In the Shadow of the Karakorum

In 1954, a German-Austrian expedition led by Mathias Rebitsch set off for the difficult-to-access Karakoram Mountains, geographically north of the Himalayas. They come across the Hunza, a people who live in the valley of the same name and believe they are descended from the soldiers of Alexander the Great. The documentary conveys impressions of the poor life of the Hunza people, the harvest, a court hearing, festivals and the children's everyday school life. Finally, the expedition sets off again and sets up its main camp on the moraine ridge of a glacier, where they measure the glacier and the earth's magnetic field. Finally, some men from the research community set off for a sub-peak of Batura.

Cast

Ernst Fritz Fürbringer

Self - Narrator [West Germany & Austria] (voice)

Otto Mellies

Self - Narrator [East Germany] (voice)

Mathias Rebitsch

Self - Expedition Leader

Wolfgang Pillewizer

Self - Scientific Director

Paul Bernett

Self - Expedition Doctor

Anderl Heckmair

Self - Expedition Member

Karl Heckler

Self - Expedition Member (†)

Gerhard Klamert

Self - Expedition Member

Dolf Meyer

Self - Expedition Member

Karl Heinz Pfaffen

Self - Expedition Member

Hans-Jochen Schneider

Self - Expedition Member

Karl Wienert

Self - Expedition Member