This film is the second of a two-part historical and biographical portrait of the communist politician and anti-fascist Ernst Thälmann. Autumn, 1918: Somewhere on Germany’s western front, Ernst Thälmann, age twenty-four, is calling on his fellow soldiers to put down their guns and join him in...
This film is the first of a two-part historical and biographical portrait of the communist politician and anti-fascist Ernst Thälmann. In early November 1918, Ernst Thälmann is an unwilling soldier serving on the western front. As the revolutionary movement at home is threatened by the betrayal...
The authorities expect the case of Friedel Walter, alias "Dr. Mueller," to be a straightforward one: he was working as a doctor without proper credentials under a false name. But Mehlin, the man in charge of his case, knows that there is more to the story. When he was injured fleeing from a...
The soldier Martin has been relocated to a small border village in Thuringia. During a storm, he comes to the rescue of Renate, a farmer′s daughter. The two young people fall in love, thereby upsetting Renate′s father who has already promised his daughter to the son of the big farmer Grabow....
It is the 65th birthday of Wilhelm Lehmann, foreman of a chemical company. All members of the large family are expected. Preparations are also being made in the company: Wilhelm is to be awarded the »Labor banner« and, as every year, the sons are responsible for the may bowl. But instead of...
Lifelong hard work for the count makes the servant Anton a cripple. Everybody calls him Crooked Anton. When, after the end of the war, the land of the count gets divided amongst the farmers, Anton receives a piece and hopes to be able to work freely. But an old debt and intrigue keep Anton and his...
Set during the Thirty Years' War between 1624 and 1636, film tells the story of the sutler Anna Fierling, known as Mother Courage, who tries to make her fortune from the war and loses her three children in the process.
Krestan Serbin, a 64-year-old Sorbian farm-worker, considers himself non-political. He owns a few acres, a few pigs and a cow, and intends to pass all this on to his daughter Lena. Lena, however, shows only little interest. Krestan’s situation becomes more difficult when he is meant to become...
Mid-1950s Berlin, before the building of the Wall. Uschi, a salesgirl and aspiring fashion model from the East, is attracted to Hans, from the West. But she also loves the bright shop windows in his part of the city. The flashiness of this new world soon evaporates, however, when Hans loses his job.
The two half-orphans Reni and Rolf are 13 and 10 years old and they live with their grandmother in Berlin. Their father has died during the war, their mother works at a Baltic Sea port. Here she meets a captain who wants to marry her. When their mother tells them about the planned wedding, Reni and...
A humorous and satirical comedy, which places a man from the year 2222 one day in the (then) present day life in GDR, East Germany under Communist regime. Using a crystal for mind reading he uncovers some improprieties and moral weaknesses in the "Beautiful future" professed by VEB ("Volkseigener...
A car factory in the GDR. During a test ride there is a major accident. One driver is dead, another is seriously injured. The investigation reveals: sabotage.
Rudi Prange is released from prison for good behavior. He gets a job in a transport unit but gets involuntarily involved in a smuggling business by a colleague. When two police officers are gun down Rudi becomes the main suspect.
Two boys from West Berlin, Klaus and Max, live in poverty. They dream of a career in boxing and save every penny in order to buy boxing gloves for training. Nevertheless, they cannot seem to save enough and so they let themselves be hired by the bartender Klott for a twisted scheme. However, Klaus...
In a small town, a brigade is working on the construction of a new cultural center. Gerhard loves Karin, the daughter of brigadier Franz, who is not thrilled with the prospective son-in-law. Under the influence of his colleague "Boxer", who wants to go to a big city with him, Gerhard neglects his...
A refugee from a Nazi concentration camp is discovered by some boys in WWII Berlin. They provide him with food and help him to continue his flight. Later one of the boys, the son of a communist, is charged with theft, arrested and sent to a concentration camp.
The young medical student Klaus Bach has married the love of his life, Irene, and lives with her and their eternally screaming offspring in a small one-room apartment in his parents' house. So things are tight and everyone's nerves are on edge. What's more, the parents' well-intentioned advice is...
Frieda and August Walkowiak celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. However, the marriage has been in crisis for some time. August wants to spend his old age in peace, while Frieda has no intention of giving up her position as LPG chairman. The problems in the countryside are huge,...
