Der Fall der Mauer

The Ministry for State Security - Everyday life at a public authority

Former heads, senior officers and the rector of the MfS law school explain how the ministry functioned. The interviewees see themselves as legitimate actors with a clear mandate and political enemy image. They provide an insight into the techniques and routines of secret service work, psychological tricks during interrogations and the management of “unofficial collaborators”. What they all have in common is that they are not aware of any moral guilt. The directors contrast their footage of prisons and archives with the statements of former Stasi employees in an attempt to expose their evasions and efforts at suppression.

Geheimsache Mauer - Die Geschichte einer deutschen Grenze

Germany in the summer of 1961 - the "Iron Curtain" divides the country. Only in Berlin is the border still permeable. West Berlin is the open wound of the GDR. Until August 13, 1961, a summer Sunday that would divide the world into a before and an after. 2011 marks the 50th anniversary of the day on which the division of Berlin cemented the division of Germany and Europe for more than two and a half decades. The docu-drama "Geheimsache Mauer - Die Geschichte einer deutschen Grenze" by Christoph Weinert and Jürgen Ast tells the story of the Berlin Wall and the inner-German border from a new, unusual perspective: from the point of view of those who planned, built and guarded it. The film takes the viewer behind the scenes of the Wall builders: it reveals the "concreted" thinking and calculating calculations of the Wall strategists - and their secret plans to perfect the deadly border further and further.

Kalter Krieg der Konzerte - Wie Bruce Springsteen den Osten rockte

Berlin, summer 1988: While Michael Jackson and Pink Floyd perform in the West, East Berliners can look forward to Bruce Springsteen, Depeche Mode and James Brown. The documentary reveals how the organizers enforced the concerts with the state authorities. On the anniversary of the fall of the Wall.

Das HB-Männchen in seinen besten Spots

Goldrausch - Die Geschichte der Treuhand

In the early summer of 1990, the Treuhandanstalt was founded to privatize the "state-owned" companies of the GDR. In the four years that followed, around 4,000 of these companies were closed and around two and a half million jobs were lost. Until its closure at the end of 1994, the Treuhandanstalt incured debts totaling 256 billion marks - the equivalent of around 150 million marks every day. The Treuhand also allowed itself to be cheated out of many billions of marks. This scandal was never fully investigated. Most of the perpetrators went unpunished or were not even charged.

Das Ende des Politburos

On October 18, 1989, the SED Central Committee confirms the dismissal of Erich Honecker. The documentary tells the story of the last months of the Politburo, of the demise of the GDR's most important organ of power, from spring 1989 to early 1990.

Just Don't Think I'll Cry

High-school senior Peter considers the adults around him to be hypocritical, self-congratulatory, and immersed in the past. He gets suspended for writing an essay that his teachers consider to be a challenge to the state. Just Don't Think I'll Cry became one of twelve films and film projects-almost an entire year's production-that were banned in 1965-1966 due to their alleged anti-socialist aspects. Although scenes and dialogs were altered and the end was reshot twice, officials condemned this title as "particularly harmful." In 1989, cinematographer Ost restored the original version, and this and most of the other banned films were finally screened in January 1990. Belatedly, they were acclaimed as masterpieces of critical realism.

The Benthin Family

The brothers Theo and Gustav Benthin pull profits through smuggling in divided Germany: Theo in the West and Gustav in the East. The East German police catch on quickly, however, and Gustav is arrested. The small band of smugglers disperses, with Gustav’s chauffer Peter Naumann fleeing to the West and his sister choosing the East after struggling to find work and lodging in the West.

Nebelnacht

When a motorcyclist dies in an accident, lieutenant Kreutzer and his colleague Arnold receive the order to investigate the backgrounds of this mysterious case. Although the leads point to murder, head physician Dr. Nikolai, the driver of the car involved in the accident, maintains his innocence and even has an alibi. With a lot of arduous detail work, Kreutzer follows all leads and evidence. Both Nikolai’s colleagues and his son act suspiciously. Eventually, Kreutzer convicts the criminal who secretly used the physician’s car for his criminal dealings.

Außenseiter

Paul Schulte takes a spa stay on the Baltic Sea to have his heart condition treated. His wife Barbara accompanies him and finds interest in the valuable art objects in a nearby church. Together with her accomplice and lover Klaus Grunow, she plans to break into the church. But Paul Schulte sees through his wife's plans and tries to dissuade her. One morning, Paul Schulte is found dead.

Ware für Katalonien

At the end of the 1950s, the production of optics in the German Democratic Republic has reached top quality and instigates interest in the West. When national demand rises strongly and at the same time the export to South America heavily decreases, the Volkspolizei - the GDR police force - starts to look into the case. Two seemingly unrelated cases are the starting point for the investigation by second lieutenant Schellenberg of the department for optics racketeering: An old woman who was arrested in the Berlin city railway for trying to smuggle a pair of binoculars to West Berlin, and a dead person in an area of allotments who was involved in obscure dealings with optical devices.

Seine Hoheit – Genosse Prinz

Kasper Mai, an export merchant and comrade with a “clean” record, discovers he is the prince of Hohenlohe-Liebenstein. His royal grandmother designates him as the heir to her estate. A private trip to her reveals that she does not want a NATO airbase built on her land. The GDR and his grandmother thus find a common interest, and a clever lawyer from the East works against other family members looking to settle their debts with the estate money.

Hart am Wind

The electrician Peter Drews is a brigadier at a Baltic Sea dockyard. His men are among the most reliable and diligent workers at the dockyard. Their motivation, however, increasingly suffers from Peter’s narcissism and imperiousness. Even his girlfriend Brigitte who is also a member of the brigade finds it increasingly difficult to accept his behavior. One day, Peter decides that the entire group must enter the navy - just because he has received his conscription call. While four men follow Peter into the navy, Brigitte, who has broken up with Peter, takes over the control of the brigade. During the work at the ship on which Peter is based at she meets the charming lieutenant Asmus.

… verdammt, ich bin erwachsen

15-year old Klaus Kambor, called Kurbel, is living in a village in Lusatia and already thinks of himself as an adult. He can hold a lot of rhubarb wine and has already kissed a girl. But with his new method of lawn mowing, which he thinks is brilliant, Klaus makes a big mistake: He causes a wild fire in the forest. Then he does not react adult-like at all, but shirks the responsibility, which leads to the break-up with his girlfriend Daniela. Furthermore, Klaus does not realize that several of the places he likes the most in his environment are now going to be sacrificed to mining. When Klaus becomes friends with the teacher Konzak and with the construction worker Jule, he feels understood for the first time and starts to take more responsibility.

Pugowitza

World War II is over and Heinrich, a young German boy, influenced by the Russians, starts to act according to Communist principles in a small German village.

The Boy with the Big Black Dog

A little boy tries to keep a huge Newfoundland dog in his family's apartment.