Films

On July 18, 1984, US army veteran James Huberty killed 21 people and injured 19 others in a McDonald's restaurant in San Diego, the largest mass shooting in North America at that time. This documentary intercuts live television reports about the shooting with footage from the Vietnam War, suggest

GDR, 14 min., color

...and Consider the End

...und bedenkt das Ende (1983)

Director: Friedrich, Lothar

A group of people with ever-increasing greed and increasing opportunities for power to match.

GDR, color

And Everyone Had a Name

...und jeder hatte einen Namen (1974)

Director: Jentsch, Gerhard

This documentary about the Buchenwald concentration camp features interviews with survivors who describe their memories and experiences.

GDR, 48 min., color/b&w

And Fridays at the Green Hell

"...und freitags in die Grüne Hölle (1989)

Director: Cantzler, Ernst

Riots in front of and inside stadiums, massive clashes with opposing fan groups and fights with the police are common sights at East German soccer games. On the trains to the games or on the streets, the public is often frightened by soccer hooligans and their rivalries.

GDR, 49 min., color

And Havana Too: Solidarity and Heimat in the Cold War

(2010)

Director: Hosek, Jennifer

In this filmed conversation, illustrated by clips from the film, Cuban scholars and public intellectuals Maria Caridad Cumaná González and Rafael Hernández discuss Frank Vogel's 1962 co-production And Your Love T

Germany/Canada, 22 min., color

And Yet It Moves

"...und sie bewegt sich doch (1978)

Director: Tetzlaff, Kurt

This film follows the creation of Bertolt Brecht's Life of Galileo. Brecht finished his first draft of the play in three weeks in November 1938, while in exile in Denmark.

GDR, 32 min., b&w

And Your Love Too

... und deine Liebe auch (1962)

Director: Vogel, Frank

On August 13th, 1961–the night the Berlin Wall goes up–three people must make a decision that will change their lives forever"¦

GDR, 92 min., b&w

Angel Wagenstein: Art Is a Weapon

Angel Wagenstein: Art Is a Weapon (2017)

Director: Simon, Andrea

This provocative portrait of the Bulgarian-Jewish scriptwriter and novelist, Angel Wagenstein (1922-2023), offers a fresh perspective on the past century. It takes viewers down unfamiliar historical and ideological paths and revisits the revolutions of 1989 and after with a critical eye.

84 min., color/b&w

The Angkar

Die Angkar (1981)

The word "Angkar" means "organization" in the Khmer language and was a name used by the Communist Party of Cambodia during the Pol Pot Regime. The Angkar governed according to its own unwritten and often brutal rules.

GDR, 88 min., color/b&w

Animation Before Unification: 16 Shorts from East Germany

DEFA Animation Nr. 1 / Ohne Worte (1975)

Director: Georgi, Klaus
Hamacher, Sieglinde
Mißbach, Peter
Moser, Hans
Rasche, Marion
Rosié, Thomas
Sacher, Otto
Stützner, Lutz

By the time the DEFA Studio for Animation Film closed in 1992, it had produced more than 800 shorts in a wide variety of styles and techniques.

GDR, 57 min., color/b&w

Anniversary of a City: 750 Years of Rostock

Jubiläum einer Stadt — 750 Jahre Rostock (1968)

Director: Junge, Winfried

Images of the city of Rostock and its 750th anniversary celebration are set to a musical suite by Günter Kochen.

GDR, 24 min., color

Anton the Magician

Anton der Zauberer (1978)

Director: Reisch, Günter

Car mechanic Anton Grubske cunningly avoids being captured and taken to a POW camp in 1945. Upon returning to his village, he marries Liesel, the daughter of his former apprenticeship master, and takes over the workshop.

GDR, 101 min., color

Apaches

Apachen (1973)

Director: Kolditz, Gottfried

Based on original documents from the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), this film tells the story of the young warrior Ulzana, who is out to avenge the extermination of his tribe.

GDR, 94 min., color

Aparcoa

Gruppe Aparcoa (1977)

Director: Steinheisser, Jürgen

A portrait of the Latin American folkloric music ensemble Aparcoa, which was formed in Chile in 1965. The group went into exile and settled in Rostock, East Germany, in 1974.

GDR, 6 min., color

Apartheid, No!

Apartheid, No! (1974)

Director: Weschke, Günter

A report on the meeting of the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid that took place in East Berlin from March 24 — 29, 1974. Conference discussions make apparent that many states, especially socialist countries, show their solidarity and support in eliminating racism and apartheid.

GDR, 32 min., b&w

Apprehension

Die Beunruhigung (1981)

Director: Warneke, Lothar

Inge (Christine Schorn) is an attractive and independent divorcée with a teenage son. She works as a psychologist and has a relationship with a married man. But after a routine check-up, Inge receives an unexpected call from her doctor.

GDR, 96 min., b&w

The Architects

Die Architekten (1990)

Director: Kahane, Peter

Daniel, a young and enthusiastic architect, has high hopes as he pulls a team together to design a vibrant community space for a new housing development.

GDR, 97 min., color

The Arctic Sea Calls

Das Eismeer ruft (1983)

Director: Foth, Jörg

In early 1934, the Soviet exploration steamship "Chelyuskin" is ice-bound in Arctic waters, where the crew has finally managed to escape onto the ice. In a Prague neighborhood, five children hear the news on their self-made radio and decide to rescue the crew.

GDR, 78 min., color

Arnold Zweig

Arnold Zweig (1962)

Director: Huisken, Joop

This last filmic portrait of Arnold Zweig (1887-1968) retells important events in the author's life: his childhood; WWI; his emigration to Czechoslovakia, France, and later Palestine during WWII; his return to Germany in 1948 and his involvement in the communist system.

GDR, 19 min., b&w

Arnstadt: Year of Birth 704

Geburtsjahr 704 — Arnstadt (1987)

A documentary about the GDR's oldest city, Arnstadt, which was founded in 704. The film describes the historical significance of Arnstadt, its museums—including the Bach Museum—and the noble families who once governed there.

GDR, 21 min., color/b&w

ART | WORK: Six Shorts

(n/a)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

Throughout his creative life, artist and filmmaker Jürgen Böttcher explored the theme of art and artists. This DVD includes six filmic milestones on this topic.

GDR, 143 min., b&w

Art Unleashed: Experiments on Film by Lutz Dammbeck

(1978)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

This 2-DVD set with a collection of five early short films made by German director and media artist Lutz Dammbeck introduces the formative period of an artist who remains one of Germany's boldest and most innovative creators.

GDR/Germany, 132 min., color/b&w

Artist of the People: John Heartfield

Künstler des Volkes (1959)

Director: Hübel, Wernfried

A celebration of the important graphic artist John Heartfield (1891-1968) that covers the main phases of his life and is interspersed with images of the artist's key works.

GDR, 17 min., b&w

ARTS in EXILE

KUNST im EXIL (n/a)

Director: Angella, Giovanni
d'Bomba, Jörg
Huisken, Joop
Koepp, Volker
Mund, Karlheinz
Schreiber, Eduard
Steiner, Roland

Presented here are nine short films that feature: film director Slatan Dudow; actor Martin Brandt; authors Erich Fried, Erich Weinert, and Arnold Zweig; photographer Walter Ballhause; cartoonist Leo Haas; and journalist Egon Erwin Kisch.

GDR, 204 min., color/b&w

Artur Pohl: An Unknown Classic

Artur Pohl — Ein unbekannter Klassiker (1994)

Director: Kasten, Ullrich
Schenk, Ralf

This documentary portrait of the director Artur Pohl is part of a series of documentaries on DEFA filmmakers by director Ullrich Kasten.

NOTE: This film is currently only available as part of our non-circulating research collection.

Germany, 30 min., color/b&w

As Long as There Is Life in Me

Solange Leben in mir ist (1965)

Director: Reisch, Günter

In 1914, Germany is arming itself for war. Karl Liebknecht, left-wing revolutionary Social Democrat, workers' leader and a virulent antimilitarist, is one among 110 SPD members of Parliament who vote against approving war loans.

GDR, 113 min., b&w

The Ascending Path

Der Weg nach oben (1950)

Director: Gass, Karl
Thorndike, Andrew

This documentary juxtaposes events in the immediate postwar East and West Germanies to draw a picture of the developing Cold War politics.

GDR, 81 min., b&w

The Ascent of Chimborazo

Die Besteigung des Chimborazo (1989)

Director: Simon, Rainer

In 1802, young Alexander von Humboldt led a scientific expedition to Chimborazo in Ecuador, which was thought to be the highest mountain in the world.

GDR/FRG, 93 min., color

At Home in Schulzendorf

Zu Hause in Schulzendorf (1984)

This documentary about youth in Schulzendorf, a small town in the northeast of the GDR, features commentary from town residents. The film emphasizes the ways in which children, teenagers and young adults are integrated into the life of this rural community.

GDR, 21 min., color

At the Ditch

Am Wassergraben (1978)

This film revisits the My Lai Massacre after ten years, including a reconstruction of the events, survival stories of victims left for dead, and the subsequent life of US military officer William Calley, who was put on trial and found guilty for his role in the massacre.

GDR, 16 min., color

Atkins

Atkins (1985)

Director: Trimpert, Helge

At the turn of the twentieth century in the US, Tom Atkins, a woodsman and a trapper, leaves the city to return to the isolation of life in a mountain valley. He encounters a group of Native Americans who have run away from a reservation and have also sought refuge there.

GDR, 90 min., color

Auguste the Christmas Goose

Die Weihnachtsgans Auguste (1984)

Director: Rätz, Günter

The opera singer Luitpold Löwenhaupt buys a goose to roast for Christmas dinner– a month early, in November! His children have other plans for the goose, whom they name Auguste or "Gustje"; they want to keep Gustje as a pet and playmate.

GDR, 23 min., color

The Axe of Wandsbek

Das Beil von Wandsbek (1951)

Director: Harnack, Falk

Hamburg, Germany 1934: An executioner is needed. Teetjen (Erwin Geschonneck) makes the biggest mistake of his life. Because his butcher shop is facing bankruptcy, he agrees to execute a group of political prisoners for the Nazis. Once this becomes known, Teetjen's life falls apart.

GDR, 111 min., b&w

Back in Wittstock

Wieder in Wittstock (1976)

Director: Geier, Wolfgang
Koepp, Volker

The second installment in the Wittstock series follows Wittstock Girls and its protagonists, three young women who work together at a textile plant.

GDR, 22 min., b&w

Baghdad

Bagdad (1958)

Director: Landvogt, Wolfgang

On July 14, 1958, the Iraqi government, which had close ties to the United States and Great Britain, was ousted in a military coup and the royal family and the prime minister were killed.

GDR, 8 min., b&w

Bailing Out

Kaskade rückwärts (1983)

Director: Gusner, Iris

Maja, a single mother in her thirties, leads a very practical and steady life until she decides to risk it all: She quits her job, sells her country home, and moves to the city with her daughter, where she starts looking for a new job and new connections.

GDR, 94 min., color

The Baldheaded Gang

Die Glatzkopfbande (1962)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

In August 1961, the former Foreign Legionnaire King and his gang of guys are rabble-rousers. After working on a construction site, the gang moves to a campground on the Baltic Sea, unaware that their shoddy work will lead to two deaths.

GDR, 77 min., b&w

Banal Days

Banale Tage (1990)

Director: Welz, Peter

East Berlin, late 1970s. Thomas is a toolmaker apprentice with a working-class background and Michael is a high school student from an educated middle-class family.

GDR, 92 min., color

Banquet for Achilles

Bankett für Achilles (1975)

Director: Gräf, Roland

Karl Achilles has worked at the Bitterfeld chemical combine for 30 years. Having helped build the plant since the end of WWII, he will now retire at the age of 65. Achilles intends to spend more time with his family and to cultivate his garden.

GDR, 88 min., color

The Banner of Kriwoj Rog

Die Fahne von Kriwoj Rog (1965)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt

In an act of friendship and solidarity between two mining towns in 1929, the locals of Kriwoj Rog, Russia, give their flag as a gift to the locals of Bergstedt, Germany.

GDR, 105 min., b&w

Barefoot and Without a Hat

Barfuß und ohne Hut (1964)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

Friendship, fun and contemplation characterize the lives of a group of twenty-year-olds who spend their summer vacation in Prerow on the Baltic Sea. In brief interviews, they discuss their past achievements, future plans, dreams and perspectives.

GDR, 26 min., b&w

Basic Need, or Working Is Fun

Lebensbedürfnis oder: Arbeit macht Spaß (1988)

Director: Hamacher, Sieglinde

A man energetically crushes stones into gravel with a hammer, while in another part of the workshop, a woman forms gravel into stone blocks with equal enthusiasm.

GDR, 3 min., color

Battle on Canvas

Schlacht am Bild (1988)

Director: Tetzke, Ted (Detlef)

In 1987, after over ten years of work, Werner Tübke (1929-2004), one of East Germany's most important painters, completed the monumental, oil-on-canvas painting The Early Bourgeois Revolution in Germany.

GDR, 21 min., color

The Bat Squadron

Geschwader Fledermaus (1958)

Director: Engel, Erich

An American transport squadron lead by former General Lee (Wolfgang Heinz) is being well-paid to provide air support to the French colonial army in Vietnam.

GDR, 98 min., b&w

Bauhaus Dessau

Bauhaus Dessau 1926-1932 (1989)

Director: Engelhardt, Martin

This documentary film looks at the Bauhaus Dessau, one of the most innovative and elite schools for architecture. The film chronicles the school's establishment in Weimar, its relocation to Dessau, and its eventual closure by the Third Reich in 1932.

GDR, 8 min., color

Bear Ye One Another's Burden...

Einer trage des anderen Last (1988)

Director: Warneke, Lothar

Two roommates in a private sanatorium in early-1950s East Germany are extremely different from one another. Josef is a communist policeman, while Hubertus is a Lutheran vicar. While Josef reads The Communist Manifesto, Hubertus prepares his sermon.

GDR, 118 min., color

Beauty & Decay

Schönheit & Vergänglichkeit (2019)

Director: Hendel, Annekatrin

The story of three artists with a shared history in the rebellious and creative East German youth scene of the 1980s. Their careers have been marked by their radicalism and openness, as well as their unorthodox and multifaceted view of the world.

Germany, 79 min., color

Beauty and the Beast

Die Schöne und das Tier (1976)

Director: Georgi, Katja

A man is left alone with his young daughter, Belle, after his wife dies in childbirth. One day, after many years, the man finds himself caught in the middle of a storm. He is thrown from his horse and wakes to find himself in a castle.

GDR, 24 min., color

The Bear-Skinned Man

Der Bärenhäuter (1986)

Director: Beck, Walter

Christoffel returns from war to find that his house reduced to rubble and his parents dead. He makes a pact with the devil out of desperation.

GDR, 82 min., color

The Beautiful Lurette

Die schöne Lurette (1960)

Director: Kolditz, Gottfried

The beautiful and charming laundress Lurette is a well sought-after young woman in Ludwig XV's Paris. Her heart is already taken, however, and she makes elaborate plans during Carnival to obtain the man she truly loves, the carpenter Campistrel.

GDR, 80 min., color

The Beaver Coat

Der Biberpelz (1949)

Director: Engel, Erich

Mother Wolffen, a washerwoman, is a woman of principle: A poor man must do what he must to get through life, only he mustn't get caught doing it. All sorts of crooked deals contribute to the improvement of the daily menu and the increase of household funds.

GDR, b&w

Because Everything Moves, My Friend

denn alles bewegt sich, mein Freund (1987)

Director: Schober, Donat

Actors Arno Wyzniewski and Ekkehard Schall and director Manfred Wekwerth, all members of the Berliner Ensemble, talk about Bertolt Brecht's theater theories and methods, which made him one of the most important twentieth-century playwrights and directors, both in Germany and internationally.

GDR, 31 min., color

Becoming Black

(2019)

Director: Johnson-Spain, Ines

A white couple living in East Germany in the 1960s, tells their Black child that her skin color is purely by chance and has no meaning. This is also what the girl believes, until she accidentally discovers the truth as a teenager.

Germany, 91 min., color

Beethoven — Days in a Life

Beethoven — Tage aus einem Leben (1976)

Director: Seemann, Horst

Vienna, 1813-1819: Beethoven (played by Donatas Banionis) is at the peak of his fame. Orchestras all over the world play his music, but he lives modestly and is dependent upon private patrons.

GDR, 104 min., color

Beethoven Duet

Ludwig van Beethoven; Beethoven — Tage aus einem Leben (n/a)

Director: Jaap, Max
Seemann, Horst

This DVD presents two films on Ludwig van Beethoven, one of Germany's best-known composers, which were produced by the DEFA Studios over 20 years apart.

GDR, 202 min., color

Belief, Love, Hope

Glaube, Liebe, Hoffnung (1993)

Director: Voigt, Andreas

Andreas Voigt's fourth documentary shot on the streets of Leipzig follows a group of radical young people in the winter of 1992—93. The changes in the city are striking: splendid new malls; many unemployed people; and despairing, angry youth for whom violence has become commonplace.

GDR, 88 min., b&w

Bellboy Ed Martin

Hotelboy Ed Martin (1955)

Director: Bieber, Karl-Heinz
Kahler, Ernst

Ed Martin witnesses a murder at the American hotel where he works.

GDR, 82 min., b&w

Belly and Soul

Bauch und Seele (1988/1988)

Director: Georgi, Klaus

An official function includes a piano concert. The pianist pours his soul into his performance, but the audience wants more than spiritual sustenance.

GDR, 8 min., color

Beloved White Mouse

Geliebte weiße Maus (1964)

Director: Kolditz, Gottfried

Helene rides her motor scooter by Fritz, the "White Mouse," every morning as he directs traffic through the intersection. Though he yields the right-of-way to her often, they have never spoken and she wants more than his friendly gesture.

GDR, 76 min., color

The Benthin Family

Familie Benthin (1950)

Director: Dudow, Slatan
Maetzig, Kurt

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.

GDR, 95 min., b&w

A Berlin Romance

Eine Berliner Romanze (1956)

Director: Klein, Gerhard

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.

GDR, 81 min., b&w

Berlin — Schönhauser Corner

Berlin — Ecke Schönhauser (1957)

Director: Klein, Gerhard

They are East Berlin teenagers. They want to be free–to dance to rock'n'roll, trade forbidden western goods and get away from the constraints of their parents and the state. This classic 1950's teen cult film became a box-office hit and was greeted with suspicion by East German officials.

GDR, 82 min., b&w

Berlin Around the Corner

Berlin um die Ecke (1966/1990)

Director: Klein, Gerhard

Berlin in the 1960s. Olaf (Dieter Mann) and Horst (Kaspar Eichel) are two young metalworkers, who provoke their older colleagues with critiques of the antiquated equipment and lack of materials...

GDR, 83 min., b&w

Berlin Today

Berlin heute (1966)

Director: Hadaschik, Joachim

East Berlin is presented as an international city with modern possibilities for work and family life. In addition to tourist attractions and daily life, the film depicts the military parade for Labor Day on May 1 as well as the SED 20th anniversary celebration.

GDR, 28 min., color/b&w

Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg: Encounters between May 1 and July 1, 1990

BERLIN — PRENZLAUER BERG — Begegnungen zwischen dem 1. Mai und dem 1. Juli 1990 (1990)

Director: Tschörtner, Petra

The Prenzlauer Berg band Herbst in Peking plays at an abandoned strip of the Berlin Wall and sings "We need a revolution. The system ain't gonna change, unless we make it change." This 1987 song accompanied the changes in the GDR, but at this point, this country is already almost history!

Germany, 75 min., b&w

Bertolt Brecht: Reflections on the Root of Evil

Bertolt Brecht — Nachdenken über die Wurzel des Übels (1985)

Director: Petersen, Peter

This documentary about renowned (East) German poet, playwright, and theater direct Bertold Brecht discusses the importance of his works in the social and political context of post-war Germany.

GDR, 29 min., b&w

The Best Years

Die besten Jahre (1965)

Director: Rücker, Günther

In 1945, the young Ernst Machner (Horst Drinda) returns home to start a new life. Although he would like to weave for a living, his comrades persuade him to become a teacher instead.

GDR, 100 min., b&w

The Bicycle

Das Fahrrad (1981)

Director: Schmidt, Evelyn

Susanne is a young, single mother who lives a somewhat alternative, unstructured lifestyle. After quitting her job, she finds herself in trouble financially and attempts a minor insurance fraud to make ends meet.

GDR, 89 min., color

Big Wide World

Große weite Welt (1997)

Director: Voigt, Andreas

The fifth installment in Andreas Voigt's Leipzig series builds on and summarizes a decade of documentary filmmaking. Voigt revisits the protagonists from his earlier films in order to depict their lives in a reunified Germany and what became of their plans and beliefs following the Wende.

Germany, 90 min., color/b&w

Biology!

Biologie! (1990)

Director: Foth, Jörg

In a small East German town shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Ulla, a sensitive and principled 10th-grader, meets computer-obsessed Winfried, son of a chemical plant manager.

GDR, 89 min., color

Bird of the Night

Vogel der Nacht (1985)

Director: Wiemer, Christl

The Chinese emperor has many concubines but only truly loves his first wife. When a jealous concubine learns that a child will be born to the emperor, she tries to remove her rival with a magic potion.

GDR, 21 min., color

Black Panthers

Schwarze Panther (1966)

Director: Mach, Josef

Seventeen-year-old Martina has a paralyzing fear of heights, which prevents her from fulfilling her father's wish that they perform a tightrope act together. As she is quite taken with the black panthers in the circus, as well as their trainer Dittrich, she decides to be an animal trainer instea

GDR, 83 min., color

Black Velvet

Schwarzer Samt (1963)

Director: Thiel, Heinz

The state security service has found out about a plot against the GDR and Officer Alexander Berg (Fred Delmare) is assigned to investigate.

GDR, 80 min., b&w

The Black Fortress

Die schwarze Burg (1987)

Director: Eckhold, Barbara

When Martin returns from war, he finds that nothing is the way it once was in his village. He watches the few remaining villagers leave offerings in the town square for a giant monster and learns that whoever has nothing left for the monster is turned into stone.

GDR/CSSR, 17 min., color

The Black Galley

Die schwarze Galeere (1962)

Director: Hellberg, Martin

Jan and Myga are ten years old when their city, Antwerp, falls again to the invading Spanish army at the end of the 16th century. Jan follows his father into exile.

GDR, 94 min., b&w

The Black Star

Der schwarze Stern (1965)

Director: Hellwig, Joachim

A cinema-verité documentary of Ghana's five years of independence under President Kwame Nkruma. Striking color images of Africans in modern-day jobs, such as airline pilot and construction worker, predominate, with little voice-over.

GDR, 36 min., color

Blond Tango

Blonder Tango (1985)

Director: Warneke, Lothar

Rogelio was forced into exile by the Chilean military Junta after serving time in the Antofagasta prison camp. For five years, he has lived as a Chilean exile in the GDR, where he works as a lighting technician at a small local theater.

GDR, 119 min., color

Blood Brothers

Blutsbrüder (1975)

Director: Wallroth, Werner W.

Harmonika, an American deserter, is captured by a tribe of Indians, who believe he has murdered the wife and child of their chief Grey Elk. It is the chief himself who sets the American free, and Harmonika stays with the tribe and gradually wins their friendship.

GDR, 94 min., color

Blue Bandanas in the Summer Wind

Blaue Wimpel im Sommerwind (1952)

Director: Ballmann, Herbert

A picture of GDR youth–as party and state would have it. After summer vacation in 1952, selected Young Pioneers gather at the first national convention of the Young Pioneers, the children's division of the Free German Youth (FDJ).

GDR, 56 min., color

Blue Bird

Blauvogel (1979)

Director: Weiß, Ulrich

In the middle of the 18th century, the Ruster family immigrates to the United States and lead a hard life as settlers.

GDR, 96 min., color

The Blue Light

Das blaue Licht (1976)

Director: Gusner, Iris

Hans served his king faithfully as a soldier. But now, cheated out of his pay, he is returning home. A witch heals his wounds and demands in return that he fetches the blue light from the dried-up well.

GDR, 79 min., color

The Blue Swords

Die blauen Schwerter (1949)

Director: Schleif, Wolfgang

The story of Johann Friedrich Böttger, an apothecary's apprentice and alchemist's assistant. Fleeing from the Prussian King, he goes to Saxony, where King Frederick August the Strong takes him to a fortress and demands that he create gold.

GDR, 96 min., b&w

The Blum Affair

Affaire Blum (1948)

Director: Engel, Erich

Dr. Blum, a Jewish manufacturer, is falsely accused of a murder. Even when the real killer's identity becomes evident, the state prosecutor refuses to accept Blum's innocence.

Germany, 105 min., b&w

Bolero

Bolero (1986)

Director: Hamacher, Sieglinde

A white rooster knows his white hen is having an affair when she starts laying multicolored eggs. Even though he keeps a careful watch, he is unable to catch her with the colorful Spanish rooster.

GDR, 7 min., color

Born in '45

Jahrgang 45 (1966/1990)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

Alfred and Lisa decide to divorce after only a couple of months of marriage. Alfred takes a few days off to clear his head, riding through Berlin and meeting strangers; although he ultimately returns to Lisa, the ending remains open.

GDR, 93 min., b&w

The Border Crossing

Der Übergang (1978)

Director: Lübbert, Orlando

In 1973, shortly after the military Junta coup in Chile, three men–the worker Carlos, the student Juan and the government official Lorenzo–tried to escape to Argentina over the Andes. Along the way, they witness the murder of a farmer by Chilean policemen.

GDR, 78 min., color

Bosun on the Ice Floe

Bootsmann auf der Scholle (1962)

Director: Krauße, Werner

On a cold winter day, Jochen, Uwe and Kathrin play with a little dog called Bosun on the beach. Jochen wants to try out the ice and he walks further and further away from the beach. Bosun follows him. Suddenly the ice breaks and Bosum drifts away on an ice floe.

GDR, 18 min., color

The Boy with the Big Black Dog

Der Junge mit dem großen schwarzen Hund (1985)

Director: (Neupert) Unterberg, Hannelore

Ten-year-old Ulf finds an ownerless Newfoundland dog, brings him home and names him Nepomuk. His parents are not so excited about the new addition to the family and give Nepomuk to an animal shelter.

GDR, 75 min., color

The Brasch Family

Familie Brasch (2018)

Director: Hendel, Annekatrin

Brasch–a legendary name that represents one of the most sensational German families.

Germany, 100 min., color

The Brave Little Tailor

Das tapfere Schneiderlein (1964)

Director: Weiler, Kurt

The little tailor is eating some delicious plum butter while he sews, but the smell attracts a swarm of flies. The tailor swats at them, killing seven at once. He is so impressed by this act that he makes himself a sash with the motto "Seven With One Blow."

GDR, 31 min., color

Bread and ABC

Brot und ABC (1981)

Director: Potraffke, Eckhard

In 1974 the Solomonic dynasty led by emperor Haile Selassie was overthrown by a Soviet-backed military junta, which established the communist People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

GDR/Ethiopia, 29 min., color

Brecht Dialog 1968

DDR Magazin 1968/40: Brecht Dialog 1968 (1968)

Director: Mund, Karlheinz

For the 70th anniversary of Bertolt Brecht's birth, international Brecht experts, including directors Giorgio Strehler, Benno Besson and Juri Ljubimov, got together for a one-week Brecht Dialog at the Berliner Ensemble on Schiffbauerdamm.

GDR, 11 min., b&w

The Break-In

Der Bruch (1988)

Director: Beyer, Frank

Post-war Berlin, 1946: Three small-time, oddball crooks plan the heist of their lives. They want to break into the vault of the German Traffic Credit Union to steal the weekly Reichsbahn payroll. In preparation, they rent the top floor of the building and use it to spy on the bank.

GDR, 118 min., color/b&w

The Breakdown

Die Panne (1988)

Director: Georgi, Klaus
Stützner, Lutz

The driver of a small car is asked to tow a broken-down vehicle, but gets rather more than he expected — a whole state motorcade. The directors originally included tanks after the last cars, but had to change this ending to get the film past the censors.

GDR, 3 min., color

The Bremen Town Musicians

Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten (1954)

Director: Böttge, Bruno J.

This silhouette animated film tells a story drawn from the Brothers Grimm. Four aging animals — a donkey, a dog, a rooster, and a cat — are rejected by their ungrateful owners and forced to make their way on the streets.

GDR, 16 min., color

The Bremen Town Musicians

Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten (1987)

Director: Pohler, Peter

A rooster, cat, dog, and donkey are all aging and face the problem of becoming useless to society. Joining forces, they embark on a journey to wander and sing together.

GDR, 26 min., color

Bring the Villains to Justice

...die bösewichter müssen dran (1975)

It is 1524. For many years, the count has shamelessly oppressed and exploited the serfs in Grünthal. They have had enough!

GDR, 67 min., color

The Bridge

Die Brücke (1949)

Director: Pohl, Artur

A group of ethnic German refugees from the former eastern territories encounters hostility from the villagers of the central German territories where they now reside. Michaelis speaks for the group, but his attempts to bridge the gap between the new and old residents of the village are opposed b

GDR, 80 min., b&w

Bronstein's Children

Bronsteins Kinder (1990)

Director: Kawalerowicz, Jerzy

Hans Bronstein is about to finish secondary school and needs to decide what to do next with his life. But Hans has a difficult time dealing with his authoritarian father and with his sister Elle, who is hospitalized in a mental institution.

Germany, 98 min., color

Brother Land Has Burned Down

Bruderland ist abgebrannt (1991)

Director: Ngúyen, Angelika

The short is dedicated to the Vietnamese contract workers in the GDR and their fate after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. When the contract between the governments of Vietnam and the GDR was canceled, the workers became unemployed and were sent home.

