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...
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 Berlin Volkseigene Betrieb (VEB) Komet is planning a company outing. Willi Redlich, member of the party committee, votes like the others: The relatives stay at home. But he doesn't dare tell his wife Susanne. So she does the work of renting the "Waldschlösschen" restaurant for him - without...
The magnificent cow Senta has escaped from an LPG. Matuschek, a single farmer, joins the search. However, the valuable animal is not found and is believed to have strayed across the border into Poland. Meanwhile, Senta is in Matuschek's barn. His maid Mathilde and neighbor Dattelmann have captured...
Carola has been running the family-owned circus alone since her husband’s death, but she suddenly finds herself at odds with her three adult sons who are also performance artists and want to have a say in how the business is run. The family discord leads Carola to turn her back on the circus,...
Kurt Kars, the young, enthusiastic but rather inexperienced captain of a fishing vessel, lets his ambition drive him into a risky venture. According to a newspaper report, there are excellent fishing grounds in the Arctic Ocean. Against the orders of the combine, he heads for them. A collision with...
Berlin 1849: The democrat Adolf Glasbrenner, known as Brennglas, publishes the political satire magazine "Phosphor" on a shoestring budget. He plans to marry his lover, the actress Adele Peroni. But the plan comes to a standstill when Adele is to make a guest appearance at the reactionary Royal...
On a pasture in Bavaria, an ox frightens members of the American occupying forces. Farmer Alois, the owner of the animal, is sentenced to thirty days in prison for this "political" offense. While Alois begins his sentence, the ox runs riot in the prison yard. No one can tame him, and all the...
