. Tobis took over the studios in 1933.
Shortly after the end of the war, on June 6, 1945, the dubbing of Soviet films for German cinemas began in Johannisthal, as most of the technical equipment was still in working order. The dubbed version of Ivan the Terrible was directed by Wolfgang Staudte and had its German premiere in August 1945.
Voice actors during recording (1950s)
After DEFA (German Film Corporation) was founded in 1946, it set up its own dubbing department in the Tobis studios. The studios were transferred to DEFA in 1952 as part of the nationalization process. The central production facility for the production of German-language versions of foreign films in the GDR was established in Johannisthal. From 1955, the company operated as the DEFA Studio für Synchronisation (DEFA Studio for dubbing), which was directly subordinate to the Main Administration for Film in the Ministry of Culture. From 1952 to 1989, over 7000 feature films and series were dubbed. Further studios of the company were located in Weimar and Leipzig.
Some DEFA dubbed versions were produced directly in the studios of their film production facilities in Potsdam-Babelsberg, which is why one can often read DEFA Filmstudios in the dubbing section of old credits.
From July 1, 1990, DEFA Studio für Synchronisation was under the care of the Treuhandanstalt, which reorganized the company into DEFA Synchron GmbH. On July 1, 1992, the company was taken over by the Kirch Group and renamed JohannisthalSynchron GmbH. In the following years, mainly dubbed versions of television series and films were produced for the parent company Kirch.
Following the collapse of the Kirch Group, JohannisthalSynchron ceased operations on December 31, 2004 as part of an orderly business closure. Since then, its business activities have been limited to the management of the real estate it owns.
Dubs[]
- This section is incomplete. You can help The Dubbing Database by finishing it.
See also: Category:JohannisthalSynchron
Films[]
- Cabaret (East German dub)
- The French Connection (East German dub)
- Gandhi (East German dub)
- Grand Hotel (East German dub)
- Les Misérables (1958) (East German dub)
- The Little Fox (East German dub)
- Three Wishes for Cinderella
- Thumbelina
- The Wild Child
- The Wonderful World of Puss 'n Boots (East German dub)
Series[]
Clients[]
JohannisthalSynchron[]
Former clients[]
- KirchMedia
- MDR
- ARD
- ZDF
- KiKa
- Discovery
- ProSieben
- Sat.1
- Janus
- Tobis StudioCanal
External links[]
- Archived official website on the Wayback Machine