Germany, 27 min., color

Brothers and Sisters

Brüder und Schwestern (1963)

Director: Heynowski, Walter

A few days after the GDR built the Berlin Wall, West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer commented that this was "an infamous and brutal act against our brothers and sisters in the Zone." Director Walter Heynowski digs into this ubiquitous West German expression, using footage from West German news

GDR, 40 min., b&w

Bruno & Bettina

Bruno & Bettina (2018)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

Masao Adachi (b. 1939), the author and director of experimental and Pinku Eiga (pink films) in the 1960s, was a member of the Japanese New Left who shifted from being a filmmaker to a guerilla fighter.

Germany, 105 min., color/b&w

Bulky Trash

Sperrmüll (1990)

Director: Misselwitz, Helke

East Berlin, summer 1989: A young East Berliner navigates the final months of the GDR. Enrico has quit his apprenticeship to focus on the punk band Sperrmüll (Bulky Trash), which he founded with three friends from their high-rise housing development.

GDR, 72 min., color

Burning Life

Burning Life (1994)

Director: Welz, Peter

In the desolate eastern states of a newly unified Germany, Anna and Lisa plan a series of bank robberies. They quickly become the most popular gangster duo of German postwar history, hunted by the police, but viewed as present-day female Robin Hoods by those in need.

Germany, 104 min., color

Busch Sings

Busch singt (1982)

Director: Bredemeyer, Reiner
Burkert, Erwin
Hoffmann, Ludwig
Voigt, Peter
Wolf, Konrad

Ernst Busch's story transcends time and place, and this six-part compilation documentary shows the versatility of his character that represents the breadth of the workers' revolution.

GDR, color

The Call of Fayu Ujmu

Der Ruf des Fayu Ujmu (2002)

Director: Simon, Rainer

A 13-year-old Indian boy is found unconscious after being attacked in the jungle by the evil spirit Fayu Ujmu. A shaman attempts to ritually tame the spirit and advises the boy's father to capture it.

Germany/Ecuador, 44 min., color

Camping with a Station Wagon Through Tunisia

Mit Kombi und Camping durch Tunesien (1961)

Director: Gass, Karl

In the name of friendship between nations, the film team travelled through Tunesia to visit a refugee camp on the Algerian border. The film emphasizes the fate of the children in the camp and calls for solidarity with the Algerian people who are caught in a war for independence from France.

GDR, 22 min., b&w

Captain Florian of the Mill

Hauptmann Florian von der Mühle (1968)

Director: Wallroth, Werner W.

Florian the miller gives all of his money to the war against Napoleon.

GDR, 132 min., color

Captain Loy's Dream

Der Traum des Hauptmann Loy (1961)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt

An American military plane is transporting six people who have just participated in a NATO maneuver, including the Englishman Captain Loy and American Air Force Corporal Doris Graves.

GDR, 85 min., b&w

Car Dream

Autotraum (1983)

In this puppet animated short film, a man dreams of driving a car and tries various means to achieve this goal. But when he finally sits behind the wheel of his self-made vehicle, it is the car which controls him.

GDR, 4 min., color

Carbide and Sorrel

Karbid und Sauerampfer (1963)

Director: Beyer, Frank

In the summer of 1945, Dresden factory workers send their colleague Kalle (Erwin Geschonneck) hundreds of miles north to pick up supplies. His attempts to travel through the Soviet occupation zone become a hilarious odyssey full of high jinks and misadventures.

GDR, 84 min., b&w

Career

Karriere (1970)

Director: Carow, Heiner

Günter Walcher, 40-years-old, is a hardworking, apolitical West German businessman caught in a moral conflict. He is offered a promotion to become the head of a division–on the condition that he find a reason to fire Zacharias, a communist and the work council chairman.

GDR, 91 min., b&w

Carla

Karla (1965/1990)

Director: Zschoche, Herrmann

When she discovers her students are hiding their true thoughts and feelings, Carla (Jutta Hoffmann), a young and idealistic teacher at the start of her career, goes against the routine opportunism, hypocrisy and small-mindedness all around her.

GDR, 129 min., b&w

Carnations in Aspic

Nelken in Aspik (1976)

Director: Reisch, Günter

Wolfgang Schmidt is a loquacious young man who works for the state-run advertising agency. When the main office head, Huster, reassigns Schmidt to the central administration, Schmidt tries to make clear that he doesn't want the job and things turn precarious.

GDR, 90 min., color

Carola Lamberti

Carola Lamberti — Eine vom Zirkus (1954)

Director: Müller, Hans

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, lea

GDR, 87 min., color

The Carbide Factory

Die Karbidfabrik (1988)

Director: Brinkmann, Heinz

At the beginning of this short documentary, the commentary lets viewers know that the purpose of the film is to "get to know the workers" of the Carbide factory in Buna-Schkopau. The audience is shown dirty, onerous scenes of the work conditions and production process.

GDR, 25 min., color

Castles and Cottages

Schlösser und Katen (1957)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt

This two-part epic traces the development of a manor and farm in Mecklenburg, from the flight of its aristocratic landowners before the advancing Soviet troops in 1945, to just after the East German uprising of June 17, 1953, by which time it has become an agricultural cooperative.

GDR, 195 min., b&w

Caterwauling

Katzenmusik (1954)

Director: Barke, Lothar

It's after midnight, but the rock "˜n' roll party is still in full swing. The nearby neighbors are furious about the noise. Three friends, actually rock 'n' roll fans, observe the spectacle. At the end, they decide to join a dance party with traditional music.

GDR, 6 min., color

The Cave of Hercules

Herakles Höhle (1990)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

Although Dammbeck's original film project Herakles (Hercules) was rejected by the East German DEFA Studios in 1983-84, the artist was still fascinated by the Hercules story.

GDR/Germany, 45 min., color

Cecilia

Cecilia (1981)

Director: Solás, Humberto

In 1830s Cuba, a rich slave owner's son falls for Cecilia (Daisy Granados), a proud and beautiful mulatto girl. While revolution simmers and then boils on the island, his parents force him to marry a woman of his own class.

Cuba/Spain, 127 min., color

Censored: Kuhle Wampe

Ein Feigenblatt für Kuhle Wampe (1975)

Director: Hecht, Werner
Mühl, Christa

A detailed reconstruction of the censorship case against the landmark Weimar-era communist film, Kuhle Wampe, or Who Owns the World? (1932).

GDR, 63 min., b&w

Changing Skins

Raus aus der Haut (1997)

Director: Dresen, Andreas

The scene is East Germany in 1977, during the infamous Red Army Faction kidnapping of industrialist Hanns-Martin Schleyer in West Germany. A couple of East German teens are caught with contraband photos of West German Baader-Meinhof terrorists.

Germany, 90 min., color

Charlie & Co.

Charlie & Co. (1963)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

Workers, employees, technicians and engineers from the Karl Marx Plant in Magdeburg came together to found an amateur circus. As acrobats, clowns and musicians, they rehearse in preparation for a public performance at their workplace.

GDR, 14 min., b&w

Ché Guevara — Where You'd Never Imagine Him

Ché Guevara, Donde nunca jamás se lo imaginan (2004)

Director: Pérez, Manuel

Ernesto Che Guevara was only 39 years old when he was executed in the Bolivian mountains in 1967. This film tells the story of Che's short life: his childhood in Argentina, his early interest in the Spanish Civil War, and the motorcycle trip through Latin America that changed his life forever.

Cuba, 55 min., b&w

A Chilean Wedding

Eine chilenische Hochzeit (1977)

Director: Ackermann, Rainer
Milanov, Valentin

This short documentary features impressions from the wedding of two young Chileans, Alejandra and Pepe. Both study in East Germany and plan to work in Angola, Mozambique or Cuba after graduating.

8 min., b&w

Chicken Gock and the Smart Mice

Hähnchen Gock und die schlauen Mäuse (1964)

Director: Krauße-Anderson, Monika

The two mice play and dance the whole day while the rooster works. One day, the rooster finds an ear of wheat and the mice suggest to thresh and mill it. The rooster takes care of the work while the mice leave to play. He even bakes a cake.

GDR, 10 min., color

Childhood

Kindheit (1987)

Director: Kühn, Siegfried

At the end of WWII, Alfons lives with his grandparents on a farm in a Silesian village. He adores his grandmother (Carmen-Maja Antoni), who runs everything after her husband dies. But everything changes after a travelling showman (Fritz Marquardt) arrives in the xenophobic village.

GDR, 87 min., color

Children of Golzow: Individual Portraits

Lebensläufe: Die Geschichte der Kinder von Golzow in einzelnen Porträts (1980)

Director: Junge, Winfried

An anthology of portraits from one of the longest-running documentary projects in film history, which has followed children who started school in August 1961 for almost five decades (the last part was released in 2007). No DEFA documentary film is as renowned as the personal accounts of

GDR, 247 min., color/b&w

Children's Home

Heim (1978)

Director: Angelika Andrees
Tschörtner, Petra

A film about children and teenagers living in an East German children's home in Mentin, Mecklenburg in the late 1970s.

GDR, 26 min., b&w

Chile

Chile (1975)

Director: Herrmann, Jörg
Juan Forch

This short animation collage uncovers the financial backing of the Chilean Junta bosses by the US. Screened at the 1976 Oberhausen Int. Film Festival.

The film is also available with Spanish subtitles.

GDR, 2 min., color

Chile Lives

Chile lebt (1976)

Director: Börner, Michael
Juan Forch

This short, animated piece of agitprop fiercely expresses the hopes of the Chilean people.

The film is also available with Spanish subtitles.

GDR, 2 min., color

Chilean Experiences in East German Cinema

(1974/1977)

Director: Ackermann, Rainer
Heynowski, Walter
Jordan, Günter
Milanov, Valentin
Scheumann, Gerhard
Steinheisser, Jürgen

In the 1970s, the East German DEFA Studios responded to the military coup in Chile in 1973. They produced films about Chile and Chilean exiles that were not simply reactions to the political upheavals or demonstrations of solidarity with the Chilean people.

GDR, 46 min., color/b&w

Chilean Films in Exile — Shorts by Juan Forch

(1975/1978)

Director: Barke, Lothar
Börner, Michael
Forch, Juan
Herrmann, Jörg
Hofmann, Rolf

The Chilean director and poet Juan Forch (1948-) immigrated via Mexico to East Germany after the military coup in 1973. He joined the DEFA Studio for Animation Films in Dresden and learned the craft of animation.

GDR, 50 min., color

Chingachgook, the Great Snake

Chingachgook, die Große Schlange (1967)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

French colonists and Hurons fight against English troops and their allies, the Delaware. Only Chingachgook, a young Delaware, and his fair-skinned friend Deerslayer realize that the colonizers intend to exterminate the Native Americans altogether.

GDR, 86 min., color

The Children of Palestine

Die Kinder Palästinas (1980)

Director: Tetzlaff, Kurt

The film crew talks with Palestinian families who have been driven from their homeland after the UN petition for the division of Palestine and the founding of the State of Israel on Palestinian land in 1948.

GDR, 54 min., color

Christine

Christine (1963/2021)

Director: Dudow, Slatan

Christine is a young farm worker in a small village in post-war Germany. Her attempts to improve her situation through further education are hampered by frequent pregnancies arising from ill-fated relationships.

GDR, 109 min., b&w

Chronicle of a Murder

Chronik eines Mordes (1964)

Director: Hasler, Joachim

Ruth Bodenheim returns to West Germany a broken woman from the war. As a seventeen-year-old Jewish woman, the Nazis sent her to a brothel in Poland and her parents to a concentration camp. Her former fiancée, Dr. Martin, marries her when she returns, and his love and patience help her heal.

GDR, 92 min., b&w

Chronicle of Film 1948

Filmchronik 1948 (1948)

Director: Engel, Erich

This DVD compilation chronicles the year 1948 through film.

GDR, 170 min., b&w

Chronicle of Film 1958

Filmchronik 1958 (1958)

Director: Fischer, Heinz
Hellberg, Martin

This DVD compilation chronicles the year 1958 through film.

GDR, 156 min., b&w

Chronicle of Film 1968

Filmchronik 1968 (1968)

Director: Wolf, Konrad

This DVD compilation chronicles the year 1968 through film.

GDR, 191 min., b&w

Chronicle of Film 1978

Filmchronik 1978 (1978)

Director: Zschoche, Herrmann

This DVD compilation chronicles the year 1978 through film.

The feature film selection, Seven Freckles (dir. Hermann Zschoche), looks at youthful romance and youthful self-expression in the face of social limits and social morals as they are upheld by adults.

GDR, 143 min., color

Cinderella

Aschenputtel (1982)

Director: Tappert, Horst

Sweet Cinderella lives with her cruel stepsisters and stepmother. When she is left at home on the night of the Prince's ball, Cinderella's rags turn into a beautiful ball gown.

GDR, 17 min., color

The Circus Is Coming

Der Zirkus kommt (1985)

Director: Tschörtner, Petra

The film team spent several days accompanying Circus Hein. Sandra, Benjamin, Enrico and Jessica appear alongside their parents in the ring as clowns or acrobats.

GDR, 21 min., color

City — At the Window

Am Fenster (1978)

Director: Sacher, Otto

This poetic film combines animation and life-action to illustrate the song "Am Fenster" ("At the Window") by the popular rock band City.

GDR, 6 min., color

Cover Photo for Claiming Space — East Germany

Claiming Space — East Germany's Independent Art Exhibit Scene

Behauptung Des Raums — Wege unabhängiger Ausstellungskultur in der DDR (2009)

Director: Löser, Claus

As of the late 1970s, young East German artists, especially in the larger cities, created spaces for cultural experimentation that were separate from official art channels. Through their art, they rebelled against both the existing art market, and the country's political climate.

Germany, 100 min., color/b&w

Clandestinos — Living Dangerously

Clandestinos (1987)

Director: Perez, Fernando

Set in the late 1950s, a young Cuban couple and their friends struggle with all their might, in the urban underground movement, against the Batista regime. They get into a dangerous crossfire with the secret service and police, and must fight for their lives.

Cuba, 89 min., color

A Cloud in Love

Die verliebte Wolke (1975)

Director: Wiemer, Christl

In the country of Fluteland, Aische is threatened by Black Seifi, who wants to take possession of her beautiful garden. A cloud who is in love with the girl makes the ultimate sacrifice to protect her, but like love itself, the cloud proves to be immortal.

GDR, 21 min., color

The Cloud Lamb

Das Wolkenschaf (1960)

Director: Georgi, Katja

Christine lives with her parents on the outskirts of the city. She loves to walk her dachshund.

GDR, 12 min., color

Coded Message for the Boss

Chiffriert an Chef — Ausfall Nr. 5 (1979)

Director: Dziuba, Helmut

Wolf Brandin, an electrical engineering student in East Berlin, gets recruited by the CIA. He immediately notifies the Stasi. His work as a double agent inevitably strains his personal life.

GDR, 94 min., color

Colleges in the GDR: Humboldt University Berlin

Hochschulen in der DDR — Die Humboldt-Universität Berlin (1981)

Director: Sommermeyer, Regina

This film introduces the viewers to GDR higher education policy via Berlin's Humboldt University. In an interview, university director and professor Helmut Klein describes his career at the university beginning with his studies in 1946.

GDR, 20 min., color

The Cold Heart

Das kalte Herz (1950)

Director: Verhoeven, Paul

The poor charcoal burner Peter Monk summons the good spirit of the forest to help him overcome his outsider stigma, which above all, prevents him from marrying his beloved Lisbeth. Despite the good spirit's help, Peter squanders his wealth and loses everything.

GDR, 101 min., color

The Colors of Tigua

Die Farben von Tigua (1994)

Director: Simon, Rainer

For more than 40 years, Quichua artists have painted colorful pictures of daily life, celebrations and traditions of their villages in the Ecuadorian Andes. In their work, reality and dreams blend with pre-Columbian myths and Christian influences.

Germany/Ecuador, 43 min., color

Come into the Open Friend! Or: Against Idiocy in Music

Komm! Ins Offene Freund! Oder gegen die Dummheit in der Musik (1989)

Music students rehearse Hanns Eisler's Ernste Gesänge (Serious Songs), the 7-part song cycle that the composer wrote four weeks before his death in 1962.

GDR, 23 min., b&w

Coming Out

Coming Out (1989)

Director: Carow, Heiner

Tanya and Philipp work together and are both dedicated teachers. They become close and move in together. Tanya is very much in love and gets pregnant.

GDR, 113 min., color

Commando 52

Kommando 52 (1965)

Director: Heynowski, Walter

A portrait of the eponymous German-French mercenary squad–led by ex-Wehrmacht soldier Siegfried Müller (aka Kongo-Müller)–that was responsible for some of the worst massacres of the 1964 Congo Crisis.

GDR, 33 min., b&w

Commune of Bliss

Kommune der Seligen (2004)

Director: Stanjek, Klaus

Far away from the big cities, in the vast expanse of the Northern Prairies, a withdrawn group of people is practicing its stubborn way of life.

Germany/Canada, 96 min., color

Comrade Krueger

Kamerad Krüger (1988)

This documentary film uses a 1988 annual meeting of SS veterans in Bavaria to frame the context for examining the life of former SS Sergeant and meeting organizer, Walter Krüger.

GDR, 90 min., color/b&w

The Compass Rose

Die Windrose (1954)

Director: Bellon, Yannick
Cavalcanti, Alberto
Gerasimov, Sergei
Ivens, Joris
Kuo-Yin, Wu
Pontecorvo, Gillo
Viany, Alex

This episodic film tells five self-contained stories of women around the world, shot by five different filmmaking teams under the artistic supervision of DEFA director Joris Ivens.

GDR, color

Concern for Mother and Child

Sorge um Mutter und Kind (1985)

Director: Thielemann, Regina

Many women face the challenge of reconciling professional and family life. In the GDR, programs such as vocational training, day care, and medical care during pregnancy give women better opportunities for personal and career development and greater equality at work.

GDR, 23 min., color

Consequence

Konsequenz (1986)

Director: Georgi, Klaus

An ice cream vendor sports a gas mask as he tries to sell to a swarm of cars. The cars continue on their way, smoking with exhaust. A driver coughs, then his neighbor, then the animals in the forest, the trees, and finally the Earth itself begins to cough.

GDR, 2 min., color

Consequences — Peter, 25 Years Old

Konsequenzen — Peter, 25 (1987)

Director: Dresen, Andreas

It is Peter's last day at work. Every day he works among noisy machines and doesn't feel his work challenges him. Although he is earning good money, he decides to change his life by leaving the company.

GDR, 7 min., color

Construction Site X

Baustelle X (1950)

Director: Klein, Gerhard

This short documentary calls for compliance with labor protection laws during rubble clearance and reconstruction work. A construction site on Wernerstraße in Berlin is used to to concretely illustrate the positive effects of these laws.

GDR, 12 min., b&w

Conversation with Film Editor Evelyn Carow

()

This short film, released in the Film Professions series, highlights the work of the prolific DEFA film editor Evelyn Carow.

The Condemned Village

Das verurteilte Dorf (1952)

Director: Hellberg, Martin

After years in Soviet captivity, farmer Heinz Weimann returns to the village of Bärenweiler, in West Germany. His joy at returning home is clouded by news that US occupation forces intend to build an airfield on village lands, in preparation for a confrontation with the Soviet Union.

GDR, 106 min., b&w

Copihuito

Copihuito (1977)

Director: Jordan, Günter

Young Chilean pioneers create a newspaper together in East Berlin, the capital of the GDR. They call it "Copihuito," the name of a climbing plant that grows in Chile and symbolizes the resistance of the Chilean people against any form of oppression.

GDR, 14 min., color

Copyright by Luther

Director: Hohmann, Lew

This short animation film gives an entertaining overview of the events leading to the Reformation.

GDR, 17 min., color

Corinna Schmidt

Corinna Schmidt (1951)

Director: Pohl, Artur

Corinna Schmidt comes from an impoverished yet well-known family in late nineteenth-century Berlin. During a social gathering at the home of the Treibel family, Corinna meets the young son, Leopold, who asks for her hand in marriage.

GDR, 93 min., b&w

Cosmos: In Remembrance of Alexander von Humboldt

Kosmos — Erinnerungen an Alexander von Humboldt (1960)

Director: Gass, Karl

This film about the scientific research of nineteenth-century naturalist Alexander von Humboldt was produced by the DEFA Studio for Popular Scientific Films.

GDR, 40 min., b&w

Council of the Gods

Der Rat der Götter (1950)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt

The chemist Dr. Hans Scholz lives through a tortuous political transformation and maturation process. Eventually, he adopts political neutrality and closes his eyes to the fact that the poison being produced in his factory is being used in the extermination camps.

GDR, 111 min., b&w

Counter Images: GDR Underground Films 1983-1989

Gegenbilder (n/a)

Director: Cornelia Schleime
di Roes, Tohm
Frydetzki, Thomas
Hahnemann, Gino
Klauß, Cornelia
Köppel-Welsh, Ramona
Leiberg, Helge
Lewandowsky, Via
Löser, Claus
Werner, Thomas

Presented on this DVD is a selection of 10 films from the Berlin-based ex.oriente.lux archive, which contains almost 130 films from the fascinating and provocative Super-8 film world.

Germany, 90 min., color

Course: 35° Northeast

Kurs Nordost 35° (1968)

Director: Sobiczewski, Heinz

A documentary about the ship "Wilhelm Pieck," which was used for training future sailors.

GDR, 15 min., color

The Coward

Hasenherz (1987)

Director: Friedrich, Gunter

Thirteen-year-old Janni struggles to feel accepted because her physical development lags behind that of the other girls her age.

GDR, 77 min., color

Credo: Martin Luther — Wittenberg 1517

(1967)

Director: Müller, Rudolf

This short film, made on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of the Reformation, presents the historical event in relation to the class struggle, in keeping with the East German view of history.

GDR, 17 min., color

Crime Scene: Berlin

Tatort Berlin (1958)

Director: Kunert, Joachim

Rudi Prange intends to have a fresh beginning once he is released from prison, and he's off to a good start with a new job at a transportation company. Yet, despite his good intentions, Rudi is pulled into a smuggling incident by a colleague.

GDR, 85 min., b&w

The Cuban Masterworks Collection

The Cuban Masterworks Collection, Five Classics (n/a)

Director: Alea, Tomás Gutiérrez
Espinosa, Julio García
Solás, Humberto

A 5-DVD set with five masterworks from revolutionary Cuba. Beautifully restored with new English subtitles and directed by three legendary filmmakers — Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Julio García Espinosa and Humberto Solás — they reveal a cinema unavailable to most people in the USA.

Curse of Medea

Fluch der Medea (2014)

Director: Branwen Okpako

On January 27, 2010, Okpako visited the (East) German author Christa Wolf to discuss a film project based on Wolf's novel Medea: A Modern Retelling.

Germany, 44 min., color

D Flat - C - E Flat - D

DES - CE - ES - DE (1985)

Director: Kraußer, Jochen

On a lonely homestead lives potter and musician Kristian Körting, who describes himself as "a musician from birth on" and "a musician searching for true sound." His love for music is the motivation for making his own organ.

GDR, 10 min., color

Damn It, I'm Grown Up

...verdammt, ich bin erwachsen... (1973)

Director: Losansky, Rolf

Fifteen-year-old Klaus "Kurbel" Kambo already thinks of himself as an adult: he is big, strong, can hold a lot of rhubarb wine and has already kissed a girl.

GDR, 94 min., color

Damn It, I'm Grown Up: The DEFA Director Rolf Losansky

Verdammt ich bin erwachsen — Der DEFA-Regisseur Rolf Losansky (2009)

Director: Seume, Dagmar

A film portrait of one of DEFA's best-known directors.

Germany, 45 min., color

A Dance Through Time: Friedrichstadt Palast Berlin

Ein Tanz durch die Zeit — Friedrichstadt Palast Berlin (2006)

Director: Metzger, Anette

This collection of documentaries tells the story of the Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin, a central location for the city's mixture of cultural, leisurely, war, occupation and political histories.

GDR/Germany, 72 min., color

Dance on Saturday — Murder?

Tanz am Sonnabend — Mord? (1961)

Director: Thiel, Heinz

A Saturday evening dance in the village pub is interrupted when the barn of local farmer Paul Gäbler catches on fire. The farmer himself is soon found — hanged.

GDR, 86 min., b&w

Dancing on the Dump

Tanz auf der Kippe (1990)

Director: Brauer, Jürgen

The newspapers are reporting an incredible incident: Seventeen year-old Gerat L. attempted to hold up a train with a bulldozer. While trying to flee, he fell into pit of caustic lime and was badly injured.

Germany, 95 min., color

Dangerous Freight

Gefährliche Fracht (1954)

Director: von Wangenheim, Gustav

While unloading the cargo ship Florida, West German harbour workers discover napalm bombs instead of the expected high-tech machines aboard.

GDR, 93 min., color

Daniel the Dragon

Der Drache Daniel (1990)

Director: Kratzert, Hans

Eight-year-old Daniel is devastated to find out that his teacher, Miss Sommerfeld, plans to marry and move out of town. He devises a plan: steal the wish-granting magic whistle from Mr.

GDR, 76 min., color

Dare to Face Reality

Wagen wir die Dinge zu sehen, wie sie sind (1989)

Director: Steinkopff, Volker

The film provides an unusual potrait of the great humanist, doctor, Protestant theologist and philosopher Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965).

GDR, 31 min., b&w

Darn Misfortune!

Verflixtes Mißgeschick! (1988)

Director: (Neupert) Unterberg, Hannelore

Misfortune plagues a poor woodcarver until it get bored and asks the woodcarver to pass it on to the rich and pompous merchant Habermoos. After Habermoos is plundered by robbers, he sells Misfortune to the king, who is soon bankrupt and under threat of attack by neighboring countries.

GDR, 68 min., color

Darß

Der Darß (1967)

Director: Huisken, Joop

This documentary depicts all facets of life on the beautiful Baltic Sea peninsula of Darß. The film highlights local pride and attempts to preserve the region's unique marsh landscape and old professions and traditions, such as thatched roofs.

GDR, 15 min., color

The Daughters' Hour

Die Stunde der Töchter (1980)

Director: Stranka, Erwin

A life-threatening heart attack confines Richard Roth, a father in his late fifties, to the hospital bed. There, he begins to wonder what will become of him and his life and what has happened to his four daughters.

GDR, 96 min., color

Dawid's Journal

Dawids Tagebuch (1980)

Director: Weiß, Konrad

In 1957, Dawid Rubinowicz's journal was found in a small village in Poland. He was 12 years old when he began secretly writing in 1940 and his diary ends abruptly in June 1942, when Dawid and his family were killed in the Treblinka extermination camp.

GDR, 25 min., color

A Day in Guinea

Ein Tag in Guinea (1968)

Director: Orgel, Horst
Schnabel, Rolf

This short documentary reports on the West African country of Guinea, which had gained independence from France a decade earlier and become a socialist state.

GDR, 9 min., color

The Days Before Tomorrow

Die Tage vor morgen (1966)

Director: Scheunert, Gerhard

A documentary about the structure and content of vocational schools in the GDR. The film depicts various types of educational opportunities and the goals of each different job training program.

GDR, 14 min., color

Death Camp Sachsenhausen

Todeslager Sachsenhausen (1946)

Director: Brandt, Richard

The first DEFA documentary on the topic of concentration camps and the Holocaust, this film was commissioned by the Soviet military administration in Berlin in connection with the preparations for the Sachsenhausen trial.

GDR, 40 min., b&w

The Dead Stay Young

Die Toten bleiben jung (1968)

Director: Kunert, Joachim

A depiction of class conflicts in Germany between 1918 and 1945. The Spartacist Erwin is shot by officers in 1918, and his pregant working-class bride Marie begins a new relationship with social democrat Geschke.

GDR, 112 min., b&w

Declaration of Love to G.T.

Liebeserklärung an G.T. (1971)

Director: Seemann, Horst

Dr. Gisa Tonius, a physicist in her mid-thirties, is asked to take charge of a major interdisciplinary research project but worries that the new responsiblity will hamper her dream of having a child. Her friends and family offer conflicting advice.

GDR, 99 min., color

DEFA Disco 77

DEFA Disko 77 (1977)

Director: Thiel, Heinz
Wallroth, Werner W.

This entertainment film features a colorfully mixed program of musical numbers, along with the most popular artists of GDR music, film and television. Before each performance, the artists involved are seen in an everyday situation in their life.

GDR, 77 min., color

Description of a Tiger

Beschreibung eines Tigers (1989)

Director: Wiemer, Hans-Ulrich

Little Adam and his father are travelling through the jungle and suddenly hear a tiger roaring. The father tries to teach his son about the dangerous cat, but Adam only finds his father's demonstrations amusing.

GDR, 6 min., color

Destinies of Women

Frauenschicksale (1952)

Director: Dudow, Slatan

Berlin 1952, seven years after WWII. Four women are looking for a good man and happiness in the divided city. Their destinies are loosely connected through one person: the West Berlin dandy and womanizer, Conny.

GDR, 105 min., color

The Desert King of Brandenburg

Der Wüstenkönig von Brandenburg (1973)

Director: Kratzert, Hans

A few days after the end of World War II, the eleven-year-old orphan Julius is on the run from the destroyed city of Berlin. Julius and formerly imprisoned communist Kaiser (Hilmar Baumann) both stumble on a horse in a forest and report it to the Soviet commander in a nearby town.

GDR, 79 min., color

The Devil from Mill Mountain

Der Teufel vom Mühlenberg (1954)

Director: Ballmann, Herbert

This film is set in a medieval mill town in the Harz mountains. The greedy and brutal millman and his accomplices, the castle steward and the mayor, set fire to a forest mill that the farmers used for processing their grain.

