Thannhausen: “Centraltheater”: When there was still a cinema in Thannhausen

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70 years ago films flickered across the screen in the “Centraltheater” in Thannhausen. Which films had to be set up with folding chairs and why Thannhausen’s cinema era ended.

“If the procurement of building materials improves, I intend to build a modern film theater with 300-350 seats.” With this request, Josef Däubler turned to the market town at the end of March 1946
Thannhausen. In the letter, he asked for a building site to be provided that was as centrally located as possible and suitable for his project, since “it is not possible to create a cultural site such as a newly built movie theater somewhere on the edge of the community”.

His daughter-in-law Ursula Däubler, who still lives in Thannhausen to this day, remembers: “After the war there was actually nothing that was meant for entertainment, people longed for a little distraction.”

Cinema in Thannhausen had around 200 seats after the war

Däubler’s idea was not new to the town and he had already gained experience in cinema operations. Since the early 1930s there has been a movie theater in the Schwanenwirt in the lower Marktstrasse, initially with around 100 seats. The “Lichtspiele Thannhausen” were created by Ottilie Kargl from Allach
Munich operated and played two days a week. It was there that Josef Däubler found out a few years earlier
Augsburg moved to Thannhausen to work as a projectionist. Shortly before the start of the war, he took over the cinema and subsequently increased the space to around 200 seats.

When the operation there no longer met the safety requirements, he decided to build a new building. The venue in the Schwanenwirt also no longer corresponds to the increased number of residents in Thannhausen and the surrounding communities, said Däubler.

The architect also planned two movie theaters in Krumbach

In 1950, construction work finally began on the “Central Theater” at Ursberger Strasse 2, directly on the western bank of the Mindel. The architect was Ulrich Krumbach, who at the time also built the “New Film Theater” on the market square
Krumbach and a few years later planned the “Hürben Film Theater” in Karl-Mantel-Strasse.

In 1952 the first film was shown in the “Centraltheater.” Josef Däubler was actively supported by his wife Maria and, as he grew older, by his son Kurt. He finally completed an apprenticeship as a film salesman in Geiselgasteig.

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Unfortunately, Josef Däubler was unable to enjoy his “Central Theater” for long. He died in 1958 at the age of 59. With this, son Kurt and his wife Ursula finally entered the family business. Mother Maria Däubler continued to support the operation of the cinema. And with Jürgen Däubler, the son of Kurt and Ursula Däubler, the third generation was theoretically in the starting blocks. Even if he, born in 1957, only saw the cinema as a young boy, it was still a big adventure playground for him. “I remember the two huge film machines in the projection room, two huge things,” says Jürgen Däubler, who also still lives in Thannhausen today.

Back then, a film consisted of material that weighed around 30 kilos

During this time, the films arrived at the train station in Thannhausen by train. Every now and then Jürgen Däubler picked up the big black boxes with his bicycle trailer. Not an easy task, because a film consisted of several film roles and weighed a total of around 30 kilograms at the time.

Nevertheless, it took a lot of instinct in dealing with it. “At that time, the art of the projectionist consisted in fading the individual film roles in such a way that the viewer heard as little as possible,” remembers Jürgen Däubler. “It also happened that a film broke. Then it had to be quickly glued back together on a special table before the whistles from the audience got out of hand, ”adds Ursula Däubler. At that time, Jürgen Däubler found the Winnetou films to be an absolute highlight, where the seats in the cinema were nowhere near enough. “My parents had to set up additional folding chairs so that everyone could have a seat,” he recalls. And because everyone had their own specific task: Grandma Maria sold the tickets at the cash desk, father Kurt was the projectionist and mom Ursula usher.

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It could have continued like this if the cinema hadn’t had any competition. “With the advent of television for every household, it became increasingly difficult to run the cinema economically,” recalls Ursula Däubler. Audience figures fell sharply as early as the early 1960s – with serious consequences for the small family business: Kurt Däubler had to go looking for work in 1961.

The cinema was only a sideline. In 1967 the last curtain fell in the Centraltheater. “When only an average of 15 people came to the performances, it was time for us,” says Ursula Däubler. Due to the difficult financial situation, only the sale of the building remained. At least there were grateful customers for the two film machines: The St. Joseph Congregation in
Ursberg was able to acquire this and organized regular film screenings in the former theater hall in the house of St. Josef.

Part of the cinema seating was also used there. The “Centraltheater” was subsequently rebuilt several times, among other things served as a grocery and sports shop and now houses the House of Health. However, memories of a special epoch in Thannhauser’s history have remained. For example, when a down-to-earth Middle Swabian wanted to see the film “Klein-Millers-Toni”. “He meant the ‘Glen Miller Story'”, laughs Jürgen Däubler.

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