This elaborate two-part television film features a section from the life of communist worker leader Ernst Thälmann. It begins with the bloody riots on May 1, 1929 in Berlin, in which police officers shot at demonstrating workers, and ends with February 7, 1933, when Thälmann appeared as a speaker...
In November of 1939, the British consulate in Norway receives documents saying that the Nazis are conducting secret rocket research in Peenemünde. But the British doubt the authenticity of the so called "Oslo report". Thus, the Germans continue their experiments unimpeded. At the same time,...
Russian soldier Grisha escapes from a German prisoner-of-war camp in the spring of 1917. He is caught and is to be shot as a spy. This decision is controversial. The dispute continues. Grisha is executed on the orders of the army high command.
A dream becomes a nightmare: Shortly after the Iranian doctor Murath Tehrani and his German wife Claudia moved into a chic villa on the outskirts of Leipzig, threatening couple flutter into the house and Claudia is harassed by anonymous callers with xenophobic slogans. First, the woman tries to...
Erich Kasulke and Rudolf Portmann are comedian stars of the former GDR. When the Wall falls, so does their success. Portmann becomes a successful businessman, while Kasulke tries to continue working on the comedy circuit - without success. When his wife also cheats on him, he decides to start a new...
Josef Neumann has always been an outsider to society, and at the age of 30, he has already lived an adventurous life when he comes to the GDR. He was raised as a foundling by nuns, made an apprenticeship as a construction worker, went to the Foreign Legion, and was a seaman and a tramp. Now, he is...
The wedding of investment advisor Christian Zeiler to Katharina Buchheim, the daughter of a wealthy family, is just around the corner. On the eve of his wedding, his friends Victor and Paul treat him to a huge cake to say goodbye to his bachelorhood. When the enchanting Miriam jumps out of it,...
When the seven-year-old daughter of an architect falls ill with a rare but curable form of cancer, the family wants to give the child the best possible treatment. Unfortunately, they decide against chemotherapy in favor of a gentle natural remedy. When the hospital doctors notice that the child's...
The starting point of the story is a scandalous affair that took place in West Germany at the end of the 1950s. It began with the unexpected death of a member of the Bundestag who was known to the public as a well-paid lawyer and influential man in politics. What was not known, however, was that he...
After the Nazis take over political power in Germany, the father of Rosi and Hansi, a member of the communist party, must hide from the police. One thing he left behind is a watch which might contain a message.
Susanne and Christian get to know each other during a wonderful week in summer - and fall in love. This, however, leads to conflicts: up to now, Susanne has been living with Wolfgang, a biologist. This shared life was harmonious and based on mutual trust. Wolfgang is not only resolute and in full...
Boatman Ahrens from Hamburg has a sense of justice when it comes to finding a missing girl. He goes down illegal paths when he breaks into someone else's villa. He is caught by the millionaire entrepreneur Ofterdinger and his employee. It turns out that everything is connected to the death of a...
Teacher Ellen is fed up with her lame partner and colleague Horst. He teaches with such complacency! Ellen is different, she wants to inspire her pupils. No wonder the emancipated young woman turns down Horst's marriage proposal. She has also met someone new: the charming Brigadier Frank, finally a...
Melanie van der Straaten has the courage to separate from her wealthy, unloved husband and settle down with a new partner, defying all societal restrictions, in humble living circumstances. When her first husband blackmails her after the divorce with the children, Melanie faces her new life with...
Her brothers and fiancé are at war. In 1944, Marta struggles alone with her gardening business. One day, a deserter turns up at her house. What to do? Marta decides to keep Steiner with her. A life-threatening decision: military police scour the village...
By coincidence, a couple who have just fallen in love are targeted by the Russian mafia, who have made a deal with a shady Berlin businessman and a corrupt politician. When the young woman is kidnapped, her boyfriend sets off on a dangerous search for her.
Georg Brecher, journalist and casual writer, leads a report into the uranium mining of bismuth. Under the impression of hard work underground and the encounter with the mates, Brecher rethinks his previous life. Ulrich Thein's film was created in the context of cultural political balding after the...