GDR, 84 min., b&w

The Devil's Bride- A Mill Legend

Die Teufelsbraut — Ein Mühlenmärchen (1989)

Director: Herrmann, Jörg

The river that passes through the mill dried out. The miller and his daughter are frantic. How can they deliver the huge amounts of flour to the wedding at the castle? The devil promises help, but only if the girl follows him to hell.

GDR, 16 min., color

The Devil's Three Golden Hairs

Wer reißt denn gleich vor'm Teufel aus (1977)

Director: Schlegel, Egon

Poor Jacob is plagued by misfortune and mocked for his timidity. As if that weren't enough, the King also has it in for him.

GDR, 92 min., color

A Diary for Anne Frank

Ein Tagebuch für Anne Frank (1958)

Director: Hellwig, Joachim

This film briefly documents the well-known story of Anne Frank, whose family hid from the Nazis in Amsterdam. Eventually caught, Frank was sent to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where she later died.

GDR, 18 min., b&w

Digital Site Licenses

DSL for DVDs you already own ()

Purchasing a DVD with Educational Rights means that the film(s) on the DVD may only be used for in person classroom screenings and viewings.

Director Rainer Simon on "The Airship"

(2018)

Director: Nadine Fuhrhop

Director Rainer Simon talks about working on his 1982 literary adaption, The Airship.

Germany, 11 min., color

Director Sibylle Schönemann on Her Documentary Locked-Up Time

(2024)

Director: Sahling, Bernd

In this interview, filmmaker Sibylle Schönemann talks about her 1990 documentary Locked-Up Time: the Stasi role at the DEFA Studio, her experiences as a political prisoner, her traumatic past and the film's reception more than 35 years

Germany/USA, 31 min., color/b&w

Dirt for Dinner

Dreckfresser (2000)

Director: Branwen Okpako

In 1992, shortly after a series of racist murders and attacks against immigrants in former East Germany, posters throughout the country began featuring the smiling face of Sam Meffire, a young Afro-German police officer in the formerly East German state of Saxony.

Germany, 73 min., color

Disco Film 14: Omega

Disco 14: Die Omegas (1976)

Director: Raue, Dieter
Rümmel, Jürgen

This short film depicts Omega, one of Hungary's most successful rock bands, on tour in the GDR.

The footage includes brief interviews, concert preparations and performances for young audiences.

GDR, 9 min., color

Disco Film 16: The Puhdys

Disco 16: Puhdys (1976)

Director: Steinheisser, Jürgen

The Puhdys were one of East Germany's best-known and most popular beat music groups.

GDR, 9 min., color

Disco Film 17: Spy in Munich

Disco 17: Kundschafter in München (1977)

Director: Raue, Dieter

Czechoslovakian spy Pavel Minarik worked for 7 years at Radio Free Europe, an American news broadcasting organization with headquarters in Munich. Evidence from his time there is used to unmask the station's role in increasing Cold War tensions.

GDR, 11 min., color

Disco Film 22: The Puhdys II

Disco 22: Puhdys II (1977)

Director: Steinheisser, Jürgen

This is the second installment in the Disco Film series to feature the Puhdys, a popular East German rock band.

GDR, 6 min., color

Disco Film 25: Stern Combo Meißen

Disco 25: Stern Combo Meißen (1978)

Director: Steinheisser, Jürgen

This music video from the Disco Film series features the song "Der Kampf um den Südpol" ("The Fight for the South Pole") by the Saxon rock band Stern Combo Meißen.

GDR, 9 min., color

Disco Film 26: Electra

Disco 26: Electra (1978)

Director: Steinheisser, Jürgen

The rock band Electra was founded in 1969 in Dresden. This music video from the Disco Film series features a performance of their song "Bach 75" with a Baroque setting and costumes, including an appearance by East German mime artist Eberhard Kube.

GDR, 9 min., color

Disco Film 28: The Rock Band City

Disco 28: City-Rock-Band (1979)

Director: Steinheisser, Jürgen

A performance by the Berlin hard rock group City, complete with psychedelic concert footage. The song "Träume" ("Dreams") demonstrates the band's development and adaptation of time-tested means of musical expression.

GDR, 7 min., color

Disco Film 31: Karat

Disco 31: Karat (1979)

Director: Steinheisser, Jürgen

Karat was one of the GDR's leading beat bands at the time the film was made. This music video features the group performing their hit song "Albatros" ("Albatross") at the City Theater in Hildburghausen, Thuringia.

GDR, 9 min., color

Disco Film 32: Holger Biege

Disco 32: Holger Biege (1979)

Director: Steinheisser, Jürgen

Singer-songwriter Holger Biege was named East Germany's Interpreter of the Year in 1978 and 1979. This music video demonstrates his talents as a vocalist and pianist through his songs "Nimm mich so" ("Take Me The Way") and "Zuweilen kommt es vor" ("Sometimes It Occurs").

GDR, 5 min., color

Disco Film 35: Magdeburg

Disco 35: Magdeburg (1980)

Director: Klemke, Christian

The music group Magdeburg performs their song "Verkehrte Welt" ("Backward World"). The song describes a ground-breaking historical experiment by German scientist Otto von Guericke which proved the existance of vacuums and also comments on the social significance of this research.

GDR, 9 min., color

Disco Film 36: Neumi's Rock Circus

Disco 36: Neumis Rockzirkus (1980)

Director: Klemke, Christian

Neumi's Rock Circus was a German music group founded by Hans Joachim "Neumi" Neumann in 1979. The lead singer's costumes and pantomine were a hallmark of the band, whose performances blended rock music with slapstick and cabaret elements.

GDR, 7 min., color

Disco Film 37: Wir

Disco 37: Wir (1980)

Director: Klemke, Christian

The East German band Wir was founded in 1970 by singer and keyboard player Wolfgang Ziegler and songwriter Jens Gerlach.

GDR, 5 min., color

Disco Film 38: Silly

Disco 38: Silly (1981)

Director: Klemke, Christian

The music group Silly, with lead singer Tamara Danz, perform the hit song "Tanzt keiner Boogie?" ("Does No One Dance the Boogie?") from their 1981 debut album. Their humerous interpretation of the lyrics comments on contemporary dancing styles among young people.

GDR, 5 min., color

Disco Film 41: Passion

Disco 41: Passion (1981)

Director: Klemke, Christian

The Berlin rock group Passion performs their "Song of the Apple," which combines rock and folklore styles to tell a parable about an apple harvest with ripe and green fruit. The band members act out the song in a humorous way, giving the lyrics a double meaning.

GDR, 4 min., color

Disco Film 5: In the Heart of US Military Espionage

Disco 5: Im Zentrum der US-Militärspionage (1975)

Director: Hellwig, Joachim

This documentary is a portrait of the East German spy Horst Hesse, who inflitrated the American Military Intelligence Division in the 1950s. Horst Hesse was a hero in the GDR for saving his country. His story served as the basis for the spy film For Eyes Only.

GDR, 9 min., b&w

Disco Film: City — Neon God

Neongott (1985)

Director: Klemke, Christian

The band City, founded in 1972, was one of East Germany's most popular rock groups. This music video visually interprets their new song "Neongott" ("Neon God"), demonstrating that lyrics are an significant part of any rock song.

GDR, 7 min., color

The Discovery

Die Entdeckung (1983)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

A little bumblebee is tired of her daily routine and the other boring bumblebees. She needs an adventure! She flies to the place of her dreams and meets a frog who is also seeking something new. Despite their differences, the two animals become friends and start their adventure together.

GDR, 17 min., color

The Distance Between You and Me and Her

Die Entfernung zwischen dir und mir und ihr (1987)

Director: Kann, Michael

Journalist and single mother Marga is not particularly excited when her boss sends her to interview aspiring rock singer Anne. Anne is a trained machinist and lives in East Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg, a neighborhood famous for its alternative artistic communities.

GDR, 97 min., color

Divided Heaven

Der geteilte Himmel (1964)

Director: Wolf, Konrad

After a breakdown, Rita returns to her childhood village in 1961.

GDR, 109 min., b&w

Do You Know Urban?

Kennen Sie Urban? (1971)

Director: Reschke, Ingrid

After he gets out of jail, Hoffi is looking for a fresh start. He wants to find Urban, a role model of sorts that he met during a brief hospital stay. Along the way, Hoffi meets a young woman, Gila, who is willing to overlook his past.

GDR, 95 min., b&w

Do You Know Where Herr Kisch Is?

Wissen Sie nicht, wo Herr Kisch ist? (1985)

Director: Schreiber, Eduard

The "Raging Reporter" Egon Erwin Kisch (1885-1948) was one of the most significant journalists of the 1920s and 30s. He wrote from a communist point of view, in language that sparkled with humor.

GDR/CSSR, 19 min., color

The Dog in the Moors

Der Moorhund (1960)

Director: Petzold, Konrad

Twelve-year-old Klaus spends his vacation with his father, the captain of a border garrison. Klaus and his friend Fritz spend their free time searching the nearby woods for the legendary "Dog in the Moors."

GDR, 75 min., b&w

Don Juan, 78 Karl Liebknecht Street

Don Juan — Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 78 (1980)

Director: Kühn, Siegfried

Berlin opera director Andrei Vishnevsky decides to put on a production of Don Giovanni.

GDR, 95 min., color

Don't Cheat, Darling!

Nicht schummeln, Liebling! (1972)

Director: Hasler, Joachim

The mayor of Sonnethal wants to gain attention for both himself and his small town by fostering a leading soccer team and a thriving sports culture.

GDR, 91 min., color

Don't Forget My Little Traudel

Vergeßt mir meine Traudel nicht (1957)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt

The teacher Wolfgang Auer and the policeman Hannes Wunderlich are friends and housemates.

GDR, 82 min., b&w

The Dove on the Roof

Die Taube auf dem Dach (1973/2010)

Director: Gusner, Iris

The engineer Linda falls in love with not with one, but two of the men on her construction team, in a film that raises questions about the importance of work, love and happiness in socialist East Germany of the 1970s.

GDR, 82 min., b&w

Dr. Sommer II

Dr. med. Sommer II (1970)

Director: Warneke, Lothar

The story of a young, idealistic doctor and his on-the-job training as a rookie surgeon. Dr. Heiner Sommer moves to a small town in the GDR where he will complete his training under the senior physician, also named Dr. Sommer.

GDR, 90 min., b&w

Draped in White

Unter weissen Tüchern (1983)

Director: Cornelia Schleime

Painter and performance artist Cornelia Schleime's Draped in White, based on her performance series (1982-84), is a surreal reference to both a bridal veil and the bandaged, cloaked and wrapped female body.

GDR, 9 min., color

Drawing a Line

Striche ziehen (2014)

Director: Kroske, Gerd

1986, West Berlin. Five resettled members of the Weimar underground punk scene in East Germany plan an exceptional art project that they call White Line.

Germany, 96 min., color

Dreaming

Träumerei (1979)

The animator uses expressive drawings in this filmic interpretation of Robert Schumann's delightful Träumerei (Dreaming), from Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) written for piano in 1838. (Part of DEFA's Musical Arabesques animation series.)

GDR, 2 min., color

Dreams and Legends: The Director Heiner Carow

Heiner Carow — Träume und Legenden (1994)

Director: Kasten, Ullrich

I just keep on living and I'll make another film [in the future]. Unfortunately, this dream of director Heiner Carow was destined to remain unfulfilled. Carow died in January 1997.

Germany, 30 min., color/b&w

Dresden Artists: Three Generations

Malen in Dresden: Drei Generationen (1989)

Dresden: A world city of the arts with a long tradition and an artistic center in the GDR. This 1989 short features Dresden painters Theodor Rosenbauer (1901-1996), Max Uhlig (born in 1937) and Wolfgang Smy (born in 1952) each presenting a different generation.

GDR, 22 min., color

Dresden: Immortal City

Dresden — unvergängliche Stadt (1956)

Director: Marten, Walter

This documentary traces the history of Dresden, the "Florence on the Elbe." Recreated scenes of the bombing of February 13, 1945, show the suffering which the city had to endure.

GDR, 29 min., color

Dresden's Semperoper Opera House

Semperoper Dresden (1985)

Director: Hübel, Wernfried

After being destroyed twice, Dresden's Semperoper is now being carefully rebuilt for a third time, with the surviving wall and ceiling ornamentation and the decorative paintings by Ferdinand Keller serving as stylistic models. The documentary reports on construction progress and techniques.

GDR, 23 min., color

The Dream of the Elk

Der Traum vom Elch (1986)

Director: Kühn, Siegfried

After a failed marriage, nurse Anna (Katrin Sass) dreams of a fulfilling relationship. Marcus, who Anna has nicknamed her "elk," knows he can always count on her for a night of passion when he comes calling, which is only a few days each year.

GDR, 89 min., color

Driving School

Fahrschule (1985)

Director: Stephan, Bernhard

In the GDR, purchasing a car was such a difficult process that many families applied for one years in advance. For example, Gisela secretly orders a Wartburg model after the birth of her first child.

GDR, 95 min., color

Drost

Drost (1985)

Director: Dobberke, Claus

After 35 years of military service, Officer Jürgen Drost takes on the job of mayor in the small village where he lived with his mother after World War II. The transition to civilian life comes as more of a shock than he expected, causing him to rethink many aspects of his life.

GDR, 86 min., color

Drum Beat

Paukenschlag (1974)

Director: Sacher, Otto

Traffic grinds to a halt, cows carry deliveries, and enormous swarms of drummers rally: all for one brief "bang."

This short film is available for purchase or streaming as part of the collection Animation Before Unification: 16 Shorts from East Germany.

GDR, 4 min., color

Duke Ernest

Herzog Ernst (1993)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

Young Duke Ernst wants to become a good knight, but circumstances are not in his favor: The emperor, who wants to claim the Duke's castle and marry his mother, has Ernst wrongfully accused of murder and thrown in the dungeon.

Germany, 45 min., color

Duped Till Doomsday

Betrogen bis zum jüngsten Tag (1957)

Director: Jung-Alsen, Kurt

It is June 1941 and a company of German soldiers is stationed near the Lithuanian border. While on leave, three soldiers–Wagner, Lick and Paulun–go off on a hunting trip. All is fine until one of them accidentally shoots their captain's daughter.

GDR, 71 min., b&w

Dürer's Heirs

Dürers Erben (1996)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

After the Wall came down in 1989, what happened to major Leipzig School painters Werner Tübke and Bernhard Heisig"¦ who had been called "Dürer's red heirs" by West German journalists in the 1970s? This documentary paints an insightful, often critical picture of early East German art history.

Germany, 59 min., color/b&w

Dusk: 1950's East Berlin Bohemia

Dämmerung — Ostberliner Boheme der 50er Jahre (1992)

Director: Voigt, Peter

Berlin in the 1950s: divided, but not yet walled. Young artists, at the start of their careers and seeking a new lifestyle, frequented the East Berlin cafés and bars that were meeting places for intellectuals, as well as Cold War secret service agents and black marketeers.

Germany, 93 min., color/b&w

Dwarf Nose

Zwerg Nase (1985)

Director: Georgi, Katja

For his continual mockery of others, a fairy transforms the cheeky Jacob into an ugly dwarf. However, the fairy teaches him how to cook, and Jacob becomes a master of his trade and the main chef in the king's court. But Jacob is not familiar with the herb "Sneeze-with-Pleasure".

GDR, 38 min., color

Eastern Landscape

Östliche Landschaft (1991)

Director: Schreiber, Eduard

Articles of former East Germany from household items to flags are thrown away at a garbage dump outside of East Berlin, serving as a reminder of a state that no longer exists.

Germany, 15 min., color

The Education of Auma Obama

Die Geschichte der Auma Obama (2011)

Director: Branwen Okpako

A captivating, intimate portrayal of the US president's Kenyan half-sister. Obama studied linguistics in Heidelberg, Germany, before enrolling in film school in Berlin, where she met director Okpako in the 1990s.

Germany, 80 min., color

The Eichsfeld Region

Das Eichsfeld (1987)

Director: Schulze, Klaus

This film reports on the Eichsfeld region in Lower Saxony and Thuringia, describing its landscape, towns and inhabitants. Historical documents and images are contrasted with modern footage to illustrate the major changes that have taken place in this previously under-developed area.

GDR, 33 min., color

Einmart

Einmart (1981)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

Mutants live on a hermetically sealed, devastated planet. The film's protagonist, a head with hands but no body, drags himself through a dreary, lightless landscape of isolated random organs and cell clusters.

GDR, 15 min., color

El Golpe Blanco - The White Coup

El Golpe Blanco. Der weisse Putsch (1975)

Parliamentary Elections in Chile on March 4, 1973: Reactionary forces, financially backed by the American CIA and international cooperations, attempt to gain a two-thirds majority in the National Congress, which would allow them to impeach President Salvador Allende, who was democratically electe

GDR, 70 min., b&w

Elective Affinities

Die Wahlverwandtschaften (1973)

Director: Kühn, Siegfried

During the Napoleonic Wars, Baron Eduard and his wife Charlotte live an reclusive and idyllic life together in an old castle. Driven to boredom by isolation, Eduard invites his friend Captain Otto to come stay, and Charlotte decides to bring her niece Ottilie back from boarding school.

GDR, 102 min., color

Emil the Comedian

Komödianten-Emil (1979)

Director: Hasler, Joachim

In the early 1930s, the cabaret artist Emil Damaschke tries to keep his audiences entertained, but his excessive boldness gets him kicked out of the Rosenthaler cabaret.

GDR, 91 min., color

Emilia Galotti

Emilia Galotti (1957)

Director: Hellberg, Martin

Emilia Galotti, daughter of colonel Odoardo, unwittingly attracts the attention of the depraved and tyrannical prince of Guastalla.

GDR, 156 min., b&w

Encounters between Boys and Girls-1: Will You Tell Your Child?

Beziehungen zwischen Jungen und Mädchen: Sagst Du's Deinem Kinde? (1963)

Director: Oelschlägel, Götz

The first part of a film series on sexual education, designed for parents of children and teens.

GDR, 22 min., b&w

Cover Photo for Encounters between Boys and Girls-2: Because I

Encounters between Boys and Girls-2: Because I'm No Longer a Child

Beziehungen zwischen Jungen und Mädchen — ...weil ich kein Kind mehr bin... (1963)

Director: Oelschlägel, Götz

The second part of a film series on sexual education designed for parents of children and teens. Director Götz Oelschlegel addressed the taboo issue of sexuality well before the first films made by the champion of sexual education, Oswald Kolle, at the end of the 1960s.

GDR, 22 min., b&w

Encounters between Boys and Girls-3: Partners

Beziehungen zwischen Jungen und Mädchen: Partner (1964)

Director: Oelschlägel, Götz

The third part of a film series on sexual education, designed for parents of children and teens, that addressed the taboo issue of sexuality (well before the first films made by the champion of sexual education, Oswald Kolle, at the end of the 1960s).

GDR, 36 min., b&w

Cover Photo for Encounters between Boys and Girls-4: Don

Encounters between Boys and Girls-4: Don't Be Shy with Awkward Questions

Beziehungen zwischen Jungen und Mädchen — Keine Scheu vor heiklen Fragen (1965)

Director: Oelschlägel, Götz

The fourth and final part of a film series on sexual education designed for parents of children and teens. The director addressed the taboo issue of sexuality well before the first films made by the champion of sexual education, Oswald Kolle, at the end of the 1960s.

GDR, 22 min., b&w

Environmental Problems

Umweltprobleme (1987)

A documentary on environmental issues. The film discusses contemporary problems relating to the natural world and presents a number of initiatives taking place in the GDR.

GDR, 29 min., color

Eolomea

Eolomea (1972)

Director: Zschoche, Herrmann

Eight space cargo-ships disappear without a trace within three days and there is suddenly no contact with the orbiting space station, Margot. The space council orders a total flight stop. But one space ship secretly takes off to go to the space station.

GDR, 79 min., color

Erich Engel: A Hegel Among Comedians

Erich Engel — Ein Hegel unter den Komödianten (1994)

Director: Kasten, Ullrich

He's not just "a Hegel among comedians," in the words of Professor Dr. Ernst Schumacher, but also "a director of the scientific age," as Bertold Brecht once said. Erich Engel, working across time and art forms, was already well known in the 1930s as a theater and film director.

Germany, 90 min., color/b&w

Erich Fried: The Whole World Should Endure

Die ganze Welt soll bleiben — Erich Fried. Ein Porträt (1988)

Director: Steiner, Roland

Born to Jewish parents, author Erich Fried (1921-1988) left Vienna in 1938 and settled in London. In this film Fried, who was always politically engaged, reflects on very personal experiences and discusses philosophical questions of concern to humankind.

GDR, 31 min., color

Ernst Barlach in Güstrow

Ernst Barlach in Güstrow (1987)

Director: Schulze, Klaus

This documentary portrays the life and work of the German expressionist sculptor, graphic artist and dramatist Ernst Barlach (1870-1938).

GDR, 27 min., color

Ernst Barlach: Mystic of Modernity

Ernst Barlach — Mystiker der Moderne (2006)

Director: Boehm, Bernd

This documentary on the life of German Expressionist artist Ernst Barlach (1870-1938) weaves together excerpts of his writings into a biographical overview with extensive images of his drawings, paintings and sculptures. Narrated in English.

Germany, 26 min., color/b&w

Ernst Thälmann: Leader of the Working Class

Ernst Thälmann — Führer seiner Klasse (1955)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt

Ernst Thälmann was the leader of the German Communist Party during the Weimar Republic, communist martyr during the Third Reich, and role model for "the first advanced socialist society on German soil." The second part of the Ernst Thaelmann films encompasses the time period between 1930 and Thae

GDR, 139 min., color

Ernst Thälmann: Son of the Working Class

Ernst Thälmann — Sohn seiner Klasse (1954)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt

This film is the first of a two-part historical and biographical portrait of the communist politician and anti-fascist Ernst Thälmann.

GDR, 139 min., color

Estates in Farmers' Hands

Junkerland in Bauerhand (1947)

Director: Huisken, Joop

A short documentary about the first two years of agrarian reform in the GDR. Noblemen's estates were converted into collectively owned farms or distributed as smaller plots among peasant farmers, laborers, and refugees.

GDR, 20 min., b&w

Ete and Ali

Ete und Ali (1984)

Director: Kahane, Peter

Ete and Ali, an incongruous and inseparable pair, are fresh out of the army. Neither one knows what to do next. Ali, who does not want to return to his lackluster life, decides to help Ete win back his wife.

GDR, 89 min., color

Eureka: The Egg

Heureka: Das Ei (1984)

Director: Hempel, Rainer

A man has a hankering for a breakfast egg. Because the hen cannot deliver one on demand, he invents a machine to create an egg independent of the animal. But the finished product is dismal. In the meantime, the hen has been able to lay the desired egg.

GDR, 6 min., color

Even Today He'd Speak His Mind

Er könnte ja heute nicht schweigen (1975)

Director: Koepp, Volker

In this film about Erich Weinert (1890-1953), the German political poet, agitator, and satirist, His wife and friends share stories about his life: his commitment to the struggle of the international proletariat; his exile in Switzerland, France, and the Soviet Union; and his fight in the Interna

GDR, 34 min., b&w

Excerpts from the Life of a Good-For-Nothing

Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts (1973)

Director: Bleiweiß, Celino

A miller sends his son, whom he calls "Good-For-Nothing," out into the world to look for work. His pockets are empty, but he has a vivid imagination, a head full of songs, and a violin under his arm.

GDR, 95 min., color

Excuse Me, Are You Watching Soccer?

Verzeihung, sehen Sie Fußball? (1983)

Director: Scholz, Gunther

On July 11, 1982, all the residents of an East Berlin apartment building are watching West Germany play Italy in the World Cup finals.

GDR, 100 min., color

Exercises

Exercises (1981)

The Pol Pot regime tried to erase 2000 years of Cambodian culture in order to begin writing history anew. Classical Khmer dances and art forms were forbidden, schools were destroyed, and teachers and students kidnapped and killed.

GDR, 10 min., color

Cover Photo for Exile and Internationalism: Or How Anna Seghers

Exile and Internationalism: Or How Anna Seghers's "Das Licht auf dem Galgen" Got to Cuba

(2011)

Director: Hosek, Jennifer

In this filmed interview, Marike Janzen (Univ.

19 min., color

The Exot

Der Exot (1988)

Director: Backwinkel, Raimund

A man reads about a faraway land with exotic, one-eyed people and decides to capture and put one of them on display as a curiosity. But the journey ends differently than planned when the one-eyed people decide he would make an interesting exhibit.

GDR, 3 min., color

Exploring the Arts

Erkundungen: Kunst und Künstler (1979)

Director: Flemming, Klaus

This documentary presents various aspects of art in the GDR and the relationship between artists and their environment.

GDR, 31 min., b&w

Exploring the Mark Brandenburg

Märkische Forschungen (1981)

Director: Gräf, Roland

Village teacher Poetsch happens to run into the distinguished Professor Menzel, whose car is stuck on a forest road in the Mark Brandenburg. The two men quickly discover that they are both great admirers of local early 19th-century writer Max von Schwedenow.

GDR, 96 min., color

Eyewitness: The 1940s

Der Augenzeuge — Die 40er Jahre (n/a/2001)

This video series gives one insight into the daily events back then in the form of raw reportage of the weekly chronicles, showing (often in headlines) the momentous political and economic occurrences, athletic and youth competitions, arts and entertainment and diverting encounters with public of

Eyewitness: The 1950s

Der Augenzeuge — Die 50er Jahre (n/a/2001)

Eyewitness: The 1960s

Der Augenzeuge — Die 60er Jahre (n/a/2001)

Eyewitness: The 1970s

Der Augenzeuge — Die 70er Jahre (n/a/2001)

The Face of the New Africa

Das Gesicht des neuen Afrika (1960)

Director: Dumke, Hans

A portrait of the West African country of Guinea shortly after its independence from France.

The documentary depicts aspects of daily life in the city and the country as well as the ongoing transition to new forms of education, industry and goverment.

GDR, 20 min., color

A Fall Day in Alexandria

Ein Herbsttag in Alexandria (1958)

Director: Kleberg, Bruno

This short documentary profiles the famous Egyptian harbor city. Oriental bazaars represent the city's long history, while busy shopping streets and young couples on the beach serve as symbols of its modern face.

GDR, 12 min., color

Falk Harnack: On Walking Upright

Falk Harnack — Vom aufrechten Gang (1994)

Director: Kasten, Ullrich

Unforgettable scenes reveal what Falk Harnack may have envisioned when he filmed The Axe of Wandsbek, a film which uses nightmarish black and white images to evoke the inner and outer needs of a petit-bourgeois man who lets himself become the executioner for the slaughterers of the Third

Germany, 30 min., color/b&w

Fallada — The Last Chapter

Fallada — Letztes Kapitel (1988)

Director: Gräf, Roland

German novelist Hans Fallada lives with his family in a small, remote town. His craving for peace and harmony collides with his own inner turmoil and the growing power of the Nazis.

GDR, 100 min., color

The Falcon's Trail

Spur des Falken (1968)

Director: Kolditz, Gottfried

When gold is discovered in the Black Hills in the late 19th century, gold diggers and adventurers break the treaty that allocated the Hills to the Dakota Indians.

GDR, 113 min., color

The Fall of the Wall: Path to German Reunification 1

Chronik der Wende 1 (1994)

Director: Drescher, Wolfgang

The dramatic events of the East German fall of 1989 are depicted using East and West German television news coverage, Stasi documents, amateur videos and private photos never before released in North America.

Part 1: The critical days of October 1989

Germany, 90 min., color

The Fall of the Wall: Path to German Reunification 2

Chronik der Wende 2 (1994)

Director: Drescher, Wolfgang

Germany, 90 min., color

Far From Klein Wanzleben

Jenseits von Klein Wanzleben (1989)

Director: Dresen, Andreas

This documentary observes the everyday life of an East German socialist brigade "Brigade of Friendship" that is assigned to provide development aid and training for young Africans in skilled trades in Mashayamombe, Zimbabwe.

GDR, 41 min., color

Farewell

Abschied (1968)

Director: Günther, Egon

In August 1914, many young German men euphorically volunteered to join the army. But in Munich, Hans Gastl, the son of a militaristic state prosecutor, makes a decision: he won't become a soldier or fight this war.

GDR, 107 min., b&w

Farewell Disco

Abschiedsdisco (1989)

Director: Losansky, Rolf

15-year-old Henning is deeply shaken by the death of Silke, his first love. He decides to visit his grandfather one more time in his village that soon must give way to brown coal mining.

GDR, 90 min., color

Farewell, Beautiful Forest"... or How a Film Was Censored

"Wer hat dich du schöner Wald"..." "...oder Wie ein Film VERHINDERT wurde (1990)

Director: Günther Lippmann

An ecological catastrophe in the Ore Mountains: Foresters and residents desperately try to save this landscape from forest dieback, forbidden language in East Germany, where a doctrinaire state power turns a blind eye and denies the facts.

GDR, 40 min., color

Fariaho

Fariaho (1983)

Director: Gräf, Roland

In the late 1950s, Sebastian Fußberg (Franciszek Pieczka) travels through the country performing traditional puppet shows. Although the old man is a dreamer and idealist at heart, he cannot come to terms with the shadows of his past in a concentration camp.

GDR, 94 min., color

Farmland: A Chronicle

Bauernland — Eine Chronik (1960)

Director: Hornig, Harry

This documentary traces the development of the model socialist village of Mestlin in Mecklenburg, beginning with the founding of the first agricultural production cooperative in 1952 until its organization as a people's collective in 1960.

