Summary
Set against the backdrop of a fractured, post-Great War Europe, 'Der Weg, der zur Verdammnis führt, 2.Teil - Hyänen der Lust' functions as a harrowing sociological document disguised as a sensationalist melodrama. The narrative excavates the subterranean world of international human trafficking, specifically the 'white slavery' trade that ensnared vulnerable European women for export to South American brothels. Orchestrated by the 'Gesellschaft zur Bekämpfung des Mädchenhandels', the film follows a series of interlocking tragedies where innocent protagonists are lured by the 'Hyenas of Lust'—predatory intermediaries who exploit economic desperation and the promise of a better life. Through a lens of moral didacticism, the film traces the systematic stripping of agency from its female subjects, documenting their journey from domestic familiarity to the claustrophobic confines of overseas exploitation. It is a grim, flickering odyssey through the shadows of early 20th-century globalization, where human bodies are treated as mere commodities in a transcontinental marketplace of vice.
Synopsis
Film made in 1919 by the Gesellschaft zur Bekämpfung des Mädchenhandels [Society for the Struggle Against White Slavery or Society for the Prevention of Girl Trafficking (the translation can vary)] to inform the public about the trafficking of European girls and their impressment into prostitution (often in South America).
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