GDR, 20 min., b&w

Farssmann, or On Foot Down a Dead End

Farßmann oder zu Fuß in die Sackgasse (1991)

Director: Oehme, Roland

Recently-divorced accountant Farssmann enjoys his quiet job at a small company and is unhappy to find himself suddenly on his way to the top.

Germany, 97 min., color

The Farmer's Clever Daughter

Die kluge Bauerntochter (1983)

Director: Krauße-Anderson, Monika

A farmer receives land from the king and discovers a buried golden mortar. He decides to give it to the king out of gratitude, but his clever daughter warns him that the king will surely want him to bring a corresponding pestle as well.

GDR, 20 min., color

Fast Luck

Schnelles Glück (1988)

Director: Tschörtner, Petra

Retiree Herta Rogau, who has been running a betting counter at the Karlshorst horse racetrack for 15 years, explains how she got into this line of work and why she never dared to gamble herself.

GDR, 10 min., b&w

Fat Little Tilla

Die dicke Tilla (1981)

Director: Bergmann, Werner

Chubby fifth grader Tilla is the biggest in her class and is used to the others following her lead. She doesn't like Anne, the new girl in school, and turns most of their classmates against her.

GDR, 74 min., color

Fatal Error

Tödlicher Irrtum (1969)

Director: Petzold, Konrad

The Wyoming Oil Company struck it big on the land in the Indian reservation. The poor Indians, facing a limited existence, are filled with hope because of the potential wealth from their land.

GDR/Cuba, 99 min., color

Fathers of a Thousand Suns

Väter der tausend Sonnen (1989)

Director: Hellwig, Joachim

The documentary tells the story of the German scientist Klaus Fuchs (1911-1988), who, in 1941, joined the British atomic project Tube Alloys, and three years later, J. Robert Oppenheimer's Manhattan Project, the highly secret Los Alamos Laboratory located in the New Mexico desert.

GDR, 87 min., color/b&w

Faust's Fire

Das Feuer des Faust (1981)

Director: Georgi, Katja

Doctor Faustus wants to invent a fire that is more powerful than any flame that came before. Death is approaching him. In order to extend his life, he enters a pact with Mephistopheles.

22 min., color

The Favorite

Der Bevorzugte (2005)

Director: Czok, Alexandra

This biographical film about (East) German documentary filmmaker Peter Voigt (1933-2015) recounts important events in his artistic life. In the early 1950s, Voigt joined the Berliner Ensemble as Bertolt Brecht's youngest assistant.

Germany, 45 min., b&w

Felix and the Wolf

Felix und der Wolf (1987)

Director: Schmidt, Evelyn

Seven-year-old Felix has a chest full of valuable treasures. When his neighbor moved out of her home, she gave the little boy a trunk containing the most wonderful old toys. The toys are so valuable, in fact, that greedy antique store owner Mr. Wolf also wants to get his hands on the chest.

GDR, 68 min., color

Fellow Citizens

Mitbürger (1974)

This short documentary consists of the complete, unedited audio of Chilean President Salvador Allende's final radio speech to the Chilean people from his presidential palace La Moneda on September 11, 1973, the day when his government was overthrown by a military coup.

GDR, 7 min., b&w

Festival of Sports

Fest des Sports (1977)

Director: Hadaschik, Joachim

This documentary allows the viewer to relive the VI. German Gymnastics and Sports Festival and VI. Children's and Youth's Spartakiad Games, held simultaneously in Leipzig.

GDR, 42 min., color

Fetzer's Escape

Fetzers Flucht (1962)

Director: Stahnke, Günter

Eighteen-year-old Harry Fetzer (Ekkehard Schall) tries to leave the GDR for West Germany illegally. In the process, he gets into a serious argument with a guard on the train, who tries to interfere with his plans. When they fight, the guard slips from the moving train and is killed.

GDR, 40 min., b&w

The Fiancée

Die Verlobte (1980)

Director: Reisch, Günter
Rücker, Günther

Germany, 1934: Hella Lindau and her fiancé Hermann Reimers are members of an anti-Nazi resistance group. When they are betrayed, Hella takes the blame and is sentenced to ten years in prison for high treason.

GDR, 106 min., color/b&w

Cover Photo for The Fight About the Donkey

The Fight About the Donkey's Shadow

Der Streit um des Esels Schatten (1989)

Director: Beck, Walter

The philosopher Democritus has a toothache, so a dentist from ancient Abdera sets off for his house. En route, he gets into a fight with a donkey driver, who demands payment because Abdera rested in his donkey's shadow. Eventually all of Abdera gets caught up in the conflict.

GDR, 73 min., color

Film Children

Filmkinder (1984)

Director: Tschörtner, Petra

The film team accompanies two child lay actors to a day on the set of Rolf Losansky"˜s film White Cloud Carolin.

GDR, 16 min., color

Filopat & Patafil: The Race

Filopat & Patafil: Der Wettlauf (1962)

Director: Rätz, Günter

The tall, arrogant Filopat and the short, clever Patafil want to race each other all the way to a tree on the horizon. While Patafil prepares for the race, Filopat measures the course and covertly builds a ditch crossing the track to shake off Patafil.

GDR, 6 min., color

Find and Invent: Wolfgang Kohlhaase, Screenplay Writer

Finden und Er-finden — Wolfgang Kohlhaase, Drehbuchautor (1997)

Director: Kasten, Ullrich

This biographical portrait of the screenwriter Wolfgang Kohlhaase is part of a series of documentaries about DEFA filmakers by director Ullrich Kasten.

NOTE: This film is currently only available as part of our non-circulating research collection.

Germany, 45 min., color/b&w

Fine Toys — Made in USA

Feine Spielwaren — Made in USA (1969)

Director: Rätz, Günter

A short, puppet-animated film about the American toy company Aurora, founded by Paul W. Lindburg after WWII. This company specialized in kits for making model vintage and modern military aircraft and other vehicles, passenger planes and ships.

GDR, 13 min., color

Fire Below Deck

Feuer unter Deck (1977)

Director: Zschoche, Herrmann

Otto Scheidel (Manfred Krug) has been captain of the Elbe steamer Jenissei for over twenty years, but his ship, the last of its kind, is going to be converted into a floating restaurant. Otto, whose his strong attachment to the ship has already cost him his relationship with his girlfrie

GDR, 84 min., color

First I Wrote Songs: Brecht After School

Zuerst habe ich Lieder geschrieben... — Brecht nach der Schule (1986)

Director: Schober, Donat

A documentary portrait of the young Bertolt Brecht. This film shows how the early years shaped the personality that became one of Germany's most famous writers and poets.

GDR, 18 min., color/b&w

First Leipzig Autumn Salon

1. Leipziger Herbstsalon (1984)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

In fall 1984, six young Leipzig artists–Lutz Dammbeck, Hans-Hendrik Grimmling, Günter Firit, Frieder Heinze, Günther Huniat–secretly organized the sensational exhibition they called 1.

GDR/Germany, 22 min., b&w

First Love

Erste Liebe (1984)

Director: Weiß, Konrad

For over a year, the film team accompanied an eighth grade class and interviewed the students about their first romantic relationships as well as their relationships to parents and teachers.

GDR, 62 min., color

The Fisherman and His Wife

Die Geschichte vom Fischer und seiner Frau (1975)

Director: Krauße, Werner

The fisherman feels bad for the golden, speaking fish that he caught and releases him. The fish offers a free wish to the good-hearted man. The man asks for a boat, but his wife is not happy with it and asks for a house. Driven by the wife's greed, the fisher asks for more and more.

GDR, 13 min., color

Five Cartridges

Fünf Patronenhülsen (1960)

Director: Beyer, Frank

During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), five International Brigade soldiers of different nationalities are given a crucial assignment as their commander lies dying: they are to smuggle top-secret information across enemy lines.

GDR, 85 min., b&w

Five Days, Five Nights

Fünf Tage — Fünf Nächte (1960)

Director: Arnshtam, Lev
Golowanow, Anatoli
Thiel, Heinz

May 8, 1945: WWII is over. Dresden is in ruins. But where are the 2200 paintings by artists such as Rembrandt, Raphael, Rubens, Giorgione, and Vermeer van Delft from the Old Masters Picture Gallery?

GDR/USSR, 108 min., color

Five in a Quartet

Quartett zu fünft (1949)

Director: Lamprecht, Gerhard

Anne Treibel owns a small house that is home to four women and one man, Martin, a badly injured war veteran. All the women are interested in Martin, but he knows that only Anne truly loves him. When Helga asks him to get a surgery that could save his life, he does it for Anne.

GDR, 91 min., b&w

The Flight

Die Flucht (1977)

Director: Gräf, Roland

When Dr.

GDR, 94 min., color

The Flight to the Penguins

Die Flucht zu den Pinguinen (1984)

Director: Rätz, Günter

In the village, flowers are still growing, but the days are growing shorter as chubby-cheeked Mr. Winter creeps into town. His chilly breath is enough to put a layer of ice on all the plants. But the sun slowly regains its power and after a long attempt at resistance, Mr.

GDR, 9 min., color

Flowers for the Man in the Moon

Blumen für den Mann im Mond (1975)

Director: Losansky, Rolf

While looking through a telescope, young Pioneer Adam Ledermann hears a voice from the moon, which asks him to cultivate flowers that could grow there. He begins a series of experiments, but growing a moon flower proves to be more difficult than he thought.

GDR, 80 min., color

The Flood

Die Flut (1986)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

Two men enjoy the sunset from their lonely island. A storm draws near, and they decide to build a boat. While one man is mindful of the coming danger and urges speed, the other wastes his time on decorative details.

GDR, 10 min., color

Flute Melody

Flötenweise (1984)

Director: Hien, Dang
Wiemer, Hans-Ulrich

Princess My hears a beautiful flute melody coming from the river. She longs to meet the musician, whom she imagines to be a rich and handsome young man. When the fisherboy Truong Chi appears before her and reveals himself as the real flute player, the princess does not respond well.

GDR/Vietnam, 24 min., color

The Flying Dutchman

Der fliegende Holländer (1964)

Director: Herz, Joachim

In order to escape her narrow and restrictive life, Senta, the daughter of a rich shipowner, seeks refuge in her fantasies and dreams. In this realm of imagination, a bold and restless sea captain appears to her–the Flying Dutchman–who is cursed to wander the seas forever.

GDR, 101 min., b&w

The Flying Grandfather

Der fliegende Großvater (1964)

Director: Barke, Lothar

A grandfather builds a giant kite with his grandson, but first time they try to fly it, they are pulled up into the sky! Grandma is worried that the pair will catch a cold during their flight and insists on sending warm winter clothes up to them.

GDR, 10 min., color

The Flying Windmill

Die fliegende Windmühle (1978)

Director: Rätz, Günter

On the run, a young girl Olli, her loyal dog, Pinkus, and their new friend, Alexander the Horse, seek refuge from a storm in an old mill, which also happens to be the lab of a science professor and his crocodile, Susi, who looks after him.

GDR, 82 min., color

Fog

Nebel (1962)

Director: Hasler, Joachim

At the beginning of the 1960s, NATO sends a German envoy (Helmut Schreiber) to the British village of Rocksmouth to salvage an old shipwreck so that a new naval base can be established there.

GDR, 97 min., b&w

The Foggy Night

Nebelnacht (1969)

Director: Nitzschke, Helmut

When a motorcyclist dies in an accident, Lieutenant Kreutzer and his younger colleague Arnold receive the order to investigate what appears to be a murder case. Head physician Dr.

GDR, 84 min., b&w

Follow Me, Rascals!

Mir nach, Canaillen! (1964)

Director: Kirsten, Ralf

A wild story set in eighteenth-century Prussia. Alexander can do everything that a real devil of a fellow must be able to do: ride, shoot, love and devise clever plots. As a result, he is able to climb the ladder from herder to chamber master, where he makes a fool of the feudal lords.

GDR, 103 min., color

For Angela

Für Angela (1972)

Director: Kohlert, Werner

American political activist and philosopher Angela Davis visited East Germany in September 1972. This propaganda film aimed to commend East Germans for their solidarity and support in Davis's high-profile release from prison.

GDR, 16 min., b&w

For Example: Frankfurt/Oder

Zum Beispiel: Frankfurt/Oder (1980)

Director: Machalz, Alfons

This documentary uses the region of Frankfurt/Oder as a case study to depict daily life in the GDR. People from a variety of backgrounds and walks of life talk about their accomplishments, their living and working conditions and their role in shaping their own lives.

GDR, 44 min., color

For Eyes Only - Top Secret

for eyes only - streng geheim (1963)

Director: Veiczi, János

Hansen is a double agent working for the East German secret police. He has infiltrated the American Military Intelligence Division, part of a network planning to invade the GDR. Hansen's mission is to obtain and bring back classified, top-secret documents.

GDR, 103 min., b&w

For the Happiness of Women and the Family

Für das Glück der Frauen und der Familie (1975)

Director: Müller, Heinz
Nippert, Erwin

The process of women's liberation goes hand in hand with the building of the socialist state in the GDR. Wool spinners and collective farmers, city planners and architects, graphic artists and congressional delegates all discuss their lives as women in contemporary socialist society and comment o

GDR, 32 min., color

For the People's Welfare

In Fürsorge für das Volk (1993)

Director: Belz, Uwe
Nickel, Gitta
Schwarze, Wolfgang

The Honecker era is the centerpiece of this film. The program for the social policy of the SED (Socialist Unity Party) calls for the "unity of economic and social policy." Thus the Party leadership celebrated the achievement of the tight social service network extending from day-care to retiremen

Germany, 45 min., color

Four Chapters on the GDR

Vier Kapitel DDR (1976)

Director: Kilian, Georg

This documentary introduces international viewers to the GDR and demonstrates why it is preferable to live in a socialist state where everyone enjoys human rights, shared ownership of wealth and property, the right to work and education, and positive social relationships.

GDR, 39 min., color

Free Admission

Eintritt kostenlos (1976)

Director: Hellmich, Peter
Heynowski, Walter
Scheumann, Gerhard

Neglecting to pay a free visit to the Hanoi museums cost the American people 56,369 lives and 146 billion dollars.

GDR, 11 min., color

Freedom for Zanzibar

Uhuru kwa Sansibar (1964)

Director: Reusch, Heinz

After the People's Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba was declared on 12 January 1964, the GDR provided the African island country with assistance in improving its economy, education, health care and housing.

GDR, 34 min., color

The Free Orchestra

Das Freie Orchester (1988)

Director: Tschörtner, Petra

Day in, day out, Barbara sells screws at a store in the East Berlin Market Hall.

Friedrichstadt Palast Variety Theater

Friedrichstadtpalast (1987)

Director: Machalz, Alfons

This documentary begins with the 113-year history of the Friedrichstadt Palast from its construction in the 1860s to the closing of the building in 1980.

GDR, 18 min., color

Fritz Cremer, Creator of the Buchenwald Memorial

Fritz Cremer, Schöpfer des Buchenwald-Denkmals (1957)

Director: Hugo Hermann

This portrait of East German sculptor and graphic artist Fritz Cremer (1906-1993) shows the artist at work in his studio and some of his art works, including sculptures for his Buchenwald Memorial.

GDR, 17 min., b&w

From "Zone" to State

Von der Zone zum Staat (1993)

Director: Schober, Donat

This documentary considers the events leading up to the construction of the Berlin Wall on August 13, 1961 - the final division between the two German states. Here the focus is not only on major political events but also on the spirit of the times.

Germany, 45 min., b&w

From Economic Plan to Economic Collapse

Vom Plan zur Pleite (1993)

Director: Scholz, Gunther

This film follows the development of the GDR's planned economy from its beginnings to its failure. Germany was a trophy in the struggle between the new powers after two world wars.

Germany, 45 min., b&w

From Hamburg to Stralsund

Von Hamburg bis Stralsund (1950)

Director: Thorndike, Andrew

Following WWII, the Western Allies imposed strict restrictions on the building of new ships in both Germanys.

GDR, 31 min., b&w

Frozen Lightening, Parts 1 and 2

Die gefrorenen Blitze (1967)

Director: Veiczi, János

Part 1: Target Peenemünde – In 1939, antifascist scientist Dr. Kummerow alerts the British consulate to a top-secret Nazi missile program in Peenemünde.

GDR, 156 min., b&w

The Frog Prince

Der Froschkönig (1987)

Director: Beck, Walter

Princess Henriette must work and prove herself before she is able to receive her reward in this DEFA adaptation of the Grimms' original.

GDR, 66 min., color

The Full Circle

Der Kreis (1988)

Director: Georgi, Klaus

Black clouds of smoke billow from a huge industrial plant. Everyone outside is wearing gas masks. The giant factory works on and on. Inside are row upon row of machines producing"¦gas masks! Part of the 2005 MoMA film series Rebels with a Cause: The Cinema of East Germany.

GDR, 4 min., color

Fun, Medals and Grades

Spaß, Medaillen und Zensuren (1987)

Director: Urbanek, Willi

In the GDR, physical activity was considered an essential part of children's educational development. Using the city of Neuruppin as an example, this documentary illustrates the many opportunities for children and teenagers to participate in sports.

GDR, 16 min., color

GDR Magazine 1968/39: Contemporary Relevance of the Arts

DDR-Magazin 1968/39 (1968)

Director: Hartung, Nina

In these four short segments, documentary footage of current events allows for commentary on the role of arts and artists in the GDR.

GDR, 10 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1970/14: International Cereal and Bread Congress

DDR-Magazin 1970/14 (1970)

Two thousand researchers from 45 countries took part in the 5th International Cereal and Bread Congress in Dresden. Through local excursions, delegate were also introduced to the GDR's grain-growing industry and its modern technology and methods.

GDR, 10 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1971/01: Warsaw Pact Meeting; Leipzig Film Festival; Mills for Syria

DDR-Magazin 1971/01 (1971)

Director: Hohmann, Sigrid

Three documentary segments illustrate the GDR's international partnerships in the fields of politics, art, and commerce.

GDR, 10 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1971/03: International Relationships with Western Countries

DDR-Magazin 1971/03 (1971)

Director: Hohmann, Sigrid

Three brief documentary segments report on both positive and strained political relationships between the GDR and several Western countries.

1. A committee on the political recognition of the GDR meets in Denmark.

GDR, 11 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1971/10: Racism in the USA and South Africa

DDR-Magazin 1971/10 (1971)

Director: Sobiczewski, Heinz

This documentary contrasts East German efforts to achieve international peace and solidarity with oppressed peoples with Western imperialism and racism, in particular the the struggle for Civil Rights in the USA and apartheid in South Africa.

GDR, 10 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1971/11: 25th Anniversary of DEFA

DDR-Magazin 1971/11 (1971)

Director: Sobiczewski, Heinz

Documentary footage celebrates the anniversary of the GDR's nationally owned cinematographic institutions with examples of their artistic and political significance.

GDR, 10 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1972/02: 25 Years of German-Soviet Friendship

DDR-Magazin 1972/02 (1972)

Director: Plickat, Kurt

This film explains the historic basis for the friendship between East Germany and the Soviet Union, with examples of how these close ties shape various domains of life, including culture, economy, research, architecture, and education.

GDR, 20 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1972/05: European Security

DDR-Magazin 1972/05 (1972)

Director: Schnabel, Rolf

Examples of East German involvement in international political bodies are shown in three brief documentary segments.

GDR, 17 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1972/09: Youth and Education

DDR-Magazin 1972/09 (1972)

Director: Winter, Horst

Three short documentaries report on various aspects of the educational system, including youth media, daycare, and schools.

GDR, 10 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1972/22: Model City Eisenhüttenstadt; Construction in Berlin

DDR-Magazin 1972/22 (1972)

Director: Kleberg, Johanna

Two short documentaries report on measures to improve living conditions in Eisenhüttenstadt and Berlin.

GDR, 10 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1973/08: Cottbus District; Dornburg Castles; Art Collective in Neubrandenburg

DDR-Magazin 1973/08 (1973)

Director: Kleberg, Johanna
Machalz, Alfons
Weschke, Günter

Three short portraits of various regions in East Germany provide glimpses into daily life.

1. The Cottbus district has developed into an industrial region since 1945, providing good housing and employment opportunities for residents.

GDR, 23 min., color

GDR Magazine 1973/09: Residential Building and Everyday Life

DDR-Magazin 1973/09 (1973)

Director: Flügge-Demitter, Ursula
Sobiczewski, Heinz
Weschke, Günter

Three individual documentary segments focus on efforts to improve everyday living conditions for GDR citizens through construction of housing and public buildings.

GDR, 20 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1973/13: World Congress of Peace Forces in Moscow

DDR-Magazin 1973/13 (1973)

Director: Hadaschik, Joachim

In 1973, some 3200 delegates from 143 countries met in Moscow to discuss an issue of critical international importance for all mankind: the need for just and stable world peace.

GDR, 23 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1974/04: Museums in Berlin

DDR-Magazin 1974/04 (1974)

Director: Müller, Hans

This documentary report provides detailed information on some of the 16 musuems in the East German capital of Berlin and important items in their collections.

GDR, 26 min., color

GDR Magazine 1974/08: Cultural Politics of the GDR

DDR-Magazin 1974/08 (1974)

Director: Kleberg, Johanna
Müller, Hans

Examples of volunteer projects in Dresden and Dachwig illustrate how ordinary citizens can get involved in promoting positive change in their communities.

GDR, 21 min., color

GDR Magazine 1974/11: Socialist Educational Policy

DDR-Magazin 1974/11 (1974)

Director: Machalz, Alfons
Plickat, Kurt
Sobiczewski, Heinz

Three short reports show young people training for their future professional careers.

1. Job Training: young adults are guaranteed an apprenticeship through vocational training programs like the one at the Zschopau motorcycle factory.

GDR, 19 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1974/12: XVIII Berlin Festival 1974

DDR-Magazin 1974/12 (1974)

Director: Müller, Hans
Winter, Horst

Every year the Berlin Festival allows artists and cultural ensembles of international repute to introduce musical and dramatic works from around the world. The film illustrates the GDR people's great love of and need for the arts and reports on the close contacts that exist between audiences and

GDR, 28 min., b&w

Cover Photo for GDR Magazine 1975/03: Children

GDR Magazine 1975/03: Children's TV; Children's Books; Young Internationalists

DDR-Magazine 1975/03 (1975)

Director: Flügge-Demitter, Ursula
Hadaschik, Joachim

Three short documentaries show how television shows, books and summer camps contribute to children's development outside of school.

GDR, 17 min., color

GDR Magazine 1975/05: Development of Leisure and Recreational Sports in the GDR

DDR-Magazin 1975/05 (1975)

Director: Sobiczewski, Heinz

Even the youngest citizens are encouraged to take part regularly in recreational and competitive sports. Every two years, after making it past the qualification rounds in their home districts and counties, young people come together at the Children and Youth Spartakiad Games.

GDR, 20 min., color

GDR Magazine 1975/07: Vocational Training

DDR-Magazin 1975/07 (1975)

Director: Flügge-Demitter, Ursula
Kleberg, Johanna

The education system in the GDR offers young people a chance to study a variety of careers, as shown in four brief documentary segments.

GDR, 18 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1975/10: A Focus on Human Beings

DDR-Magazin 1975/10 (1957)

Director: Enseleit, Barbara Christa

Social welfare policies are designed to improve not just working conditions but also the quality of one's private life, as demonstrated in these three short documentary segments about family life.

GDR, 20 min., b&w

Cover Photo for GDR Magazine 1975/11: 225th Anniversary of Bach

GDR Magazine 1975/11: 225th Anniversary of Bach's Death

DDR-Magazin 1975/11 (1975)

Director: Plickat, Kurt

This documentary on Johann Sebastian Bach was made to commemorate the 225th anniversary of his death.

GDR, 25 min., b&w

Cover Photo for GDR Magazine 1975/12: Wilhelm Pieck, the Workers

GDR Magazine 1975/12: Wilhelm Pieck, the Workers' President

DDR-Magazin 1975/12 (1975)

Director: Kleberg, Johanna
Nippert, Erwin

This episode of the GDR Magazine series was made in honor of the 100th birthday of Wilhelm Pieck, the GDR's first president.

GDR, 20 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1976/01: Socialist Democracy

DDR-Magazin 1976/01 (1976)

Director: Sobiczewski, Heinz

Key issues of national policy are decided by the GDR parliament, the People's Chamber.

GDR, 18 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1976/02: Culture, Education, Leisure Time

DDR-Magazin 1976/02 (1976)

Director: Enseleit, Barbara Christa

What opportunities for meaningful leisure activities does the socialist state offer East German citizens?

GDR, 19 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1976/06: Youth and Solidarity

DDR-Magazin 1976/06 (1976)

Director: Junge, Winfried
Kraußer, Jochen

Four short segments feature young people and their involvement in national and international socialist youth organizations.

1. Delegates from 35 countries meet in Berlin for the 10th Free German Youth Congress in 1976.

GDR, 21 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1976/07: Preschool Education

DDR-Magazin 1976/07 (1976)

Director: Plickat, Kurt

Preschool education is an integral part of the socialist education system. Using a preschool in Eisenach as an example, the film describes the complete care and protection afforded to the youngest citizens of the GDR and explains the advantages of this type of pedagogical support.

GDR, 26 min., color

GDR Magazine 1977/03: German-Soviet Friendship

DDR-Magazin 1977/03 (1977)

Director: Plickat, Kurt

The German-Soviet Friendship Society, currently at around 5 million members, has been in existance for 30 years. This film presents the Society's main house in Berlin and also provide information about the close relationship between the two countries reaching back to the end of WWII.

GDR, 18 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1977/05: School for Life

DDR-Magazin 1977/05: Schule für das Leben (1977)

Director: Kraußer, Jochen

East German education encompassed a variety of facets, including social, vocational, and artistic development, as exemplified in three short documentary segments.

GDR, 21 min., b&w

GDR Magazine 1977/09: Sports Are Fun

DDR-Magazin 1977/09 (1977)

Director: Plickat, Kurt

The 6th Children and Youth Spartakiad Games was held in the Leipzig with the best young athletes from the whole country.

GDR, 26 min., color

GDR Magazine 1978/03: A Mayor and His Town

DDR-Magazin 1978/03 (1978)

Director: Machalz, Alfons

As the mayor of Lübbenau, a town in the Spreewald region of Brandenburg, Paul Hentschler must deal with many challenges and areas of responsibility. By showing a concrete example of municipal policies in action, this documentary encourages citizens to get involved in local government.

GDR, 18 min., color

GDR Magazine 1978/09: Christianity in the GDR

DDR-Magazin 1978/09 (1978)

Director: Flemming, Klaus

What factors determine the relationship between church and state in the GDR? How can Marxists and adherents of various religions live harmoniously together?

GDR, 20 min., color

GDR Paintings Return

Die Bilder von Dresden (1955)

Director: Hellwig, Joachim

Black-and-white flashbacks to Dresden's baroque past appear alongside Agfacolor footage of the city in the mid-1950s, after the fire bombings of WWII.

GDR, 18 min., b&w

GDR Sports Report

DDR-Sportreport (1976)

Director: Müller, Heinz
Sobiczewski, Heinz

Is there a phenomenon that could be described as a "sports miracle" in the GDR? This film depicts opportunities to be involved in sports that have been created all over the country with the help of the socialist state, public organizations, and volunteer efforts by ordinary people.

GDR, 34 min., color

The GDR, Your Partner in Trade

Handelspartner DDR (1986)

The East German Ministry for Foreign Affairs commissioned this documentary about the economic power of the GDR. The film was intended for international audiences and was not shown in ordinary screenings for East German citizens.

GDR, 21 min., color

The Geese of Buetzow

Die Gänse von Bützow (1985)

Director: Vogel, Frank

A historical comedy set in the small village of Bützow in Mecklenburg in 1794.

GDR, 95 min., b&w

Georg Friedrich Händel

Georg Friedrich Händel (1960)

Director: Hübel, Wernfried

World-renowned composer Georg Friedrich Händel was born on February 13, 1685, in Halle, and his musical talent was discovered and encouraged beginning at a young age.

GDR, 63 min., b&w

A German Career: Looking Back at Our Century

Eine deutsche Karriere — Rückblicke auf unser Jahrhundert (1987)

Director: Gass, Karl

This biography of Karl Dönitz begins with his birth in 1891, details his youth in Berlin, his career in the military, and his advancement within the Nazi Party, leading to his conviction in the Nürnberg trials and his death in 1980.

GDR, 108 min., b&w

Ghana Today

Ghana heute (1960)

Director: Marten, Walter

This short documentary portrays Ghana during its first years of independance. The footage includes the 1960 All-African Conference held in the capital city of Accra, which dealt with the problems of African states.

GDR/Ghana, 21 min., b&w

Girls in Gingham

Die Buntkarierten (1949)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt

A moving saga focusing on the women in a family that spans three generations and almost 70 years of German history, from the Wilhelmine period through the end of WWII.

Germany, 97 min., b&w

The Girl on the Diving Board

Das Mädchen auf dem Brett (1967)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt

Katharina Jens is accustomed to success as a competitive high diving champion. She steps in for her teammate Claudia during an international competition but fails to complete the difficult one-and-a-half somersault with a double twist, costing her team the victory.

GDR, 92 min., b&w

Gladys Marín — Chile

Gladys Marín — Chile (1974)

Director: Winter, Horst

Gladys Marin (1941-2005), a member of the Chilean Communist Party and an anti-Pinochet activist, visited the GDR and other socialist countries after leaving Chile in 1974.

GDR, 16 min., b&w

The Gleiwitz Case

Der Fall Gleiwitz (1961)

Director: Klein, Gerhard

The Gleiwitz Case reconstructs in detail the 1939 surprise attack by a Nazi unit on the radio station in Gleiwitz, a German town on the Polish border. This attack was blamed on Polish forces, thus served as Hitler's justification for marching into Poland and starting WWII.

GDR, 70 min., b&w

Globke Today

Globke heute (1963)

Director: Heynowski, Walter

Hans Globke was a government lawyer in the Third Reich Ministry of the Interior and co-author of the official commentary on the Nuremberg Race Laws of 1935. In 1953, he was appointed Director of the West German Federal Chancellory by Konrad Adenauer and in 1963 he was sentenced to life imprisonme

GDR, 29 min., b&w

Goethe Today

Goethe heute (1981)

Director: Machalz, Alfons

Are Goethe's classic literatury works only a domain for highly educated connoisseurs or do they still speak to ordinary citizens of the GDR today?

GDR, 39 min., color

The Golden Goose

Die goldene Gans (1964)

Director: Hartmann, Siegfried

Klaus lives and works with his two brothers, Kunz and Franz, but they are cruel and treat him poorly. One day, Klaus helps an old woman and offers to share his frugal meal. In return, she gives him a goose with feathers made of pure gold as a gift.

GDR, 65 min., color

The Golden Yurt

Die goldene Jurte (1961)

Director: Dordschpalam, Rabschaa
Kolditz, Gottfried

Herder Pagwa lives in a hut in a valley of beautiful flowers, where he hoards a mysterious chest whose secret is not revealed even to his three sons. The elder two believe that the chest is filled with gold and precious stones, so they break it open.

GDR/Mongolia, 83 min., color

Good Luck! Images of an Encounter

Glück auf! Bilder einer Begegnung (1981)

Director: Burmeister, Rainer

46 young men and women arrived from Mozambique in Lauchhammer and joined an apprenticeship as mechanics at a heavy equipment company.

(Production: Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, former Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen der DDR)

GDR, 26 min., color

Good Morning, Beautiful: Barbara

Guten Morgen, du Schöne: Barbara (1979)

Director: Loebner, Vera

In 1977, Maxie Wander published her GDR cult book Guten Morgen, du Schöne (© Susanne Wander, Vienna), in which 19 women from different ages and walks of life talked about their lives. This is one of 9 portraits which were adapted for East German TV.

GDR, 28 min., color

Good Morning, Beautiful: Rosi

Guten Morgen, du Schöne: Rosi (1980)

Director: Langhoff, Thomas

GDR, 29 min., color

Goods for Catalonia

Ware für Katalonien (1958)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

An old woman is arrested in the Berlin subway for trying to smuggle a telescope to West Berlin. Meanwhile, the body of an optical device dealer is found in a garden plot. But what is the connection between these two cases?

GDR, 95 min., b&w

The Goose Girl

Die Gänsemagd (1986)

Director: Tappert, Horst

The king sends the horse Fallada with a crone, a symbol of his marriage proposal, to his future bride. The king is very happy to meet the woman who passes herself off as his fiancée.

GDR, 11 min., color

Goya

Goya (1971)

Director: Wolf, Konrad

As a painter in the court of King Carlos IV of Spain, Goya (played by the great Lithuanian actor Donatas Banionis) has attained wealth and reputation. He believes in king and church, but he is also a Spaniard who dearly loves his people — a contradiction that presents a deep dilemma.

GDR/USSR, 136 min., color

Grandpa's Soup Kettle

Großvaters Suppenkessel (1987)

Director: Eckhold, Walter

A dragon family sends their slowly-growing child to its grandfather. Grandpa is the best soup cook, which might encourage the little dragon to eat more. But the old witch Krakelia has stolen Grandpa's kettle! The little dragon and Grandpa must outwit her to get it back.

GDR, color

Great Magus's Mirror

Der Spiegel des großen Magus (1980)

Director: Scharfenberg, Dieter

Many animals live in King Magus's ghostly garden, but they are not standard zoo creatures: they were all once people. The cruel ruler has enchanted them, as he did to Hanna, who refused to marry him.

GDR, 77 min., color

Greetings from Maputo

Grüße aus Maputo (1979)

Director: Hadaschik, Joachim
Hadaschik, Lisa

The film team visited Mozambique four years after it achieved independance under the socialist Mozambique Liberation Front government. A boy from the country's capital of Maputo describes his life and the changes that have taken place in his homeland.

GDR, 16 min., color

The Great Builder

Der Baulöwe (1980)

Director: Kissimov, Georgi

The successful entertainment artist Ralf Keul must either develop his land on the Baltic Sea or else forfeit it. Inexperienced yet courageous, he hurls himself into the undertaking, which spares him no unpleasantness.

GDR, 86 min., color

The Great Hall

Der große Saal (1977)

Director: Hohmann, Hans-Jürgen

This color documentary about the great hall in the Palace of the Republic takes a peek behind the scenes at the work that it takes to put on a cultural event. Stage hands and technicians are interviewed about their jobs and the relationship between the working class and art.

GDR, 16 min., color

Grill Point

Halbe Treppe (2001)

Director: Dresen, Andreas

This film follows the everyday life of two couples in Frankfurt am Oder who hang out at the pub and work at a radio station and in sales. Their friendship begins to fall apart when, for no apparent reason, one of the husbands falls in love with the other's wife.

Germany, 107 min., color

Gritta of Rat's Castle

Gritta von Rattenzuhausbeiuns (1984)

Director: Brauer, Jürgen

The young Countess Gritta von Rattenzuhausbeiuns lives in an old, run-down castle with her father, Count Julius.

GDR, 79 min., color

Grosskochberg: Garden of the Public Landscape

Großkochberg — Garten der öffentlichen Landschaft (1976)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

Kochberg Castle used to be owned by the von Stein family; Goethe visited Charlotte von Stein there several times.

As part of the 1000 Years of Weimar celebrations, the castle, which has been turned into a memorial, is opened to the public.

GDR, 16 min., color

Guinea Today

Guinea heute (1970)

Director: Diakité, Moussa Kémoko
Jentsch, Gerhard

This East German-Guinean coproduction celebrates the social, political and economic developments that have taken place the West African country Guinea since its independence in 1958. The documentary–seen through a Marxist lens–gives an insight into everyday life and ritual traditions in Guinea.

GDR/Guinea, 24 min., color

Half of Life

Hälfte des Lebens (1984)

Director: Zschoche, Herrmann

This tragic love story relates ten decisive years (1796 - 1806) in the life of the great German poet Friedrich Hölderlin–played by Ulrich Mühe (The Lives of Others). In order to support himself, Hölderlin takes a job as the live-in tutor to the four children of the wealthy Frankfurt bank

GDR, 93 min., color

Hands Up or I'll Shoot

Hände hoch oder ich schieße (1966)

Director: Kasprzik, Hans-Joachim

Because he lives in a small town with the lowest crime rate in East Germany, Investigator Holms (played by comedian Rolf Herricht) is stuck looking for a stolen pet rabbit even as he dreams of cracking a big case. Caught between his fantasies and his dull reality, Holms begins to suspects he is h

GDR, 75 min., b&w

Hans in Luck

Hans im Glück (1990)

Director: Rasche, Marion

Hans earns a lump of gold for his services, which he trades in order to have a horse to ride. He continues trading one thing for another, each time believing he has the better end of the deal.

GDR, 6 min., color

Hans Roeckle and the Devil

Hans Röckle und der Teufel (1974)

Director: Kratzert, Hans

Puppeteer and mechanic Hans Röckle makes a bargain with the devil, who gives Röckle magical powers that let him create the most wonderful objects: a needle that sews by itself, a flute that brings the wind and rain, and a telescope that lets one to see into the future.

GDR, 82 min., color

Hans, My Hedgehog

Hans, mein Igel (1984)

Director: Tappert, Horst

The farmer wishes for a son, even if it is only a male hedgehog. His wish gets fulfilled! But he is afraid to get mocked by the villagers and hides Hans, his son. When Hans sees the king in danger, he saves him.

GDR, 20 min., color

The Hangman's Brother

Des Henkers Bruder (1978)

Director: Beck, Walter

Ever since his brother became the local hangman, Christoph and his family are looked down upon in their village.

GDR, 81 min., color

Hatifa

Hatifa (1960)

Director: Hartmann, Siegfried

Hatifa has escaped from a slave camp in a quarry. The wise Simsal and his servant Hodya find her exhausted in the desert. Simsal cares for her like a father, and Hodya, who is the same age as Hatifa, becomes her best friend.

GDR, 85 min., color

Heart of the Pirate

Das Herz des Piraten (1987)

Director: Brauer, Jürgen

Ten-year-old Jessi has found a warm stone on the beach that glows and can even talk. It explains that it is the heart of Pirate William Red and it proceeds to tell her his story. Jessi's friends just laugh at the magic stone and act like she's crazy.

GDR, 80 min., color

Heiner and His Little Roosters

Heiner und seine Hähnchen (1963)

Director: Georgi, Klaus

Heiner takes good care of his three little roosters and gives them fresh sand every day. One day, he goes to the beach to get some sand. When he sees a plover, he races with him and forgets about his roosters.

GDR, 13 min., color

Heinrich the Deer

Hirsch Heinrich (1964)

Director: Rätz, Günter

Heinrich the deer arrives at the zoo. The children enthusiastically welcome him and soon they all become friends. When winter arrives, the children don't come to visit Heinrich anymore. He doesn't know that they are just busy with their Christmas preparations and goes to search for them.

GDR, 13 min., color

Heinrich the Thwarted

Heinrich der Verhinderte (1965)

Director: Weiler, Kurt

Duke Heinrich von Libnitz wins a knightly drink competition in 1472. However, the last barrel he drinks costs him his entire estate. So he has to find a new property!

GDR, 15 min., color

Held for Questioning

Der Aufenthalt (1982)

Director: Beyer, Frank

In the fall of 1945, only a few months after WWII, 19-year-old German POW Mark Niebuhr arrives with other prisoners at a train station near Warsaw.

GDR, 98 min., color

Hello

Hallo (1984)

Director: Moser, Hans
Rosié, Thomas

Unable to live in the big city, a man flees to the desert in search of peace and quiet.

This short film is available for purchase or streaming as part of the collection Animation Before Unification: 16 Shorts from East Germany.

GDR, 6 min., color

Hello, Hemingway

Hello, Hemingway (1990)

Director: Perez, Fernando

Havana in the 1950s: Larita loves Elvis Presley and Ernest Hemingway. But her rebellios friend Victor is more concerned with current Cuban politics than with her ideas and dreams.

Cuba, 84 min., color

Her Third

Der Dritte (1972)

Director: Günther, Egon

Margit Fliesser is a mathematician in her mid-30s who works in a medium-sized company; she has two children and has been divorced twice. Her colleagues like her and respect her professional skills, but she is somewhat shy and inhibited.

GDR, 107 min., color

Hercules Media Collage- Fragment

Herakles Media Collage - Fragment (1985)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

This recording, originally filmed on video on May 27, 1985, is of the media collage Herakles (Hercules) that was part of the Dresden International Music Festival program Klanghaus, Zeitzeichen II.

GDR, 9 min., b&w

Hercules Video

Herakles Video (1984)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

Dammbeck filmed this material during an event at Sredzkistrasse Gallery, a private exhibition space in East Berlin, in February 1984. Later, he captured the video material from a 16mm screening and projected it during his media collages.

GDR, 11 min., b&w

Hermann Glöckner: A Short Visit

Kurzer Besuch bei Hermann Glöckner (1984)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

This film documents the meeting of two painters — the older artist in front of the camera demonstrates his work to the younger artist behind the camera.

GDR, 32 min., color/b&w

Hero of the Reserve

Der Reserveheld (1964)

Director: Luderer, Wolfgang

Famous actor Ralf Horricht (played by comedian Rolf Herricht) is working on a film about life as a soldier. While taking some time off from shooting for a honeymoon trip, he is called up from reserves and brought to a military training camp.

GDR, 75 min., b&w

Heroin

Heroin (1967)

Director: Brandt, Horst E.
Thiel, Heinz

The bodies of an overnight train conductor and a French business man are discovered lying alongside train tracks. Also found at the crime scene are tomato juice cans full of heroin. But what is the connection between these two men and the drugs?

GDR, 87 min., b&w

Herzsprung

Herzsprung (1992)

Director: Misselwitz, Helke

The little East German town of Herzsprung, in the middle of nowhere, shortly after German unification in 1990.

Germany, 87 min., color

Hidden Films: A Journey from Exile to Memory

Peliculas Escondidas: Un viaje entre el exilio y la memoria (2016)

German Studies scholar Claudia Sandberg and filmmaker Alejandro Areal Vélez worked together to make this documentary that explores film-historical relations between Chile and East Germany.

Germany, 77 min., color

The Hiding Place

Das Versteck (1977)

Director: Beyer, Frank

One year has passed since Max and Wanda's divorce, but Max has come to the realization that he wants his ex-wife back–no matter what the cost! So he concocts a sneaky plan: he asks Wanda to hide him from the police, who are apparently looking for him.

GDR, 102 min., color

High Forest Fairy Tale

Hochwaldmärchen (1987)

Director: Peter Rocha

In the first part of Peter Rocha's Lusatian trilogy, a fairy tale is transformed into a parable about threats to the environment.

GDR, 9 min., color

Hilde, the Maid

Hilde das Dienstmädchen (1986)

Director: Brauer, Jürgen
Rücker, Günther

This film deals with complex themes of the sexual and political awareness of youth within the context of Bohemian anti-fascism in 1938.

GDR, 97 min., color

Hirde Dyama

Hirde Dyama (1970)

Director: Diakité, Moussa Kémoko
Jentsch, Gerhard

The first Hirde Dyama National Festival of Culture of the Republic of Guinea was held in March 1970 in the country's capital city of Conakry.

GDR/Guinea, 24 min., color

His Excellency, Comrade Prince

Seine Hoheit, Genosse Prinz (1969)

Director: Wallroth, Werner W.

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.

GDR, 86 min., color

Hitlerpinochet

Hitlerpinochet (1975)

Director: Herrmann, Jörg
Juan Forch

This animated short exposes the Pinochet government through comparisons to Hitler's Nazi regime using cut-out silhouettes.

GDR, 2 min., color

Homage to La Sarraz

Hommage à La Sarraz (1981)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

In this experimental short, Dammbeck relocates his Leipzig-based artists' circle known as the Herbstsalon (Autumn Salon), to La Sarraz Palace in Switzerland.

GDR, 12 min., b&w

Home Movies from the Wende Museum

Daily Life on 8mm (n/a)

Kate Dollenmayer, Audiovisual Archivist at The Wende Museum in Los Angeles, is screening four super-8mm home movies by GDR amateur filmmakers during our 2015 Summer Film Institute.

GDR, 25 min., color/b&w

The Homes We Carry

The Homes We Carry (2022)

Director: Brenda Akele Jorde

A filmic portrait of a family torn apart by the turmoil of world history between Germany, Mozambique and South Africa, at the center of which is the Afro-German mother Sarah.

Germany, 89 min., color

The Horse Girl

Das Pferdemädchen (1979)

Director: Schlegel, Egon

Irka, a young girl, and her mare Raya, an old former show horse, are best friends. However, when Raya surprisingly has another foal, Irka falls in love with the little stallion and begins to neglect her old friend. One day, her father tells Irka she must choose only one horse to keep.

GDR, 81 min., color

Hostess

Hostess (1976)

Director: Römer, Rolf

Jette and Johannes have been living together for two years when Johannes suggests that they "legalize" their relationship. Jette loves him, but the proposal of marriage terrifies her.

GDR, 99 min., color

Hot Summer

Heißer Sommer (1967)

Director: Hasler, Joachim

For summer vacation, two groups of high school students hitchhike to the Baltic Sea, where fun and trouble mix to create ties of friendship and love!

GDR, 91 min., color

The House on the River

Das Haus am Fluss (1985)

Director: Gräf, Roland

This story about a German family during World War II centers around four women living in a house on a river: Mother Voß (Jutta Wachowiak), her two daughters Agnes (Katrin Sass) and Lisbeth (Arianne Borbach), and her daughter-in-law Emmi (Corinna Harfouch).

GDR, 88 min., color

How Do You Feed a Donkey?

Wie füttert man einen Esel (1973)

Director: Oehme, Roland

Due to his profession, long-distance truck driver Fred (Manfred Krug) gets to see a lot of the world and enjoy the company of numerous girlfriends in the stopovers on his routes.

GDR, 91 min., color

How the Berlin Worker Lives

Zeitprobleme: Wie der Berliner Arbeiter wohnt (1930)

Director: Dudow, Slatan

This short documentary, meant to be the first in a series on current issues, was Slatan Dudow's first film. As it turned out, it was also the only one made for the series. Dudow shot his film in the streets and courtyards of depression-era Berlin.

Germany, 12 min., b&w

How to Marry a King

Wie heiratet man einen König (1968)

Director: Simon, Rainer

A farmer's daughter solves three riddles to free her unjustly imprisoned father from the king's dungeons. Her cleverness wins the king's heart, and he takes her as his wife.

GDR, 77 min., color

Hunting for Seconds

Jagd um Sekunden (1953)

Director: Funk, Hans-Joachim
Marten, Walter

This documentary reports on a German-German automobile race at the Saxon Ring racetrack. In addition to descriptions of the development and production of race cars at the Eisenach Motor Works, race car drivers Artur Rosenhammer and Edgar Barth are also profiled.

GDR, 48 min., b&w

The Hunt for the Boot

Die Jagd nach dem Stiefel (1962)

Director: Petzold, Konrad

Berlin, 1932: In a worker's quarter, a Communist Pioneer leader is found battered to death. Instead of investigating the case, the police try pin the murder on the dead man's Communist friends, eventually arresting his comrade Kurt Büttner.

GDR, 82 min., b&w

Cover Photo for The Hunter and the King of the Dwarfs

The Hunter and the King of the Dwarfs' Son

Der Jäger und der Sohn des Zwergenkönigs (1988)

Director: Henke, Manfred

Whoever shoots the most game will be the new court hunter. When Hans saves the King of the Dwarfs' Son during a hunt, he earns three miraculous presents that could help him to become the new court hunter and end the intrigues of the other hunters"¦

GDR, 20 min., color

The Hunter Watch

Die Sprungdeckeluhr (1990)

Director: Friedrich, Gunter

This tragicomedy presents the events of 1933 from a child's perspective. An antifascist and his wife are forced to flee Germany and leave their two children temporarily behind.

GDR, 82 min., color

I Love You — Just Kidding!

Ich liebe dich — April! April! (1987)

Director: Gusner, Iris

Law student Caroline and her husband Tom feel compelled to keep their marriage a secret. Caroline is scared of upsetting her mother Hella, who has been skeptical of men ever since her divorce twenty years ago, and Tom fears the criticism of his professor and boss, a family law specialist who is o

GDR, 86 min., color

I Thought You Liked Me

...und ich dachte, du magst mich (1986)

Director: (Neupert) Unterberg, Hannelore

On the way to summer camp, eleven-year-old Lena develops a crush on Wolfgang, but Antonia is interested in him too. Although Lena and Wolfgang grow closer to each other, camp director Eichler disapproves of their relationship and tries to split them up by assigning them to different groups.

GDR, 66 min., color

I Was a Citizen of the GDR

Ich war Bürger der DDR (1993)

Director: Nickel, Gitta
Schwarze, Wolfgang

In this simple phrase, "I was a citizen of the GDR," are countless individual life stories. Former citizens of the German Democratic Republic recount their personal feelings, experiences and attitudes toward the GDR as well as both material difficulties and the dominance of the State.

Germany, 90 min., color

I Was a Happy Person

Ich war ein glücklicher Mensch (1990)

Director: Schreiber, Eduard

Despite unjust imprisonment and politically-induced family suffering, journalist Tilbert Eckertz remains loyal to his state and country to the very end. In this documentary, he reflects on his life-long support of socialist ideals and the radical changes brought about by the events of 1989.

GDR, 60 min., color/b&w

I Was Nineteen

Ich war neunzehn (1968)

Director: Wolf, Konrad

Gregor is a young soldier entering Germany with the victorious Soviet troops at the end of WWII. But he is also the child of left-wing Germans who fled from Hitler and spent the war in the Soviet Union.

GDR, 115 min., b&w

I Was, I Am, I Shall Be

Ich war, ich bin, ich werde sein (1974)

In spring 1974, a Studio H&S camera team manages to film in Chile. With a permit from the Junta's Chancellery, they enter two large prison camps in the northern provinces of Chacabuco and Pisagua and interview inmates.

GDR, 80 min., b&w

I'll Show You

Euch werde ich's zeigen (1971)

Director: Losansky, Rolf

When 13-year-old Bernd moves from Rostock to the little town of Fichtenhainigen, he lands in the difficult position of being the new kid at school.

GDR, 83 min., b&w

I'm Ernst Busch

Ich bin Ernst Busch (2000)

Director: Voigt, Peter

A portrait of the German communist singer and actor Ernst Busch (1900-80), who first rose to prominence in the Berlin cabaret scene of the 1920s as an interpreter of political songs, particularly those of Kurt Tucholsky.

Germany, 59 min., b&w

I'm Laughing to Keep from Crying

Ich lache um nicht zu weinen (1982)

Director: R. Hattop, Hans

Olli Harrington and his cartoons are known all over the world. But few know that the Black American artist lives in East Berlin. The film tries to tell who he is and what he believes in.

Germany, 29 min., color

I'm Thirsty

Mich dürstet (1956)

Director: Paryla, Karl

The new Popular Front government hasn't brought concrete change for the Spanish people, so poor farmer Pablo convinces the townspeople to fight for their rights and drive the rich oppressors out of town.

GDR, 87 min., b&w

I've Never Felt Like a Star

Ich habe mich nie als Star gefühlt... (2008)

Cyclist Täve Schur is interviewed at the Peace Race Museum in Kleinmühlingen. Schur was the GDR's most popular athletic legend and role model. He won a number of international cycling competitions in the 1950s and 1960s and was a two-time Olympic medalist.

Icarus

Ikarus (1975)

Director: Carow, Heiner

Mathias is eight and lives with his divorced mother in East Berlin. One day, he pays his father a surprise visit. When he opens the door, his father is confused–and Mathias notices that a strange woman is there.

GDR, 90 min., color

If Everybody Danced How They Wanted to!

Wenn jeder tanzen würde, wie er wollte, na! (1972)

Director: Junge, Winfried

This short documentary contrasts the formal exercises of teenagers' ballroom dance lessons under the direction of teacher Karl Glöckner with the hot disco beats that reign in the dance clubs.

GDR, 25 min., color

If You Need Help

Wenn man Hilfe braucht (1988)

Director: Sommermeyer, Regina

This documentary informs viewers about the GDR's social security programs which are also available to citizens in the event of illness.

Commissioned by the East German Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

GDR, 21 min., color

An Illicit Love Story

Verbotene Liebe (1989)

Director: Dziuba, Helmut

The 18-year-old high school student Georg is on trial for sexually abusing a 13-year-old. Barbara and Georg have known each other since childhood and grew up together as neighbors.

GDR, 90 min., b&w

Impressions — Thoughts — Facts

Eindrücke — Gedanken — Tatsachen (1987)

Director: Hein, Rudi

This color documentary presents the most positive aspects of the GDR after the 11th Convention of the Socialist Unity Party in 1986-1987.

GDR, 39 min., color

Impressions from the GDR

Begegnungen mit der DDR (1979)

Director: Machalz, Alfons

This documentary is designed to present an image of a socially and culturally sophisticated East Germany to the international community.

GDR, 40 min., color

In Georgia

In Georgien (1988)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

After seeing an exhibit about the Georgian painter Niko Pirosmani (1862-1918), filmmaker and artist Jürgen Böttcher was inspired to shoot a film about this country, a dream that he was finally permitted to fulfill two decades later when he received permission to film

GDR, 103 min., b&w

In Spite of Everything!

Trotz alledem! (1971)

Director: Reisch, Günter

October 1918: Liebknecht is released from prison and Berlin workers celebrate his release. Although WWI is almost over, the German Kaiserreich in vain sends its last reserves to the slaughter.

GDR, 125 min., color

In the Dust of the Stars

Im Staub der Sterne (1976)

Director: Kolditz, Gottfried

The Cyrno spaceship lands on the planet TEM 4 in order to respond to a call for help. The Temers deny having sent this message. As commander Akala prepares the spaceship to leave, the ruler of TEM 4 invites her and her crew to a party.

GDR, 95 min., color

In the Lohm Valley

Im Lohmgrund (1977)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

Director Jürgen Böttcher and cinematographer Thomas Plenert spent a summer accompanying quarry workers and stone sculptors in the Lohm Valley, including Böttcher's friends Peter Makulies and Hartmut Bonk.

GDR, 27 min., color

In Transit: Report for Posterity

Im Durchgang — Protokoll für das Gedächtnis (1990)

Director: Tetzlaff, Kurt

Over the course of a year, starting in March 1989, director Kurt Tetzlaff follows Alexander Schulz, an 18-year-old high-school student and son of a pastor. Alexander openly discusses his non-conformist political views.

GDR, 85 min., color/b&w

In Transition: Report on a Hope

Im Übergang — Protokoll einer Hoffnung (1991)

Director: Tetzlaff, Kurt

Starting in early 1990, Alexander works for the Action Reconciliation Service for Peace as an alternative to compulsory military service. As he and his friends watch the political and social situation evolve, the ideas and hopes they had for their country unravel.

Germany, 82 min., color/b&w

Incident in Benderath

Zwischenfall in Benderath (1956)

Director: Veiczi, János

At a West German high school near the small town of Benderath, a group of boys band together and create a secret club called the "Trojans." Their Jewish classmate Jakob is mocked as a "enemy of the state" and "cowardly Oriental" by the fascist teacher Paecker.

GDR, 98 min., b&w

Incorrigible Barbara

Die unverbesserliche Barbara (1976)

Director: Warneke, Lothar

Former performance athlete Barbara is a highly respected member of her factory, where she is known for the high standards she sets for herself and her colleagues.

GDR, 101 min., color

Ingredients for Dreams

Zutaten für Träume (2001)

Director: Maugg, Gordian

Jutta (Renate Krössner, Solo Sunny) and Eric were once lovers and aspiring chefs in the Spree Forest region of East Germany. Brilliant but prone to risky improvisation, Jutta fell into obscurity, while Eric defected to the West and became famous.

Germany, 95 min., color

Intellect and Power

Geist und Macht (1993)

Director: Klemke, Christian
Kompatzki, Lothar

Intellect and Power, Art and Culture: "Take up the pen, mate!" The history of literature and art in the German Democratic Republic is repeatedly punctuated by State oppression. This documentary shows how these breaks reveal contradictions between intellect and power in the GDR.

Germany, 45 min., color/b&w

Interrogating the Witnesses

Vernehmung der Zeugen (1987)

Director: Scholz, Gunther

A teenager is found murdered in the village square, and the examining doctor recognizes her son's knife at the scene of the crime. The film works its way back to reveal how this situation came about.

GDR, 85 min., color

Interview with Doris Borkmann

Zeitzeugengespräch: Doris Borkmann (2007)

A short excerpt from a 2-hour interview that film historian Margit Voss conducted with assistant director Doris Borkmann in 2007. As an assistant to director Konrad Wolf, Borkmann talks about her collaboration with Wolf on the 1973 DEFA feature film The Naked Man on the Sports Field.

Germany, 6 min., color

Intrigue and Love

Kabale und Liebe (1959)

Director: Hellberg, Martin

Ferdinand von Walther, the son of President von Walther, is in love with Luise, the daughter of the town musician Miller.

GDR, 108 min., b&w

The Invincibles

Die Unbesiegbaren (1953)

Director: Pohl, Artur

The workers' struggle at the turn of the century is depicted through the story of the Schulz family. The year is 1889 and Bismarck's Socialist Laws, which sought to hinder the activities of the Social Democratic Party, are still in effect.

GDR, 107 min., b&w

Iron Age

Eisenzeit (1991)

Director: Heise, Thomas

Ten years later, director Heise returns to Stalinstadt, now called Eisenhüttenstadt, the site where his never-completed documentary Anka and... was filmed.

Germany, 86 min., color

Iron Hans

Der Eisenhans (1988)

Director: Lotz, Karl Heinz

The king has captured the dangerous and thick-skinned Iron Hans and the penalty for setting him free is death. Iron Hans eventually persuades the young prince Joachim to release him and the two run away and live in hiding in the forest.

GDR, 79 min., color

Irregular Train Service

Zugverkehr unregelmäßig (1951)

Director: Freund, Erich

After Jochen saves police officer Erich's life, the two men become close friends and Erich helps Jochen get a job working for Berlin's local train system.

GDR, 76 min., b&w

Isabel on the Stairs

Isabel auf der Treppe (1983)

Director: Unterberg, Hannelore

Twelve-year-old Isabel and her mother, a famous political singer in Chile, fled their home country after the 1973 military coup. Isabel's father stayed behind, fighting in the underground resistance movement.

GDR, 67 min., color

Island Joke

Inselwitz (1990)

Director: Stützner, Lutz

Three freezing-cold men, shipwrecked on a desert island, are given a piece of fabric by a mermaid. How do they allocate this precious resource?

GDR, 3 min., color

It Happened One Summer

Beschreibung eines Sommers (1963)

Director: Kirsten, Ralf

Engineer Tom Breitsprecher, who has always been more interested in women than political engagement, reluctantly agrees to supervise a team of young FDJ volunteers who are building a new industrial complex.

GDR, 77 min., b&w

It Stops Here

Das Ganze halt (1961)

Director: Mendelsohn, Dieter

The building of the Berlin Wall is justified as a necessary measure to prevent West German imperialist aggression and preserve the peace.

GDR, 15 min., b&w

It'll Be OK

Alles wird gut (1987/1990)

Director: Sahling, Bernd

Director Bernd Sahling documents almost four years in the life of a young man who experienced two political systems, East and West Germany, and cannot fulfill his dreams in either of them.

GDR/Germany, 78 min., color/b&w

Jacob the Liar

Jakob der Lügner (1974)

Director: Beyer, Frank

In a Jewish ghetto in German-occupied Poland in 1944, Jacob Heym is summoned to the police station.

GDR, 101 min., color

Jadup and Boel

Jadup und Boel (1981/1988)

Director: Simon, Rainer

In a small town, everyone has tried to forget what happened shortly after WWII. That is, until a stranger finds a book that Jadup gave to the young refugee, Boel, over 30 years ago. Painful memories of the period after the war and of Boel and her sudden disappearance begin to surface.

GDR, 100 min., color

Jan on the Barge

Jan auf der Zille (1985)

Director: Dziuba, Helmut

After the police tell thirteen-year-old Jan that his communist father is wanted for murdering an SA man, the only person willing to befriend him is Max, who is involved with a resistance group.

GDR, 85 min., color

Jana and Jan

Jana und Jan (1991)

Director: Dziuba, Helmut

Fall 1989: Jan is almost 16. Caught while trying to escape to West Germany, he is transferred from prison to a juvenile detention center. Here, he meets Jana "¦ and what starts as a bet, becomes true love. When Jana gets pregnant, the situation spirals out of control.

Germany, 84 min., color

Jana and the Little Star

Jana und der kleine Stern (1971)

Director: Wiemer, Christl

Before going to bed, Jana plays a lullaby on her violin for the little star. In the girl's imagination, the star dances happily and falls from the sky. The star has to be back in its place before sunrise otherwise it will become blind. Jana is not able to help with the star's return.

GDR, 14 min., color

Janus Face

Januskopf (1972)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt

World-famous geneticist Professor Hülsenbeck (Norbert Christian) is a man of integrity who refuses to mix science and political gain. Because his findings are being used to harm humanity, he imigrates to the United States in 1933 in protest against Nazi racial politics.

GDR, 89 min., color

Jella and Her Pigeons

Taubenjule (1982)

Director: Kratzert, Hans

11-year-old Jella moves with her parents from an idyllic village to a new development in the city, where her father works. Her friend Freitag gives her a pair of pigeons as a farewell present. However, the new life is disappointing for Jella.

GDR, 66 min., color

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach (1950)

Director: Dahle, Ernst

A film produced in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the death of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was the GDR's first cinematic homage to the Baroque composer. It frames Bach as a humanistic artist befitting East Germany's canon of cultural heritage.

GDR, 33 min., b&w

Cover Photo for Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Journey to Italy

Die italienische Reise von Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1981)

Director: Kohlert, Werner

When the French occupied Weimar, Goethe retreated to his office and used his memories of a journey to Italy as the basis for his book Italian Journey.

GDR, 22 min., color

Join in, Everyone!

Alle machen mit (1981)

Director: Urbanek, Willi

Individual GDR citizens share the responsibility for improving their own daily lives and the life of the community as a whole, an attitude which has lead to a national community improvement campaign.

GDR, 17 min., color

Joris Ivens: He Filmed on Five Continents

Joris Ivens — Er filmte auf fünf Kontinenten (1963)

Director: Hadaschik, Joachim

This documentary is about the director Joris Ivens and his most important films, including Regen, Borinage, Spanische Erde, 400 Millionen, and Die Seine trifft sich mit Paris. The film depicts Ivens in the editing room, attending congresses, and discussing his work.

GDR, 22 min., b&w

Jörg Ratgeb, Painter

Jörg Ratgeb, Maler (1977)

Director: Stephan, Bernhard

This film, set in the early sixteenth century, thematizes the relationship between art and political responsibility.

GDR, 99 min., color

Journey into the Nuptial Bed

Reise ins Ehebett (1966)

Director: Hasler, Joachim

A sailor on a large cargo ship is good at his job but is also a philanderer and a rogue. Numerous shore leaves create complicated situations with women until the higher-ups decide that the sailor needs to settle down with a wife.

GDR, 86 min., color

The Journey to Bamsdorf

Die Fahrt nach Bamsdorf (1956)

Director: Petzold, Konrad

Ten-year-old Toni is a little scatterbrained, so his parents warn him to take extra good care of his little sister Rita on their first solo train trip to their grandmother in Bamsdorf. But of course Toni doesn't pay attention and gets off at the wrong station, leaving Rita behind in the train.

GDR, 39 min., b&w

The Journey to Sundevit

Die Reise nach Sundevit (1966)

Director: Carow, Heiner

Little Tim Tammer, the son of a lighthouse keeper, lives right on the Baltic Sea beach, but his remote home often leaves him feeling lonely. When Young Pioneers pitch their tents nearby, he is overjoyed and quickly makes new friends.

GDR, 71 min., b&w

The Judge of Zalamea

Der Richter von Zalamea (1955)

Director: Hellberg, Martin

This historical drama is set in Spain at the time of Philipp II. When soldiers are stationed in the village of Zalamea, Captain Don Alvaro takes up quarters in the house of Pedro Crespo, a wealthy and respected farmer, but while staying there, he rapes Isabel, Crespo's daughter.

GDR, 99 min., b&w

Jungle Fairy Tale

Urwaldmärchen (1977)

Director: Georgi, Katja

The young dragon is timid and shy because of his negative experiences. Miguelito, the farmer's son, takes care of the dragon. Together they fight a witch and return the bird of happiness to the princess. The dragon, Miguelito and the princess become close friends.

GDR, 15 min., color

Just a Fairy Tale

Nur ein Märchen (1963)

Director: Schröder, Carl

Mistress Holle, the head of the "Brothers Grimm" agricultural collective, is responsible for supervising two women with very different working styles. Maria Gold is diligent and dependable, while lazy Maria Pech is never able to deliver quality products.

GDR, 8 min., color

Just Don't Think I'll Cry

Denk bloß nicht, ich heule (1965)

Director: Vogel, Frank

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 see as a challenge to the state.

GDR, 91 min., b&w

Just Married

Grüne Hochzeit (1988)

Director: Zschoche, Herrmann

Susanne (17) and Robert (18) want to get married, but because Susanne is still under-aged, she needs parental permission. With twin babies and tight finances, the newlyweds soon feel overwhelmed, and dealing with everything makes them forget the love that originally brought them together.

GDR, 95 min., color

Just Put Flowers on the Roof

Einfach Blumen aufs Dach (1979)

Director: Oehme, Roland

With the arrival of twins, the Blaschke family grows from four to six and they don't really fit into their "Trabi" anymore. To solve the problem, father Hannes acquires a used official limousine.

GDR, 87 min., color

The Just People of Kummerow

Die Gerechten von Kummerow (1981)

Director: Luderer, Wolfgang

Cow herder Krischan Klammbüdel is the best friend of the children of Kummerow. Yet the adults do him a great injustice - they drive him out of their town and the innocence of their children's blissful childhood disappears with him.

Based on the "Kummerow" books by Ehm Welk.

GDR, 97 min., color

Jutta Wachowiak: On Making "The Fiancée"

Zeitzeugengespräch: Jutta Wachowiak (2013)

Director: Scholz, Gunther

Actress Jutta Wachowiak talks about making the 1980 DEFA feature film The Fiancée, the story of a young anti-Nazi resistance fighter who is sentenced to ten years in prison for high treason.

Germany, 62 min., color

Juvenile Detention Center

Jugendwerkhof (1982)

Director: Steiner, Roland

Director Roland Steiner visited various juvenile detention centers for three years before he was finally able to film–although without an official permit–at the Hummelsheim Center in February 1982.

GDR, 31 min., b&w

The Kaiser's Lackey

Der Untertan (1951)

Director: Staudte, Wolfgang

This historical satire, based on Heinrich Mann's world-famous novel, Der Untertan, is ranked by film critics among the 100 Most Significant German Films of all time.

GDR, 105 min., b&w

Kampuchea: Death and Resurrection

Kampuchea — Sterben und Auferstehn (1980)

The scenes filmed during spring 1979 in Kampuchea (Cambodia) are part of history: a metropolis left to be overrun by nature, heaps of skulls, destroyed faces and cultural landscapes.

GDR, 90 min., color/b&w

Karger

Karger (2007)

Director: Hauck, Elke

At thirty-something, Karger is a steelworker who has never left the little town between Leipzig and Dresden where he was born. His life has been monotonous and predictable. He reaches a turning point when he divorces his wife, whom he has loved since childhood, and his father passes away.

Germany, 90 min., color

Karl Friedrich Schinkel

Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1981)

Director: Richardt, Ellen

Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781-1841) was one of Berlin's greatest builders, city planners, architectural theorists, and preservers of monuments. A special exhibition about his life and achievements was held in Berlin's Old Museum in 1981 in honor of his 200th birthday.

GDR, 20 min., color

Käthe Kollwitz: A Conversation with Hildegard Bachert

(2016)

Director: Fisher, Holly

In this documentary, Hildegard Bachert generously shares memories of her personal life and reflects on the work of 20th-century German artist Käthe Kollwitz.

19 min., color/b&w

Käthe Kollwitz: Images of a Life

Käthe Kollwitz — Bilder eines Lebens (1986)

Director: Kirsten, Ralf

Käthe Kollwitz (Jutta Wachowiak) is 47 years old and already a well-established artist in Germany and abroad when Peter, her youngest son, volunteers to join the German army in WWI and gets killed two weeks later. This painful tragedy changes Kollwitz's life and art forever.

GDR, 95 min., color

The Keys

Die Schlüssel (1972)

Director: Günther, Egon

Ric (Jutta Hoffmann), a working-class girl and Klaus (Jaecki Schwarz), a college student, spend their vacation together in Krakow, Poland. On the way there, a friendly Pole gives the young couple the key to his flat.

GDR, 93 min., color

King Throstlebeard

König Drosselbart (1965)

Director: Beck, Walter

The young men vying for the princess's favor are admittedly not always knights in shining armor. But does she have to be so arrogant and spiteful?

GDR, 73 min., color

Kit & Co.

Kit & Co. (1974)

Director: Petzold, Konrad

At the end of the 19th century, the journalist Kit Bellow starts on a trip to Alaska to make his fortune in the gold rush. Having just arrived, he meets the attractive and self-confident gold digger Joy, who ridicules the wannabe adventurer as a greenhorn.

GDR, 102 min., color

The Kitchen

Die Küche (1987)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

This documentary follows a group of women on a typical workday as they prepare meals for a dockyard in Rostock. The viewer never learns their names, and there are no personal interviews.

GDR, 42 min., b&w

KLK to PTX: The Red Orchestra

KLK an PTX: Die Rote Kapelle (1970)

Director: Brandt, Horst E.

This documentary tells the story of the Red Orchestra, one of the most important German anti-Nazi resistance groups. Named by German counterintelligence, the group was centered around Harro Schulze-Boysen and Arvid Harnack and included members from different social and religious backgrou

GDR, 95 min., color

Knock-Out

Der Kinnhaken (1962)

Director: Thiel, Heinz

Carolin lives in the East but works in a West Berlin bar. After the building of the wall she tries to persuade Georg, a soldier of the border regiment, to let her cross over. He falls in love with her and defends her against a West German pimp with a punch to the jaw.

GDR, 75 min., color

Knurri and the Egg Thief

Knurri und der Eierdieb (1980)

Director: d'Bomba, Jörg

In the animated puppet film, the little rabbit Knurri and his family want to sell eggs at the market.

GDR, 10 min., color

Kollwitz Square, Berlin

Kollwitz-Platz Berlin (1986)

Director: Dochow, Inge
Kuban, Georg
Münch, Gerhard
Petersen, Peter

Commentary and images by photographer Horst Sturm relate the changing history of Kollwitz Square in Berlin. The neighborhood is being transformed by extensive restoration initiatives.

GDR, 22 min., color

Kuhle Wampe Bonus Features

(mult)

This playlist includes three short documentaries that are relevant for understanding director Slatan Dudow's Weimar-era film classic Kuhle Wampe, or Who Owns the World? (1932).

How the Berliner Worker Lives

GDR/Germany, 45 min., b&w

Kuhle Wampe, or Who Owns the World?

Kuhle Wampe oder Wem gehört die Welt? (1932)

Director: Dudow, Slatan

A working-class family in Berlin in 1931 where survival is difficult, with massive unemployment in the wake of the Great Depression.

Germany, 74 min., b&w

Kurt, or You Should Laugh

Kurt — oder Du sollst Lachen (1992)

Director: Kroske, Gerd

Kurt Wans(z)ki spends his life in psychiatric clinics. His diagnosis: mental retardation, infantilism, incapacity for education, gradual depression, collector's mania...

Germany, 30 min., color/b&w

La Brigada — A Mural for the Unidad Popular in Dresden

Brigada - Ein Beitrag zur Solidarität anläßlich der 16. Arbeiterfestspiele 1976 in Dresden (1976)

Director: Hofmann, Rolf
Juan Forch

During the 16th Workers' Festival in Dresden in 1976, Chilean students who immigrated to East Germany and who are members of the group Salvador Allende Brigada, including the famous Chilean painter César Olhagaray, a

11 min., color

La Villette

La Villette (1990)

Director: Kroske, Gerd

Only two months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, in January 1990, almost two hundred controversial East German visual and performance artists, including Jürgen Böttcher, the Autoperforation Artists, Via Lewandowsky, Trak Wendisch, Conny Hege, Klaus Killisch, Helga Paris and Hanns Schimansky, pr

GDR, 53 min., color

Lady Venus and Her Devil

Frau Venus und ihr Teufel (1967)

Director: Kirsten, Ralf

Hans Müller is visiting Wartburg Castle in Thuringia, accompanied by his loving female friend Maria. Hans doesn't understand much about loyalty, which constantly leads to problems between the two of them. During one of their fights, Lady Venus intervenes and sends the pair back to the Middle Ag

GDR, 100 min., color

The Laenneken Wedding

Die Hochzeit von Länneken (1963)

Director: Carow, Heiner

The little island of Laenneken is a place where time seems to stands still. Traditional customs and age-old power relations are still in place and are unaffected by modern-day influences.

GDR, 80 min., b&w

Landing

(1997)

Director: Branwen Okpako

Landing is the story of a young Afro-German woman who wakes up to discover that she is invisible... something she has always dreamed of being. Screened at the Berlinale in 2007.

Germany, 11 min., b&w

The Land Beyond the Rainbow

Das Land hinter dem Regenbogen (1991)

Director: Kipping, Herwig

This harsh, yet poetic critique of Stalinism in East Germany centers on the mythical village of Stalina in 1953. The villagers legitimize injustice by glorifying "real existing socialism" "¦ at the same time as they experience their own destruction by the system. .

Germany, 89 min., color

Large Enough to Love? Expanding Heimat in DEFA Youth Film

(2011)

Director: Hosek, Jennifer

Starting from the 1973 DEFA film Too Young for Love? (dir. Bernhard Stephan), director Hosek explores youth films produced by the DEFA Studio for Feature Film.

Germany/Canada, 20 min., color

Last to Know

Jeder schweigt von etwas anderem (2006)

Director: Bauder, Marc
Franke, Dörte

The stories of four — out of approximately 250,000 — former political prisoners in East Germany.

Germany, 72 min., color

Last Year Titanic

Letztes Jahr Titanic (1990)

Director: Voigt, Andreas

Director Andreas Voigt interviewed people of different ages and social backgrounds about their experiences after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. He paints an important picture of this historic period in German history, filled with radical social and economic change and insecurity.

Germany, 101 min., color/b&w

The Last Marathon

Der letzte Marathon (1986)

Director: Steinkopff, Volker

For me, running is like music. East German marathon runner Waldemar Cierpinski was a two-time Olympic gold medalist and was also voted the GDR's most popular athlete of the year twice.

GDR, 19 min., color

Latest from the Da-Da-R

Letztes aus der DaDaeR (1990)

Director: Foth, Jörg

In a loose set of cabaret pieces, Steffen Mensching and Hans-Eckardt Wenzel–highly acclaimed East German poets, songwriters and clowns–satirize East German life in its final days and the arrival of new times after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Germany, 86 min., color

Latin American Trilogy

Latin American Trilogy (1994)

Director: Simon, Rainer

Since making The Ascent of Chimborazo (1989), his feature film about the explorer Alexander von Humboldt in Ecuador, director Rainer Simon's work has focused on the life and culture of the indigenous people there. This DVD features three of his short films shot in Ecuador:

The Colors of Tigua (1994, 43 min.)
Talking with Fish and Birds (1999, 43 min.)
The Call of Fayu Ujmu (2002, 44 min.)

Germany/Ecuador, 130 min., color

Laughter Is Medicine

Lachen als Medizin (1990)

Director: Ressel-Wree, Angelika

Günther Gerlach, the "one-man puppet theater," is an internationally recognized puppeteer from Weimar who builds his own miniature wearable puppet theaters and the accompanying puppets.

Germany, 30 min., color

Laundresses

Wäscherinnen (1972)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

This film documents the lives of 180 women who work as trainees at the Rewatex laundry plant in Berlin-Spindlersfeld. In interviews, the colorful and spirited, young women discuss their feelings about men, the life of a worker, and rock n' roll.

GDR, 23 min., b&w

Lautaro

Lautaro (1977)

Director: Juan Forch

The Mapuche people always pray to their gods in the face of hardships like drought or disease. When the Spanish conquistadors arrive on horseback, they seem to be supernatural beings, and the powers of the traditional gods fail.

GDR, 18 min., color

The Legend of Paul and Paula

Die Legende von Paul und Paula (1972)

Director: Carow, Heiner

Paul is unhappily married to a beautiful but ignorant woman who cheats on him. Paula, who has two children from different fathers, is in a relationship of convenience with a tire salesman. When Paula and Paul meet in a bar, they fall in love.

GDR, 106 min., color

Leipzig

Leipzig (1974)

Director: Müller, Heinz

This documentary uses contemporary footage and historical drawings to describe numerous aspects of life in Leipzig. Topics covered included the city's history; famous residents; the lion as heraldic symbol; and local landmarks such as the farmer's market, train station, and harbor.

GDR, 30 min., color

Leipzig Gewandhaus Concert Hall

Gewandhaus zu Leipzig (1983)

Director: Petersen, Peter

This documentary marks the ceremonial opening of the third Leipzig "Gewandhaus" Concert Hall on October 8, 1981. Historical photos are used to present the building's history: the erection of the first hall in 1743, the rebuilding as the second hall in 1884, and its destruction during WWII.

GDR, 25 min., color

Leipzig in the Fall

Leipzig im Herbst (1989)

Director: Kroske, Gerd
Voigt, Andreas

This stunningly comprehensive documentary captures the famous Monday Demonstrations of 1989, which began in Leipzig and spread to other East German cities in the months leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9

GDR, 50 min., b&w

Leisure

Feierabend (1964)

Director: Gass, Karl

Without adornment or embellishment, Karl Gass presents the rough everyday life of assembly line operators after they get off work at the well-known model Schwedt plant.

GDR, 39 min., b&w

Leo Haas: Artist and Witness of His Times

Zeichner — Zeuge — Zeitgenosse (1971)

Director: d'Bomba, Jörg

When the Nazis took power, the Jewish artist Leo Haas (1901-1983) was arrested in his Czechoslovakian hometown. He spent the next six years in different concentration camps and became known for the paintings he did in the Theresienstadt camp.

GDR, 13 min., color

Let off with Probation

Entlassen auf Bewährung (1965)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

After causing a deadly hit-and-run motorcycle accident, Conny Schenk spends two years in prison, where he is able to complete a printing apprenticeship and is released early for good behavior.

GDR, 90 min., b&w

Levin's Mill

Levins Mühle (1980)

Director: Seemann, Horst

In a small village in West Prussia in the 1870s, Germans, Poles, Gypsies and Jews live together as neighbors. One night Johann, a German mill-owner, secretly opens the dam gates and floods the mill of his Jewish rival Levin.

GDR, 117 min., color

The Liar

Die Lügnerin (1991)

Director: Kühn, Siegfried

Titta (Katharina Thalbach) seems to lead a completely normal life: she is in her mid-thirties with a husband, children and a stable job.

Germany, 80 min., color

Life at the Stream

Leben am Fliess — W Blotach (1989)

Director: Peter Rocha

Reinhard Schmidt, a Spreewald punt boat driver, and his four-generation Sorbian family live at a stream in the Lusatia region. Their daily life is influenced by a strong sense of community and cultural tradition.

GDR, 30 min., color

Life Begins

Das Leben beginnt (1959)

Director: Carow, Heiner

A new world full of excitement and temptation opens up for 18-year-old Erika (Doris Abeßer) when her father flees from Krüselin, a small village in Brandenburg, to West Berlin, taking his daughter with him.

GDR, 116 min., b&w

Life in Wittstock

Leben in Wittstock (1984)

Director: Koepp, Volker

Three women talk about their jobs in a textile factory and about their private lives in a small town. The full-length conclusion to Volker Koepp's Wittstock films includes footage and interviews shot periodically during the years 1974 to 1984.

GDR, 85 min., b&w

The Light of Love

Das Licht der Liebe (1990)

Director: Scholz, Gunther

Thuringia, 804 A.D. An orphan boy named Bengel grows in an abbey with no knowledge of his family or origins.

GDR, 79 min., color

The Light on the Gallows

Das Licht auf dem Galgen (1976)

Director: Nitzschke, Helmut

In 1793, the French are at war with England. Two friends, Debuisson and Sasportas, are sent to Jamaica, the English colony where their mission is to free the slaves. Bit by bit they are able to recruit people for their operation. Meanwhile, Napoleon comes to power in France.

GDR, 103 min., color

Like Father, Like Son

Wie die Alten sungen... (1986)

Director: Reisch, Günter

In the sequel to A Lively Christmas Eve, Walter Lörke (Erwin Geschonneck) is looking forward to a quiet Christmas at home this year until his daughter calls to tell him his seventeen-year-old granddaughter Twini (Andrea Lüdke) has disappeared.

GDR, 90 min., color/b&w

Lin Jaldati Sings

Lin Jaldati singt (1962)

Director: Jentsch, Gerhard

Dedicated to the "Comrades in our National People's Army," this short film features Lin Jadalti–a widely-known, GDR-based Jewish singer–performing in German and Yiddish.

GDR, 15 min., b&w

Lissy

Lissy (1957)

Director: Wolf, Konrad

Berlin, early 1930s. Lissy (Sonja Sutter), a young woman raised in a socialist working-class family, marries a clerk who promises her a better life. During the depression, however, he gets fired and can't find a new job.

GDR, 89 min., b&w

Little Havelman

Der kleine Häwelmann (1956)

Director: Cichon, Rolf
Schulz, Herbert K.

A mother tells her demanding little boy a story to make him fall asleep. Little Havelman is bored, and so he rides with his bed through the quiet, snowy city while everyone else is sleeping. His only companion is the moon. He keeps riding into the sky and knocks the stars and moon out of place.

GDR, 18 min., color

Little Matten and the White Shell

Lütt Matten und die weiße Muschel (1963)

Director: Zschoche, Herrmann

Little Matten, a fisherman's son, tries to build his own fish traps, but he only ends up disappointed and embarrassed when he can't catch anything.

GDR, 77 min., b&w

Little Red Riding Hood

Rotkäppchen (1962)

Director: Friedrich, Götz

Little Red Riding-Hood lives with her parents in the middle of a forest. When Grandmother falls ill, Little Red Riding-Hood sets off to visit her.

GDR, 71 min., color

Little Red Riding Hood

Rotkäppchen (1976)

Director: Sacher, Otto

Little Red Riding Hood is going to visit her grandmother, but along the way, she meets a big bad wolf with a sneaky plan to eat them both up.

GDR, 12 min., color

The Little Apricot Tree

Das Aprikosenbäumchen (1963)

Director: Barke, Lothar

Peter, Monika and the little dog Struppi plant a little apricot tree. During the spring the tree is in full bloom. But when summer comes it is so dry and the kids and Struppi are worried about their tree. One day, they decide to go to the weather station and ask about the missing rain.

GDR, 15 min., color

The Little Dots

Pünktchen (1964)

Director: Böttge, Bruno J.

Simple artistic structures, including little dots and moving lines, are used to create this cut-out animation story.

GDR, color

The Little Frog and His Tire

Vom Fröschlein und seinem Reifen (1964)

In this silhouette animated film, a little frog jumps out of the pond and wants to see the world. He is excited about new discoveries, not yet knowing about the dangerous stork. He almost gets eaten but is fortunately able to save himself at the last minute.

GDR, color

The Little Prince

Der kleine Prinz (1966)

Director: Wolf, Konrad

A French military pilot must make an emergency landing in the middle of the desert. As he tries to repair his plane, he meets the Little Prince who tells him what he has experienced on his travels to other planets in order to understand the true meaning of life.

GDR, 77 min., color

The Little Town of Wernigerode

Die kleine Stadt Wernigerode (1987)

Director: Urbanek, Willi

This documentary promotes the town of Wernigerode in the Herz mountains as a vacation destination and location for industry. The city's historic center with half-timbered houses makes it attractive to tourists, while new residential areas also make it appealing for families.

GDR, 30 min., color

The Little Witch

Die kleine Hexe (1982)

Director: Böttge, Bruno J.
Henke, Manfred

The little witch is not interested in the magical basics. She does not want to learn at all! But when she meets the beautiful prince and falls in love with him, everything changes.

GDR, 25 min., color

The Little Wooden Calf

Das hölzerne Kälbchen (1961)

Director: Thieme, Bernhard

The rich villagers are stealing cows from the poorer farmers. The farmers must work together to figure out who is responsible for this crime.

Based on a Grimms' fairytale.

GDR, 52 min., b&w

A Lively Christmas Eve

Ach, du fröhliche... (1962)

Director: Reisch, Günter

Managing director Walter Lörke (Erwin Geschonneck) had been looking forward to a cosy Christmas Eve spent with the family. But then his daughter Anne (Karin Schröder) has a surprise for him: his future son-in-law Thomas Ostermann (Arno Wyzniewski).

GDR, 95 min., b&w

Live!

Lebe! (1978)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

This short film traces the story of a man from birth to old age. The magical dreams of his youth appear from time to time, but daily routine quickly takes over.

GDR, 10 min., color

Living in Peace

Leben — in Frieden leben (1984)

This documentary traces the history of East German peace and dearmament policies: the Buchenwald Manifesto of 1945, Wilhelm Pieck's promise in that the GDR would be a peaceful state, and the Conferences for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

GDR, 40 min., color/b&w

Living with Uwe

Leben mit Uwe (1973)

Director: Warneke, Lothar

This is the story of a marriage which threatens to collapse despite the couple's love for each other. Uwe Polzin, who is earning his doctorate in biology, and his wife Alla, who works as an interpreter, are both striving equally hard for the unlimited fulfillment of their ambitions.

GDR, 102 min., color

Location Hunting

Motivsuche (1990)

Director: Hochmuth, Dietmar

Filmmaker Rüdiger Stein wants to produce his first meaningful documentary. By chance, he meets Klaus and Manuela, two young teenagers who grew up in difficult social circumstances. They are expecting a child and plan to move in together.

GDR, 111 min., color

Locked-Up Time

Verriegelte Zeit (1990)

Director: Sibylle Schönemann

After documentary filmmaker Sibylle Schönemann applied to leave the GDR and go to West Germany in 1984, she was arrested by the Stasi–the East German secret police–and imprisoned for the "crime of interfering with state activities." One year later, after West Germany literally bought her freedom.

Germany, 94 min., b&w

Loneliness

Einsamkeit (1979)

Director: Sacher, Otto

Will this be another Christmas he spends by himself? As it turns out, the merry fire brigade has other plans for this widower.

This short film is available for purchase or streaming as part of the collection Animation Before Unification: 16 Shorts from East Germany.

GDR, 2 min., color

Long Roads — Secret Love

Weite Straßen — stille Liebe (1969)

Director: Zschoche, Herrmann

Long-haul driver Hannes (Manfred Krug) picks up a young hitchhiker, Herb (Jaecki Schwarz), who had a falling-out with his parents after dropping out of college and now travels around doing odd jobs.

GDR, 75 min., b&w

Longing

Sehnsucht (1989)

Director: Brauer, Jürgen

Ena lives on a remote farmstead. One stormy night, hydraulic engineer Sieghart appears at her door after his car gets stuck in the mud. Although Ena falls in love with Sieghart, she decides to marry her fiancé Mathias.

GDR, 97 min., color

The Long Ride to School

Der lange Ritt zur Schule (1982)

Director: Losansky, Rolf

Alex is always late and his vivid imagination is the blame. The familiar journey to school is the boy's setting for romantic Wild West adventures.

GDR, 81 min., color

The Long Way

Der lange Weg (1989)

Director: Rasche, Marion

A seagull is injured during a dangerous storm and ends up in a forest where she joins a family of woodpeckers. But she gets rejected by the older family members. A young woodpecker falls in love with her and together they leave the forest and go to the sea, where the seagulls live.

GDR, 11 min., color/b&w

Look at This City

Schaut auf diese Stadt (1962)

Director: Gass, Karl

Documentary footage is intercut at a breathless pace to tell the story of Berlin's reconstruction post-WWII from the East German perspective.

GDR, 85 min., b&w

Looking for Konrad Wolf and Solo Sunny

Looking for Konrad Wolf and Solo Sunny (2002)

Director: Wende, Christoph

A talk with scriptwriter Wolfgang Kohlhaase and Konrad Wolf's son, as well as photos, film clips and animation bring to life this short documentary about director Konrad Wolf and the making of Solo Sunny and his other films.

Germany, 20 min., color

The Lord of Alexanderplatz

Ein Lord am Alexanderplatz (1967)

Director: Reisch, Günter

Ewald Honig (Erwin Geschonneck) can't break his bad habit. Hardly has he crossed over into the GDR when the strapping, well-built man in his late fifties once again starts courting ladies with fraudulent intentions.

GDR, 107 min., b&w

The Lost Angel

Der verlorene Engel (1966/1971)

Director: Kirsten, Ralf

August 24, 1937: a day in the life of expressionist sculptor and author Ernst Barlach (Fred Düren). Barlach lives in the small town of Güstrow, keeping to himself and wanting to steer clear of politics.

GDR, 58 min., b&w

Lot's Wife

Lots Weib (1965)

Director: Günther, Egon

The marriage of Katrin and Richard Lot has become a routine. She has a career and he, as a Marine officer, comes home only once every fourteen days. The children greet him with joy, but she greets him only with anxiety because their marriage is missing its key ingredient: love.

GDR, 106 min., b&w

Lotte in Weimar

Lotte in Weimar (1975)

Director: Günther, Egon

Charlotte Kestner (played by Lilli Palmer) was the love of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's youth, who became famous as Lotte in his renowned epistolary novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther, published in 1774. After four decades, in late summer 1816, Charlotte travels to Weimar to see Goethe

GDR, 119 min., color

A Lover's Romance

Romans o vlyublyonnykh — Romanze für Verliebte (1974)

Director: Michalkow-Kontschalowski, Andrej

The young lovers Sergej and Tanja lead a happy life until Sergej is called up for military service. Tanja struggles to endure their separation, but things take a dramatic turn for the worse when Sergej is mistakenly believed to be dead after taking part in an emergency rescue mission.

USSR, 135 min., color

Love 2002

Liebe 2002 (1972)

Director: Hellwig, Joachim

The futuristically trendy moderator Chris Wallasch leads the viewer through this program exploring what love might look like in 2002. Passengers at the Berlin-Schönefeld airport are questioned about how they imagine life in thirty years.

GDR, 24 min., color

Love and the Co-Pilot

Die Liebe und der Co-Pilot (1960)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

Co-pilot Horst (Horst Drinda) is a braggart and a true Don Juan. When he tells Ilse (Gerlind Ahnert) that he is an aircraft commander, he is thoroughly embarrassed to encounter her on board his plane - as the stewardess!

GDR, 93 min., b&w

Love at 16

Liebe mit 16 (1974)

Director: Zschoche, Herrmann

Although at first Ina barely takes any notice of Matti, the two teenagers gradually fall in love at their dance classes and begin their first real relationship. Their parents are upset about this development and try to prevent their children from seeing each other.

GDR, 80 min., color

Love Letters

Liebesbriefe (1982)

Director: Belz, Uwe

Director Uwe Belz focuses his attention on viewing Marx from an alternative perspective, shoing the emotional and romantic sides of the historical figure.

GDR, 21 min., color

Love Traps

Liebesfallen (1976)

Director: Wallroth, Werner W.

This episodic comedy explores love in all its varieties. The ship's cook Udo tries to seduce women with a sailing boat and delicious food but ends up in Bettina Gürtelschmidt's net. Bettina's boss would like to end up with her neighbor Dr.

GDR, 105 min., color

Love Without Fear

Liebe ohne Angst (1989)

Director: Rinnelt, Frank

The only AIDS prevention film made in East Germany forefronts discussions with young people and some erotic scenes, while downplaying homosexuality.

GDR, 25 min., color

Love's Confusion

Verwirrung der Liebe (1959)

Director: Dudow, Slatan

Sonya, an art student, loves the med student Dieter. And Siegi, a factory worker, loves the bricklayer Eddie. At a lavish Carnival party at East Berlin's art school an unintentional exchange of partners begins.

GDR, 106 min., color

Love's Mazurka

Mazurka der Liebe (1957)

Director: Müller, Hans

Early 18th-century Krakow: The poor student Simon works as a travelling musician in order to finance his studies, and the Polish freedom fighter Jan is on the run from Saxon troops.

GDR, 83 min., color

LoveLoveLiebe

(1999)

Director: Branwen Okpako

Hans loves Fatima and he will do anything to make her feel at home in Germany. Fatima loves Hans and she will do anything to feel at home with him. This short student film was shot on 35mm.

Germany, 35 min., color

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven (1954)

Director: Jaap, Max

A documentary on the life of Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the best-known German composers of all time. Original documents, letters and drawings are combined with highlights of Beethoven's musical oeuvre played by world-renowned orchestras.

GDR, 94 min., b&w

Ludwigslust: Cultural-Historical Side Notes

Ludwigslust — Kulturhistorische Randnotizen (1977)

Director: Georgi, Armin

The viewer is introduced to the city of Ludwigslust, the "pearl of Mecklenburg," which developed in the second half of the 18th century as the residence of the local nobleman. At that time, it was essential to display your wealth - even if you didn't have much.

GDR, 9 min., color

The Lumberjack's Sons

Die Söhne des Holzfällers (1980)

Director: Böttge, Bruno J.

The goblin gives two magical rings to Hans and Peter, the lumberjack's sons. While Hans uses the ring to save a beautiful princess from a dangerous dragon, Peter falls into the robbers' hands. They steal his ring and use it for their own purposes.

GDR, 24 min., color

Lützower

Lützower (1972)

Director: Wallroth, Werner W.

During the Napoleanic Wars, members of the Prussian Lützow Free Corps steal a French war chest from the house of collaborator Kerstinn, but their captain Friesen is captured and sentenced to death. But Friesen is saved by French Sergeant Fleuron and they flee the occupied city together.

GDR, 89 min., color

Made in GDR

Made in GDR (1981)

Director: Hein, Rudi

Numerous examples of modern technology testify to the GDR's international reputation as a highly-developed industrial country.

GDR, 22 min., color

The Magic Ring

Der Wunschring (1957)

Director: Böttge, Bruno J.

Hans, a miller's apprentice, can't stand working for his greedy master anymore and sets out into the world as a wandering journeyman. After he finds lodgings at a run-down mill, he helps to put the business back in order and receives a magic wishing ring as thanks for his help and hard work.

GDR, 17 min., b&w

The Magic Scissors

Die Zauberschere (1956)

Director: Böttge, Bruno J.

In this silhouette animated film, two hands cut out a man, who then goes on a journey with the scissors who brought him to life. The children are thrilled by the shapes he cuts, but the arrogant mayor throws him out of town when he makes a caricature of her.

GDR, 18 min., b&w

Maiden, You Please Me

Jungfer, sie gefällt mir (1966)

Director: Reisch, Günter

A village in Saxony in the summer of 1792. The village judge, Adam, is always decreeing new rents and taxes. He particularly has it in for the smith Ruprecht, who is his competitor for the affections of the lovely maiden Ev.

GDR, 91 min., color

Malik

Malik (1967)

Director: Angella, Giovanni

Brothers Wieland Herzfelde and John Heartfield tell the story of their publishing house, Malik, which specialized in avant-garde art and leftist literature. All Malik titles were confiscated by the Nazis and included in the infamous 1933 book burning.

GDR, 18 min., color/b&w

Maluala

Maluala (1979)

Director: Giral, Sergio

Cuba in the late 1800s: After overpowering their Spanish masters, cimarrons — runaway African slaves — hide in settlements in the eastern mountains of Cuba. But discord is sown by traitorous elements secretly working for the Spanish.

Cuba, 80 min., color

Mama, I'm Alive

Mama, ich lebe (1977)

Director: Wolf, Konrad

In a Russian POW camp, four Germans determined to end WWII change into Red Army uniforms. Are they patriots or traitors, heroes or opportunists? Although they go to the frontlines, their new Russian comrades are initially unsure whether to trust them.

GDR, 103 min., color

Man and Woman Intimate

Mann und Frau intim (1984)

Director: Tetzke, Ted (Detlef)

A married couple looks for answers to their sexual problems. Leading GDR sexologist Dr. Siegfried Schnabl gives advice.

Inclusion of this film in our 2015 Summer Film Institute is courtesy of the German Hygiene Museum Foundation, Dresden.

GDR, 26 min., color

The Man Who Loved Women: Memoirs of Slatan Dudow

Der Mann, der die Frauen liebte — Erinnerungen an Slatan Dudow (1994)

Director: Kasten, Ullrich

This biographical portrait of the director Slatan Dudow is part of a series of documentaries about DEFA filmmakers by director Ullrich Kasten.

NOTE: This film is currently only available as part of our non-circulating research collection.

Germany, 30 min., color/b&w

The Man Who Met the Trains

Der Mann an der Rampe (1988)

A top administrator in the Federal German armed forces measures the machinery of murder at Auschwitz according to the effiency principle and deems it a triumph.

GDR, 13 min., color/b&w

The Man Who Replaced Grandma

Der Mann, der nach der Oma kam (1971)

Director: Oehme, Roland

Günter and Gudrun Piesold are very busy with their careers as a TV comedian and an actress, so Grandma takes care of household chores and childcare. But when Grandma remarries, the Piesolds are faced with chaos at home and a burning question: Who will take care of the household?

GDR, 92 min., color

The Man With a Ring in His Ear

Der Mann mit dem Ring im Ohr (1983)

Director: Hasler, Joachim

Carpenter Tillmann Rutenschneider has been on the road for years, but in 1932, he finally arrives back in his home village with a foreign wife. The couple build a home together and start a family, but it isn't long before they fall victim to the new Race Laws.

GDR, 86 min., color

The Man with the Magic Lens

Der Mann mit dem Objektiv (1961)

Director: Vogel, Frank

A technical glitch sends rocket pilot Os (Rolf Ludwig) from the year 2222 back to 1960 — naked and without any money. A 24-hour stay in East Germany brings a number of adventures for him, as well as for the people he meets.

GDR, 80 min., b&w

March Brandenburg Bricks

Märkische Ziegel (1989)

Director: Koepp, Volker

Spring 1988: the brick-making industry has determined the rhythms of life in the small Brandenburg town of Zehdenick for exactly 100 years. Long-time brickmakers and young employees speak openly and critically about their working and living conditions.

GDR, 33 min., b&w

March Brandenburg Heath, March Brandenburg Sand

Märkische Heide, Märkischer Sand (1990)

Director: Koepp, Volker

Part 2 of Volker Koepp's March Brandenburg trilogy captures the conversations that took place in the small town of Zehdenick in the weeks leading up to the first free elections in spring 1990.

GDR, 55 min., b&w

March Brandenburg, Inc.

Märkische Gesellschaft mbH (1991)

Director: Koepp, Volker

The final installment of Volker Koepp's March Brandenburg trilogy moves away from the town of Zehdenick in order to focus on rural areas north of Berlin. Made in the period between the currency union in the GDR and the official reunification in October 1990, the film shows how the lives

GDR/Germany, 75 min., b&w

Marhab — Welcome!

Marhab — Willkommen! (1965)

Director: Gass, Karl

This documentary was made during Walter Ulbricht's state visit to Egypt. Images of village life, students in schools and factories, and laborers at the Assuan Dam present the country's four-thousand-year history and the modern metropolis of Cairo.

GDR, 42 min., b&w

Marriage in the Shadows

Ehe im Schatten (1947)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt

The film spans a ten-year period starting in 1933. Celebrated German film and theater actor Hans Wieland marries the Jewish actress Elisabeth Maurer. As Nazi anti-Semitic policies increasingly infringe on their lives, they struggle to survive.

Germany, 104 min., b&w

Martha

Martha (1978)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

Martha Bieder, born in 1910 in Berlin, is the last rubble-woman in Rummelsburg.

GDR, 48 min., color

Martin Hellberg: The Play - His Life

Martin Hellberg: Das Spiel - Sein Leben (1994)

Director: Kasten, Ullrich

This biographical portrait of the actor and director Martin Hellberg is part of a series of documentaries about DEFA filmakers by director Ullrich Kasten.

GDR/USSR, color/b&w

Martin Luther

Martin Luther (1982)

Director: Hadaschik, Joachim

This detailed portrait of Martin Luther–the religious reformer and translator of the Bible into German–highlights the significance of his work, both during his own lifetime, and in the modern era. Luther's biography is traced through historical documents and paintings, and the film goes into his

GDR, 32 min., color

The Marriage of Figaro

Figaros Hochzeit (1949)

Director: Wildhagen, Georg

Count Almaviva's valet Figaro wants to marry the maid Susanna, but their master insists on his right to the first night. Figaro encounters trouble because of an earlier promise of marriage he made to the housekeeper Marzelline.

GDR, 109 min., b&w

The Marx Family

Marx—Familie (1983/1988)

Director: Misselwitz, Helke

Filmed using an old hand-cranked Parvo L camera and radical montage strategies, this short is an experimental and alternative portrait of Karl Marx's family and their poor living conditions during their long years in London.

GDR, 6 min., color

The Master Game

Das Meisterspiel (1998)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

At the Vienna Art Academy in 1994, one or more perpetrators spread black paint over 27 works by Austrian painter Arnulf Rainer. Rainer had become world-famous for his abstract art and, in particular, for his over-painting of photographs and his own and other artists' paintings.

Germany, 106 min., color/b&w

Max and Seven and a Half Boys

Max und siebeneinhalb Jungen (1980)

Director: Schlegel, Egon

Max Stricker, an old anti-fascist, is taking a class of eighth graders to visit the former concentration camp of Buchenwald. But the students are more interested in making mischief than learning about history.

GDR, 89 min., color

Max Hoelz

Max Hoelz (1989)

Director: Jordan, Günter

Max Hoelz, an energetic and charismatic revolutionary hero of the communist movement in the Weimar Republic, is profiled in this documentary by director Günter Jordan.

GDR, 39 min., color/b&w

May I Call You Petruschka?

Darf ich Petruschka zu Dir sagen? (1980)

Director: Heymann, Karl-Heinz

Peter, a 35-year-old ballet soloist, is giving his final performance tonight.

GDR, 91 min., color

Meier's Estate

Meiers Nachlaß (1975)

In 1974, an auction takes place in Munich: items labelled "former property of Hermann Göring" are sold to benefit the post-war state.

GDR, 21 min., color/b&w

Melodious Vogtland

Klingendes Vogtland (1985)

Director: Schulze, Klaus

The so-called "Musical Corner" (Musikwinkel) is located around the towns of Klingenthal, Schöneck und Markneukirchen in the Vogtland region. It gets its name because the area is famous for instrument-making.

GDR, 25 min., color

Memento

Memento (1966)

Director: Mund, Karlheinz

The Jewish cemetary in Berlin-Weißensee is the second largest in Europe and reflects the long history of the Jewish community in Berlin, including their suffering under the Nazis.

GDR, 16 min., b&w

Memory of a Conversation

Erinnerung an ein Gespräch (1984)

Director: Weiler, Kurt

A conversation between King Pyrrhus and Cineas about their increasingly awful campaign for conquest is illustrated in the form of a collage animation film. When world domination has been won, the world will be a desert empty of humans - only Pyrrhus and Cineas remain.

GDR, 16 min., color

Memory of a Landscape - For Manuela

Erinnerung an eine Landschaft — für Manuela (1983)

Director: Tetzlaff, Kurt

This documentary tackles a difficult and politically sensitive East German environmental issue taking place in the early 1980s. South of Leipzig, villages are being demolished to make way for open-pit mining.

GDR, 84 min., color

The Merry Wives of Windsor

Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor (1950)

Director: Wildhagen, Georg

For the corpulent nobleman Sir John Falstaff, the inn in the small English town of Windsor is the best of all places. Here he can indulge in excessive dining and intemperate drinking, as well as swagger and boast about his adventures, particularly those of an amorous nature.

GDR, 90 min., b&w

Metamorphoses I

Metamorphosen I (1978/1979)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

For the multimedia exhibition Tangenten I (Tangents I), Dammbeck and co-organizer, sculptor and painter Frieder Heinze had planned to collaborate on a film that would combine non-camera animation with 35mm footage of a train ride between the two Dresden districts of Radebeul and

GDR, 7 min., color/b&w

Midnight Revue

Revue um Mitternacht (1962)

Director: Kolditz, Gottfried

Famous producer Otto Kruse brags that he will produce a successful, new kind of revue film.

GDR, 106 min., color

Min Herzing: Essay About a Fisherwoman

Essay über ein Fischweib oder Min Herzing (1974)

Director: Belz, Uwe

The whole town knows the fisherwoman at the Warnemünde fish market. She is passionate about her job and refers to everyone with the term of endearment "Min Herzing." She was only 15 when she began catching fish with her father and 20 when she began carrying huge baskets of fish to market.

GDR, 15 min., color

Cover Photo for Minna von Barnhelm, or the Soldier

Minna von Barnhelm, or the Soldier's Fortune

Minna von Barnhelm, oder das Soldatenglück (1962)

Director: Hellberg, Martin

This film takes place during the Seven Years' War. The Prussian Major von Tellheim has become engaged to the Saxon noblewoman Minna von Barnhelm. After the war, the King — in an unwarranted move — deprives the major of his honor.

GDR, 103 min., color

Miraculi

Miraculi (1991)

Director: Weiß, Ulrich

A group of young people draws straws to see who'll steal some cigarettes. With this theft, Sebastian (Volker Ranisch) starts a bizarre, symbolic odyssey through a sclerotic world, in search of himself and of truth and justice.

Germany, 113 min., color

Miss Butterfly

Fräulein Schmetterling (1965/2020)

Director: Barthel, Kurt

When their father dies, 17-year-old Helene Raupe and her little sister become orphans. Abandoned by their aunt, they must face the challenges of daily life in East Berlin. Helene is only happy in her dreams, where she can fly or be a stewardess or model.

GDR, 68 min., b&w

The Mistake

Verfehlung (1991)

Director: Carow, Heiner

It is 1988. Jacob (Gottfried John), from Hamburg in West Germany, falls in love with Elisabeth (Angelica Domröse) in East Germany. When they secretly meet in East Berlin, it seems the Stasi (secret police) know about it. When Jacob visits her village, someone informs on him and he is deported.

Germany, 100 min., color

Moments with Fidel

Momentos con Fidel (2004)

Director: Chavez, Rebeca

Cuban director Rebeca Chávez uses archival film and audio material to create a collage of important moments in Fidel Castro's political life. Fidel Castro ruled Cuba for over five decades, since revolutionary forces toppled the Batista regime in 1959.

Cuba, 55 min., color

Money Troubles

Geldsorgen (1975)

During the Junta period in Pinochet's Chile, banknotes are used as resistance leaflets. Between 1973 and 1975, General Cano, President of the Central Bank, fights against inflation and the defaced banknotes. As a result, he must withdraw banknotes and have new ones printed.

GDR, 6 min., color/b&w

Monolog for a Taxi Driver

Monolog für einen Taxifahrer (1962)

Director: Stahnke, Günter

An East Berlin taxi driver's shift on Christmas Eve turns into a self-reflection on life, society, and his strained relationship with his wife.

GDR, 37 min., b&w

The Monument

Monument (1989)

Director: Georgi, Klaus
Stützner, Lutz

A statue, with outstretched arm pointing "forward," is unveiled to thunderous applause. Then one day it points the other way. Once again, thunderous applause!

Part of the 2005 MoMA film series Rebels with a Cause: The Cinema of East Germany.

GDR, 4 min., color

Moor and the Ravens of London

Mohr und die Raben von London (1968)

Director: Dziuba, Helmut

The year is 1856, and Karl Marx, nicknamed "Moor" by his friends, is living in exile in London. He meets Joe, a 13-year-old working class boy who works twelve hours a day at a spinning mill, including unlawful night shifts.

GDR, 91 min., b&w

The Moon

Der Mond (1975)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

The moon watches as strange animals dance in its light and swirls in an attempt to join in the festivities. Suddenly, the moon falls from the sky, and a greedy dragon drags it to his cave to hoard its light while he feasts.

GDR, 6 min., color

Moritz in the Advertising Pillar

Moritz in der Litfaßsäule (1983)

Director: Losansky, Rolf

No one has any time for Moritz. And at school, things are not exactly the greatest either. Moritz runs away and moves into the inside of an advertising pillar. A speaking cat, a circus girl and a street sweeper become his new friends.

GDR, 82 min., color

The Moral of Bandits

Die Moral der Banditen (1975)

Director: Stranka, Erwin

Only two years after WWII, the small village of Bötzow in Brandenburg is struggling to rebuild and the vacuum of social order has allowed a gang of youth to impose their own reign of terror over the town.

GDR, 91 min., color

Most Respectfully Yours

Mit vorzüglicher Hochachtung (1967)

Director: Heynowski, Walter
Voigt, Peter

As the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra performs a Bach concert, the screen is slowly dominated by words and phrases: "dear countrymen," "protection and help," "Soviet occupation zone," "not return."

GDR, 6 min., b&w

Mother Courage and Her Children

Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder (1960)

Director: Manfred Wekwerth
Peter Palitzsch

Set during the Thirty Years' War, in the first half of the 17th century: Anna Fierling, also called Mother Courage, is a merchant with a wagonload of food and goods.

GDR, 151 min., b&w

Mother Hulda

Frau Holle (1963)

Director: Kolditz, Gottfried

The widow has an ugly and lazy daughter, Pechmarie, and a beautiful and hard-working step-daughter, Goldmarie.

GDR, 60 min., color

Motoring Tales

Automärchen (1983)

Director: Stranka, Erwin

This quirky episodic comedy weaves together three plotlines centered around the employees of a car garage, with some unexpected fairytale elements to get things moving. A woodland fairy convinces shy bookkeeper Piel to suddenly start driving his Trabi far above the speed limit.

GDR, 91 min., color

Mr. Daff Is Moving

Herr Daff zieht um (1981)

Director: Georgi, Klaus

Mr. Daff doesn't have anyone to help him move. When his TV is damaged in transit, he hangs a note on his door reading "TV repair man." The rest of his furniture is immediately brought upstairs by his suddenly helpful neighbors, but then Mr. Daff completes his sign with the word "wanted."

GDR, color

Mr. Daff Is Shooting a Film

Herr Daff macht eine Filmaufnahme (1980)

Director: Georgi, Klaus

The camera is ready for the perfect shot! The bus driver pays special attention when he notices the camera. But the cameraman is actually waiting for the bus to depart, so he can film the wonderful scenery behind the bus.

GDR, 3 min., color

Mr. Daff Is Visiting a Museum

Herr Daff geht ins Museum (1980)

Director: Georgi, Klaus

Mr. Daff views the portraits of women on display more from an erotic than an artistic perspective, and he is embarrassed when he thinks other museum visitors have caught him. But when these supposed art enthusiasts turn out to be art thieves, Mr. Daff is celebrated for rescuing the portraits.

GDR, 5 min., color

Mr. Schmidt of the Gestapo

Herr Schmidt von der Gestapo — Filmische Dokumentation einer Beamtenkarriere (1989)

Director: Berger-Fiedler, Róza

A 74-year-old man is brought before a regional court in Dresden. The former high-up SS official is brought back to the scene of his crimes after more than 40 years.

GDR, 102 min., color/b&w

Murder Case Zernik

Leichensache Zernik (1972)

Director: Nitzschke, Helmut

In 1948, Horst Kramm (Alexander Lang) joins the criminal police force in Berlin and receives his first assigment: arresting a prostitute for theft. While on the case, the unconventional detective quickly sniffs out a more serious crime.

GDR, 96 min., b&w

The Murderers Are among Us

Die Mörder sind unter uns (1946)

Director: Staudte, Wolfgang

In 1945, the artist Susanne Wallner (Hildegard Knef) returns to Berlin after spending three years in a concentration camp. Yet amid the ruins, she is filled with a renewed energy for life. When she arrives at her old apartment, she finds that Dr.

Germany, 81 min., b&w

Museum Island

Museumsinsel (1982)

Director: Machalz, Alfons

Berlin is home to many museums, including the Egyptian Museum, the Ethnography Museum, the Islamic Museum, the Pergamonmuseum, and four art museums. Architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel was influential in the original planning, and the museums were carefully restored following WWII bombings.

GDR, 21 min., color

Musical Arabesques: Suite

Musikalische Arabesken: Suite (1981)

Director: Nagel, Heinz

An animated interpretation of Suite No. 4, composed and performed by the Bayon musical ensemble. Based in the GDR, Bayon's works blend Khmer pentatonic music with classical, jazz and rock elements.

GDR, 6 min., color

My '89

Mein 89 (2009)

Director: Altrichter, Stepan
Amrami, Esti
Frydetzki, Josephine
Jönsson, Jöns
Kästner, Konrad
Kepenek, Banu

Directors: Stepan Altrichter, Esti Amrami, Josephine Frydetzki, Jöns Jönsson, Konrad Kästner, Banu Kepenek

Germany, 115 min., color

My Dear Robinson

Mein lieber Robinson (1970)

Director: Gräf, Roland

Nineteen-year-old Peter, who is always lost in his thoughts, is nicknamed "Robinson" because he seems to live on his own private island.

GDR, 78 min., color

My Death Is Not Yours

Mein Tod ist nicht dein Tod (2006)

Director: Barthel, Lars

Lars Barthel met Chetna Vora, the daughter of an Indian Communist parliamentarian while they were studying directing in socialist East Germany. They collaborated on each other's documentary projects and married and had a child.

Germany, 86 min., color

My Friend Sybille

Meine Freundin Sybille (1967)

Director: Luderer, Wolfgang

When Hurtig signs on as a tourist guide on a Black Sea cruise, he has his hands full taking care of the guests' requests and often gets into trouble with his boss. But his job is not the only thing that's complicated.

GDR, 80 min., color

My Wife Loves to Sing

Meine Frau macht Musik (1958)

Director: Heinrich, Hans

Gustl Wagner's beloved wife Gerda, a housewife who was fond of singing, has become a star overnight, idolized and surrounded by admirers. Blinded by jealousy, Gustl sinks first to brooding, then sleeplessness, and finally to alcohol.

GDR, 85 min., color

My Zero Hour

Meine Stunde Null (1970)

Director: Hasler, Joachim

In 1943 on the eastern front, the Berlin worker Kurt Hartung, now a private, survives a bombing even though his superior Steckbeck almost causes his death by ordering him to disarm an unexploded bomb. Shortly thereafter, he is captured by a Russian patrol while on a scouting mission.

GDR, 91 min., color

The Mysterious Wreck

Das geheimnisvolle Wrack (1954)

Director: Ballmann, Herbert

Wolfgang from Berlin is on vacation in Rügen and enjoys playing with the local children in a blown-up beachside bunker. When the children discover an old shipwreck off the coast, they take a boat out one night to explore.

GDR, 76 min., b&w

The Mystery of the Amber Room

Die Spur des Bernsteinzimmers (1991)

Director: Gräf, Roland

The legendary amber room, which King Frederick William I of Prussia gave as a gift to Peter the Great of Russian in 1716, was confiscated, dismantled and transported out of Königsberg (Kaliningrad) by the German military and has been missing since 1944.

Germany, 101 min., color

Naked Among Wolves

Nackt unter Wölfen (1963)

Director: Beyer, Frank

Jankowski, a Polish prisoner from Auschwitz, arrives at the Buchenwald concentration camp carrying a suitcase. Inside the suitcase is a small Jewish boy he has kept from harm. Once at Buchenwald, prisoners working in the property storage room discover the child.

GDR, 124 min., b&w

The Naked Man on the Sports Field

Der nackte Mann auf dem Sportplatz (1973)

Director: Wolf, Konrad

Kemmel is almost 40. Although little throws the good-natured sculptor off, he is torn... between wanting to address his generation's memories of the Holocaust, and disappointment that many people don't understand his works–despite official programs to bring art to the public.

GDR, 102 min., color

Namibia — Return to a New Country

Namibia — Rückkehr in ein neues Land (1997)

Director: Schuch, Christoph

Nangula Gideon and Nangula Cornelius, two Namibian women in their early twenties, spent their childhood together in exile in East Germany.

Germany, 85 min., color

Nationality: German

Nationalität: Deutsch (1990)

Director: Gass, Karl

Born in 1889, Albert Linnecke has been a teacher in the rural village of Rindtorf for 34 years. After serving in WWI, he begins to chronicle the events of the village in his diary.

GDR, 88 min., b&w

Neidhardt von Gneisenau

Neidhardt von Gneisenau (1986)

Director: Rinnelt, Frank

Neidhardt von Gneisenau was a major initiator of Prussian reform after playing an important role in Napolean's defeat at Waterloo. This documentary is based on historical documents, personal notes, paintings and sketches and also incorporates re-enacted scenes from Gneisenau's life.

GDR, 16 min., color

The Net

Das Netz - Unabomber, LSD & Internet (2003)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

In 1996, the FBI captured the American domestic terrorist and former mathematics professor and anarchist author Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, who understood himself to be battling the increasing technolog,ization of the world.

Germany, 121 min., color/b&w

Neutron Peace?

Neutronenfrieden? (1977)

Director: Juan Forch

A group of playing children are suddenly hit by a neutron bomb. A businessman collects and sells the clothes they leave behind. A cut-out animated film.

GDR, 3 min., color

New Address: Thälmann Park

Neue Adresse: Thälmannpark (1987)

Director: Machalz, Alfons

An old gas plant has been torn down to make room for the new Thälmann Park residential district in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin. This documentary reports on the entire construction process from the initial planning stage to opening of the new community.

GDR, 22 min., color

New Year's Eve Punch

Silvesterpunsch (1960)

Director: Reisch, Günter

In the sequel to The Punch Bowl (Maibowle, 1959), the Lehmann family is preparing to celebrate New Year's Eve. The family's two sons, cultural enthusiast Franz (Heinz Draehn) and sport fanatic Michel (Achim Schmidtchen), lead two separate brigades at work.

GDR, 90 min., color

News from Wittstock

Neues in Wittstock (1992)

Director: Koepp, Volker

The penultimate film in the Wittstock documentary series returns to Wittstock shortly after German reunification.

Germany, 96 min., b&w

Newsreel Program

Das Augenzeugen-Programm (1946)

This playlist includes 32 episodes from the newsreel series Der Augenzeugen (The Eyewitness), which were produced by the East German DEFA Studios from 1946 to 1980.

GDR, 57 min., b&w

The New Craze

Der neue Fimmel (1960)

Director: Beck, Walter

Soccer fever has broken out among the children of Hangelin, causing them to neglect their homework and chores. While their parents hope the excitement will soon die down, the children clear out an old scrap yard to make themselves a soccer field.

GDR, 79 min., b&w

Next Year at Lake Balaton

Und nächstes Jahr am Balaton (1980)

Director: Zschoche, Herrmann

Jonas and Ines are in love and want to spend their vacation together camping on the Baltic coast. But Ines's narrow-minded parents intervene and insist that the young couple joins the family vacation. Problems arise, so everyone ends up traveling to the Bulgarian Black Sea on their own.

GDR, 89 min., color

Ninth National Art Exhibition of the GDR, Dresden 1982-1983

IX. Kunstausstellung der DDR — Dresden 1982/1983 (1983)

Director: Petersen, Peter

Every four years, East Germany's Ministry of Culture and Artists' Union hosted a National Art Exhibition in Dresden. From 1946 to 1987-88, ten National Art Exhibitions took place in Dresden, presenting an official selection of artistic works.

GDR, 24 min., color

No Farewell — Just Go

Kein Abschied — nur fort (1991)

Director: Hohmann, Lew
Tschirner, Joachim

During the summer of 1989, large numbers of East Germans emigrated illegally via Hungary.

Germany, 100 min., b&w

No Proof of Murder

Für Mord kein Beweis (1978)

Director: Petzold, Konrad

Steffi Zinn's body is fished out of a lake. A week before, her husband was reported missing when he left the apartment after a fight and hadn't returned by morning. Police Captain Lohm is charged with the investigation but can't find any evidence of murder.

GDR, 93 min., color

No Time for a Coffee Break!

Bei der Feuerwehr wird der Kaffee kalt...! (1970)

Director: Schraps, Rudolf

Alarm! Alarm! The bell rings all the time: A storm knocked down the tower of the city hall, a fire is burning in the forest, and a parrot escaped from the circus. The firemen are so busy that they cannot find the time for a little coffee break.

GDR, 17 min., color

Nobody Can Stop the Revolution

Die Revolution kann keiner aufhalten (1976)

Director: Juan Forch

Combining collage animation and live action, this short depicts the achievements of the Chilean people under the Allende government and the subsequent reversal of this progress following the military coup.

GDR, 6 min., color

Not with Me, Madam!

Mit mir nicht, Madam! (1968)

Director: Oehme, Roland
Warneke, Lothar

East German journalist Thomas Ahrens travels to an international fashion festival at an exclusive Mediterranean seaside resort. But instead of covering the GDR delegation, Thomas ends up being plunged into a comedy of errors.

GDR, 90 min., color/b&w

Novalis: The Blue Flower

Novalis — Die blaue Blume (1993)

Director: Kipping, Herwig

Friedrich von Hardenberg, called Novalis, watches scenes from his life in a sort of dying vision. His father convinces him to study law and take on a public office out of duty to the family; his uncle tries to pass on his beliefs about the poetry of war.

Germany, 93 min., color

Nowadays Only the Others Die

Heute sterben immer nur die andern (1990)

Director: Kühn, Siegfried

Three actresses, who performed together in Chekhov's "Three Sisters" early in their careers, meet again after many years.

GDR, 76 min., color

Nude Photography — e.g., Gundula Schulze

Aktfotografie — z.B. Gundula Schulze (1983)

Director: Misselwitz, Helke

In this short, East German photographer Gundula Schulze (b. 1954) vividly explains her creative process and talks about her desire to and concerns about capturing the whole personality of the women in her work.

GDR, 12 min., color/b&w

Nuria Quevedo: A Berliner from Barcelona

Nuria Quevedo - Eine Berlinerin aus Barcelona (2003)

Director: Mund, Karlheinz

A portrait of the Spanish painter and graphic artist Nuria Quevedo. The daughter of Spanish immigrants, Quevedo came to East Germany as a teenager in 1952. Her longing for her childhood home never left her.

Germany, 72 min., color

The Oath of Rabenhorst

Der Schwur von Rabenhorst (1986)

Director: Kratzert, Hans

In a small village in 1949, Thomas, Renate and Ernst found a "Federation of Justice." Like their hero, pirate Klaus Störtebeker, they steal from the rich to give to the poor.

GDR, 81 min., color

Oh Dear! A Jack-of-All-Trades Document

Ach du jeh — Ein Hans Dampf und Wurst Dokument (1989)

Director: Foth, Jörg

Jörg Foth's upbeat and optimistic documentary portrays two modern minstrel groups, Spilwut and Tippelklimper, who perform bagpipe music in medieval costumes at fairs, bars, and train stations.

GDR, 16 min., color

OK

O.k. (1965)

Director: Heynowski, Walter

In a Refugee Reception Center for migrants in Eisenach, the director gets to know 21-year-old Doris S., who moved to West Germany and returned.

GDR, 31 min., b&w

Ol' Witch

Olle Hexe (1990)

Director: Meyer, Günter

When Paul and his mother move into their new home, Paul meets Anna, the girl next door. As they get into a quarrel in the elevator, they find that it doesn't stop, but instead takes them deeper and deeper into the Earth.

Germany, 76 min., color

An Old Love

Eine alte Liebe (1959)

Director: Beyer, Frank

The Walkowiaks' marriage suffers due to the couple's differing perspectives on work. August (Erich Franz) looks forward to resting after retirement, while Frieda (Gisela May) invests much of her time and energy into her position as the head of an agricultural collective.

GDR, 92 min., b&w

The Old New World

Die alte neue Welt (1977)

Director: Thorndike, Andrew

The Old New World traces the course of our planet's history in a single film, answering the questions of human origins and human purpose in accordance with a Marxist view of history.

GDR, 101 min., color

Ole Henry

Olle Henry (1983)

Director: Weiß, Ulrich

Henry, a former professional boxer, is searching fruitlessly for new beginnings in post-war Berlin. One day, he falls out of an overcrowded train and lands, injured, near an abandoned train car where Xenia, a struggling bar hostess, lives.

GDR, 99 min., color

Omulaule Means Black

Omulaule heisst Schwarz (2003)

Director: Hens, Nicola
Möller, Beatrice
Radelhof, Susanne

During the Namibian War of Independence, almost 500 Namibian children were relocated from 1979 onwards, from various refugee camps to the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

Germany, 66 min., color

On Both Sides

Hüben und drüben (1964)

Director: Heynowski, Walter

This film documents the East Germans' criticism of West German capitalism and the country's free market economy.

GDR, 39 min., b&w

On Lust & Sin: In Divided Germany

Von Lust & Laster: Im geteilten Deutschland (2009)

Director: Sperlich, Frank Otto

Based on research and accounts of actual events, actors tell stories about people's sexual experiences in East and West Germany. Interspersing interesting historic film clips, this film touches on free love, homosexuality, pornography and prostitution.

Germany, 45 min., color

On Probation

Bürgschaft für ein Jahr (1981)

Director: Zschoche, Herrmann

Nina Kern, a divorced woman in her late twenties, will soon be fully deprived of her custody rights for her three children, who already reside in a home for the displaced due to Nina's many years of willful neglect. Although she has broken her promise to change her moral conduct many times, she

GDR, 93 min., color

On the Road in Nicaragua - A Cinematic Journey for Kids

Unterwegs in Nicaragua - Eine filmische Reisebeschreibung für Kinder (1987)

Director: Tschörtner, Petra

In 1986, during the cival war, the director visits Nicaragua. Traveling the country, she records children's and families' daily lives in the country that are filled with hard work to make ends meet.

GDR, 29 min., color

On the Road in the Schwerin District

Unterwegs im Bezirk Schwerin (1987)

Director: Schulze, Klaus

This documentary presents everyday life and notable landmarks in Schwerin, Güstrow and the surrounding areas. The documentary combines past and present through its depiction of historic and modern buildings, as well industrial production and traditional craftsmanship.

GDR, 31 min., color

On the Sunny Side

Auf der Sonnenseite (1961)

Director: Kirsten, Ralf

This romantic musical comedy relates the story of the artistically talented steel smelter Martin Hoff, who is expelled from drama school shortly after his arrival.

GDR, 97 min., b&w

On the Unstrut River

An der Unstrut (1985)

Director: Koepp, Volker

The town of Memleben in the Unstrut Valley (today part of Saxony-Anhalt) was the center of Europe more than a millenium ago.

GDR, 27 min., color

Once Does Not Count

Einmal ist keinmal (1955)

Director: Wolf, Konrad

Peter Weselin (Horst Drinda), a musician and composer from West Germany plans to spend a quiet vacation with his uncle in the small town of Klingenthal, but the East German town, known for manufacturing instruments, is about to hold its annual music festival.

GDR, 90 min., color

One of Us

Einer von uns (1959)

Director: Spieß, Helmut

Working-class athlete Richard Bertram (Günther Simon) is a talented wrestler whose political beliefs get him into trouble. When his club is dissolved by the Nazis, Richard continues to wrestle in a middle-class club, using his position to support the resistance movement.

GDR, 90 min., b&w

One, Two, Three Corona

1-2-3 Corona (1948)

Director: Müller, Hans

A wandering circus sets up on a construction site amidst the ruins of a German city in 1945. Nearby are two rival gangs who deal in the black market.

GDR, 83 min., b&w

Operation Auditor

Operation Revisor (1984)

This instructional film was produced by the Ministry of State Security (Stasi) and used for training new Stasi employees or informants about detailed surveillance that could lead up to an arrest of GDR citizens.

GDR, 9 min., b&w

Operation Teutonic Sword

Archive sagen aus — Unternehmen Teutonenschwert (1958)

This documentary features German army officer and NATO General Hans Speidel and his role before and during World War II.

GDR, 49 min., b&w

Operation Violin Case

Unternehmen Geigenkasten (1984)

Director: Friedrich, Gunter

When a strange man with a fake beard drives through two, ten-year-old Ole and his friend Andreas are on the case. The duo, who fancy themselves to be a young Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, are hot on the trail of the suspicious man.

GDR, 88 min., color

Orpheus in the Underworld

Orpheus in der Unterwelt (1974)

Director: Bonnet, Horst

This musical comedy based on an opera by Jaques Offenbach incorporates a twist on the classic Greek myth: Orpheus, a music teacher at a girls' school in the ancient Greek city of Thebes, actually does not miss his wife Eurydice that much — until the gods and Offenbach himself pressure him to retr

GDR, 88 min., color

Osceola

Osceola (1971)

Director: Petzold, Konrad

Florida, 1830. Of all eastern Indigenous nations, only the Seminoles have resisted being moved to reservations.

GDR, 108 min., color

The Other Love

Die andere Liebe (1988)

Director: Kißling, Helmut
Otten, Axel

The only documentary ever made by DEFA on the topic of homosexuality was this public education film commissioned by the Hygiene Museum Dresden and produced in cooperation with East German gay and lesbian activists. In interviews, GDR lesbians and gay men talk openly about their first sexual exper

GDR, 36 min., color

Otto Nagel, 1894-1967

Otto Nagel, 1894-1967 (1970)

Director: Mund, Karlheinz

Otto Nagel (1894-1967)–the painter from Wedding–critically reflected on his times through his art. In his paintings, pastels and drawings, he depicted social misery, but also the class consciousness of the proletariat.

GDR, 22 min., color/b&w

Ottokar, the World Reformer

Ottokar der Weltverbesserer (1976)

Director: Kratzert, Hans

Fifth-grader Ottokar is always getting into trouble for trying to fix what he perceives as injustice. He gets revenge on his teacher Mr. Kunz, who gives preferential treatment to girls and humiliates poor students.

GDR, 82 min., color

Our Bad Children

Unsere bösen Kinder (1992)

Director: Lotz, Karl Heinz

A film about five thirteen-year-old street children who have had to grow up too soon, shot in Berlin during Christmas 1992.

Germany, 83 min., b&w

Our Children

Unsere Kinder (1989)

Director: Steiner, Roland

From an official perspective, marginal youth culture did not exist in East Germany. The topic of subcultures was taboo in the GDR, and groups such as goths, skinheads, anti-skins, punks and neo-Nazis were dismissed as social deviations promoted by western countries.

GDR, 88 min., color/b&w

Our Daily Bread

Unser täglich Brot (1949)

Director: Dudow, Slatan

The petit bourgeouis Weber family lives in sectored Berlin after the Second World War and struggles to make ends meet. Karl Weber, an unemployed cashier, observes from a distance how his son Ernst and daughter Inge participate in the construction of a new socialist society.

GDR, 99 min., b&w

Our Old Days

Unsere alten Tage (1989)

Director: Tschörtner, Petra

Elderly people have to leave their familiar apartments and neighborhoods and move into retirement homes where they have food and care but feel lonely and forgotten.

GDR, 48 min., b&w

Our Short Life

Unser kurzes Leben (1980)

Director: Warneke, Lothar

The fun-loving, 26-year-old architect Franziska Linkerhand (Simone Frost) works for a famous professor. Yet, she feels restrained by her dependence on him and longs to take risks. When her marriage falls apart, she moves to a small town for a fresh start.

GDR, 109 min., color

Our Short Life: Lothar Warneke — A Moralist and His Films

Unser kurzes Leben: Lothar Warneke — Ein Moralist und seine Filme (1997)

Director: Gehler, Fred
Kasten, Ullrich

This biographical portrait of director Lothar Warneke is part of a series of documentaries about DEFA filmmakers by director Ullrich Kasten.

NOTE: This film is currently only available as part of our non-circulating research collection.

Germany, 30 min., color/b&w

Our Time

Aus unserer Zeit (1970)

Director: Kunert, Joachim
Maetzig, Kurt
Nitzschke, Helmut
Simon, Rainer

A group film made by a team of authors and involving a large cast with, among others, Ekkehard Schall (Berlin - Schönhauser Corner) and Hans Hardt-Hardtloff, narration by Brecht's co-worker Margarete Steffin, and music by Peter Rabenalt.

GDR, 127 min., b&w

Our Time: Ordinary People

Aus unserer Zeit: Gewöhnliche Leute (1970)

Director: Simon, Rainer

Adele and Hannes, who both work in construction, spend their honeymoon in Hannes' small hometown of Kossin. For them, it becomes a time of recovery and, in particular, of memory of years past. Scenes from everyday life depict their love for work, commitment, conflicts.

GDR, 34 min., b&w

Our Time: The Computer Says No

Aus unserer Zeit: Der Computer sagt: Nein (1970)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt

A Moscow expert, Sascha, and his counterpart from Berlin, Dieter, find common ground and work together to deliver a vital amplifier to Radio Havana in a short amount of time, even though computer calculations indicate that it will be impossible.

GDR, 30 min., b&w

Our Time: The Duel

Aus unserer Zeit: Das Duell (1970)

Director: Kunert, Joachim

The communist Bötcher (Wolfgang Kieling) is charged with the implementation of school reform.

GDR, 33 min., b&w

Our Time: The Two Sons

Aus unserer Zeit: Die zwei Söhne (1970)

Director: Nitzschke, Helmut

A farmer's wife in Brandenburg is having strange dreams in which a Soviet prisoner-of-war assumes the face of her son. When her son suddenly turns up, she then has to stop a crime he had been helping plan against Soviet prisoners, tying him up and giving him up to the advancing Soviet army so tha

GDR, 25 min., b&w

Outer Space and the Everyday: A Short History of DEFA

All und Alltag - eine Kurzbiografie der DEFA (2018)

Director: Betina Kuntzsch

An entertaining trip through East German film history, this animated documentary covers the different genres and types of films made at the DEFA Feature Film Studio from 1946 to 1992.

Germany, 17 min., color

Overgames

Overgames (2015)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

While channel surfing in 2004, Lutz Dammbeck saw the West German TV game-show host Joachim Fuchsberger explain that he had based his successful early-1960s game show, Nur nicht nervös werden (Just Don't Get Nervous), on an American show called Beat the Clock, which made

Germany, 164 min., color/b&w

Owl's Hole

Käuzchenkuhle (1968)

Director: Beck, Walter

Jean-Paul Fontanon, a boy from Berlin who everyone calls "Jampoll," spends every summer in his grandparents' village. But this year, everything is different. Jampoll's grandfather appears upset and fearful of something, often disappearing into his room or writing things in a notebook.

GDR, 75 min., b&w

P.S.

P.S. (1978)

Director: Gräf, Roland

When he reaches age 18, Peter is released from the children's home where he grew up, but this does not mean he is truly ready for adult life.

GDR, 95 min., color

Painter Heidrun Hegewald

Heidrun Hegewald (1994)

Director: Grimm, Thomas

(East) German painter and graphic artist Heidrun Hegewald talks about her life, her work and the working conditions that applied to her and other artists in East Germany.

Germany, 42 min., color

The Pain of Lusatia - Å½aÅ‚osÄ‡i nam ÅuÅ¾yca

Die Schmerzen der Lausitz; Å½aÅ‚osÄ‡i nam ÅuÅ¾yca (1990)

Director: Peter Rocha

Part 3 of Peter Rocha's Lusatia Trilogy: From fall 1989 to spring 1990, the film crew documented the advancing destruction of the Lusatia region.

The Painter Albert Ebert

Der Maler Albert Ebert (1982)

Director: Kohlert, Werner

As a film student in 1964, the director filmed painter Albert Ebert for his final exam in cinematography at the Film Academy in Potsdam-Babelsberg.

GDR, 19 min., color

The Painter Came From a Foreign Land...

Der Maler kam aus fremdem Land"... (1988)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

In 1986, after suffering many obstacles and interference in his work, Dammbeck moved from the GDR to Hamburg, West Germany. Two years later, he explores his decision and tries to sort out his past and present identity as an artist.

Germany, 43 min., color/b&w

Palace of the Republic: House of the People

Palast der Republik: Haus des Volkes (1976)

Director: Winter, Horst

This color documentary uses archival material and contemporary footage to trace the history of Marx-Engels Square and the Palace of the Republic. Various stages in the construction of the monumental building are documented, from the initial excavations to Honecker's speech at the laying of the co

GDR, 18 min., color/b&w

Parliamentarians in the GDR

Parlamentarier in der DDR (1984)

Director: Thielemann, Regina

This documentary profiles four members of parliament: mining foreman Adolf Kriesche, farmer Susanne Häber, arc welder Andreas Uhlig, and former East Berlin mayor Herbert Fechner.

GDR, 27 min., color

The Party Secretary

Der Sekretär (1967)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

This documentary follows Gerhard Grimmer, the party secretary at the Buna chemical plant, and relations between the plant's management and its employees, as he attempts to improve morale among the workers.

GDR, 29 min., b&w

Past and Present

Damals und heute (1975)

Director: Hadaschik, Joachim

This film was produced to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Soviet army's defeat of Nazi fascism. This victory ultimately allowed for democratic antifascist transformation and socialist revolution in East Germany.

GDR, 38 min., b&w

The Path of Jazz

Vom Lebensweg des Jazz (1956)

Director: Bartsch, Wolfgang
Ulbrich, Peter

This short documentary looks back at the history of jazz, a style of music which has its origins in musical traditions that were brought to North American 300 years ago by enslaved Africans.

GDR, 19 min., b&w

Paul Dessau

Paul Dessau (1966)

A lively portrait of prominent (East) German composer and conductor Paul Dessau (1984-1979).

GDR, 31 min., b&w

Paul Robeson Amongst Us

Paul Robeson bei uns (1961)

Director: Hartmann, Jürgen

African-American singer and activist Paul Robeson travels to the GDR. He is welcomed at the airport by members of the Peace Council, given an honorary doctorate from the Humboldt University and receives the "Star of Friendship between Peoples" from Walter Ulbricht.

GDR, 12 min., b&w

Paul Robeson: "I'm a Negro. I'm an American."

I'm a Negro. I'm an American - Paul Robeson (1989)

Director: Tetzlaff, Kurt

A cinematic homage to the African American singer, actor, civil rights activist Paul Robeson (1898—1976).

GDR/FRG, 84 min., b&w

Paule in Concert

Paule in Concert (1983)

Director: Hohmann, Lew

Berlin apprentices attend a rock concert by the popular band Pankow held at their workplace. The songs describe the life of apprentice Paule Panke: getting up early, long hours, free time at night, until the weekend finally comes.

GDR, 33 min., color

Peace Needs Us All

Der Frieden braucht alle (1982)

Director: Petersen, Peter

This documentary chronicles the 12th annual Festival of Political Song, one of the GDR's largest music events.

GDR, 20 min., color

The Peace Agitator: Albert Einstein

Der Friedenshetzer — Albert Einstein (1979)

Director: Kohlert, Werner

Albert Einstein, one of the fathers of the atomic bomb, was caught in a difficult sitituation when he immigrated to the United States in 1933. Should he, as a pacifist, support the American engineers building the atomic bomb or simply hope that the Nazis wouldn't build their own?

GDR, 22 min., b&w

The Pear Girl

Das Birnenmädchen (1988)

Director: Tappert, Horst

A farmer has a pear tree, a hen and three daughters. Every year, he must deliver three baskets of pears to the king, but one year, he can't fill the third basket and so hides his youngest daughter inside instead.

GDR, 22 min., color

Pension Boulanka

Pension Boulanka (1964)

Director: Krätzig, Helmut

A murder has been committed in Pension Boulanka, a famous guesthouse for artists and circus people.

GDR, 101 min., b&w

People with Wings

Leute mit Flügeln (1960)

Director: Wolf, Konrad

This film continues the story of radio operator Ludwig Bartuschek from The Sailors' Song. Near the end of the Weimar Republic, Bartuschek (Erwin Geschonneck) is working as a mechanic in the Sperber airplane plant.

GDR, 119 min., color/b&w

The Persons Involved

Die Beteiligten (1988)

Director: Brandt, Horst E.

In spring 1964, the body of Christa Gellert is dragged out of the Elbe River. City councilor Stegmeier and his colleague Anna Sell claim that the young woman was with them on a business trip when she drowned picking pussywillows.

GDR, 99 min., color

Peter and the Wolf

Peter und der Wolf (1973)

Director: Rätz, Günter

This puppet animation film is based on Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. A 1936 symphonic fairy tale for children, the piece tells the story of Peter and a little bird who outwit and catch the dangerous wolf and take him to a zoo.

Peterle and the Christmas Goose Auguste

Peterle und die Weihnachtsgans Auguste (1964)

Director: Simon, Rainer

Little Peterle's father buys a goose at the Christmas market. But Peterle turns the bird, which he calls Guste, into a family pet and won't go to sleep unless she is allowed to sleep in his room instead of the cold cellar.

GDR, 21 min., b&w

Photographs

Fotografien (1983)

Director: Voigt, Peter

This experimental film, set to music by Bach, illustrates quotations from the works of Karl Marx with photographs of proletarian daily life from the mid-1800s to the present.

GDR, 20 min., b&w

The Pimp

Der Lude (1984)

Director: Brandt, Horst E.

Bello is an unemployed young man living in Berlin in the early 1930s. Although his girlfriend Frieda is underage, she goes out onto the streets in order to support both of them. A police commissioner uses this knowledge to blackmail Bello into acting as an informer for him.

GDR, 92 min., color

Pinocchio

Turlis Abenteuer (1967)

Director: Beck, Walter

The toymaker Kasimir had hardly finished carving the puppet Turli before he comes alive and starts causing unintentional mischief by skipping school and creating chaos at the puppet theater.

GDR, 72 min., color

A Place in Berlin

Konzert im Freien (2001)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

Like a fossil, the Marx-Engels Forum, an ambitious East German monument project, occupies a central historical spot and desirable real estate in the middle of Berlin's new center. In this experimental documentary, Jürgen Böttcher takes a critical look at how the meaning of monuments changes.

Germany, 86 min., color

Playing with Clay

Spiel mit Lehm (1980)

Director: Später, Walter

A series of seven short claymation films from the DEFA Studio for Animated Films.

GDR, 18 min., color

The Plum Trees Have Surely Been Cut Down

Die Pflaumenbäume sind wohl abgehauen (1978)

Director: Tetzlaff, Kurt

Sitting on the 7 o'clock train to Berlin on February 21, 1920, Bertolt Brecht writes the poem "Erinnerungen an die Marie A." ("Reminiscence of Marie A.").

GDR, 11 min., b&w

Pole Poppenspaeler

Pole Poppenspäler (1954)

Director: Pohl, Artur

While traveling as a journeyman, Paul encounters an old friend, the puppeteer's daughter Lisei. They fall in love and get married and Lisei and her father move back to Paul's home village.

GDR, 84 min., b&w

Police Raid

Razzia (1947)

Director: Klingler, Werner

Shortages in postwar Berlin have created a blooming black market, and the goods rounded up during a major police raid all seem to come from the same source. The trail leads Commissioner Naumann to the Alibaba Cabarett, but he is unable to find conclusive evidence to convict its owner Goll.

GDR, 97 min., b&w

Political Art: Käthe Kollwitz, Otto Dix, Otto Nagel

Kämpfende Kunst (1959)

Director: Oelschlägel, Götz

This short documentary looks at three important German visual artists: Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945), Otto Dix (1891-1969) and Otto Nagel (1894-1967).

GDR, 8 min., b&w

The Poor Miller's Boy and the Kitten

Der arme Müllerbursch und das Kätzchen (1970)

Director: Barke, Lothar
Barkowsky, Helmut

There once was a poor miller who had no children but only three apprentices to work for him. The two older boys were lazy, mean and stupid, but youngest was hard-working, friendly, and cheerful. When the miller grows too old to work, he send the boys out into the world.

GDR, 51 min., color

The Poor Shall Become an Enemy of the Rich

Dass ihnen der arme Mann Feind werde (1975)

The title of this short film is quoted from Thomas Müntzer's 1524 speech A Highly-Provoked Vindication. The documentary traces the most important events of the German Peasants' War of 1524-25 and the leading role of reformer Thomas Müntzer.

GDR, 17 min., color/b&w

Pornography — Made in the GDR?

Pornografie — Made in DDR? (2006)

Director: Sperlich, Frank Otto

Did pornography exist in communist East Germany, where distribution of pornography was illegal? This film gives insight into an unknown side of GDR life and takes the viewer into a subculture that refused state-sanctioned morality.

GDR, color

The Porcupine: A Free Man

Das Stacheltier — EIN freier MENSCH (1954)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

Eckehard Mucks takes his fiancée Inge out in a paddleboat, but then decides he would rather ride the motorboat tied up at the dock.

GDR, 9 min., b&w

The Porcupine: A Love Story

Das Stacheltier — Eine Liebesgeschichte (1953)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

A writer tries to get a love story published. Two bureaucratic editors ask for more and more changes. But even his spiced-up version, with smoking chimneys and steel production, gets rejected.

GDR, 7 min., b&w

The Porcupine: A Ride to Schöneberg

Das Stacheltier — Zwischen Zoo und Schöneberg (1959)

Director: Kurz, Rudi

This episode features a pompous customer and a West Berlin cab driver. Their conversation, full of wit and double-entendres, revolves around city government under mayor Willie Brandt and the American occupation. Punch line? The driver would rather have his cab occupied than free!

GDR, 5 min., b&w

The Porcupine: Cheers!

Das Stacheltier — Hoch die Tassen! (1955)

Director: Röbbeling, Harald

Anton misunderstands the barkeeper's refusal to keep serving a drunken guest, leading him to believe that there is an impending alcohol shortage. This news spreads with the help of a report from West Berlin radio and Anton stashes away a stockpile of liquor.

GDR, 7 min., b&w

The Porcupine: Do Not Disturb

Das Stacheltier — Bitte nicht stören (1953)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

Four colleagues sit down for an important business meeting and do not want to be disturbed. First, the chairperson of the meeting is called away to answer an important phone call and passes the leadership on to a colleague, who also turns out to have an important errand to run...

GDR, 5 min., b&w

The Porcupine: Don't Got That!

Das Stacheltier — Ham wa nich! (1955)

Director: Thiel, Heinz

Pustekuchen, the administrator of a wholesale distributor, is only interested in bonuses. His irresponsible management causes significant shortages for customers, so that one local store only has cleaning products left in stock.

GDR, 8 min., b&w

The Porcupine: Ede on Saturdays

Das Stacheltier — Ede sonnabends (1954)

Director: Jung-Alsen, Kurt

A long line of teenagers are standing outside a dance club. Traudchen and her boyfriend Johannes get split up, but they both eventually are admitted. Meanwhile, Ede strolls past those waiting in line and bribes the bouncer to get inside.

GDR, 7 min., b&w

The Porcupine: Look Lively, Lads!

Das Stacheltier — Frisch Gesellen, seid zur Hand! (1955)

Director: Thiel, Heinz

Two groups of craftsmen, painters and stovefitters, are hired to repair the same apartment. When their attempts to work simultaneously only cause chaos, they contact the building management to figure out who should do their job first.

GDR, 10 min., b&w

The Porcupine: News from the West

Das Stacheltier — Es geht um die Wurst (1955)

Director: Röbbeling, Harald

Poisoned sausages in East Germany! Karl gets scared when he hears this news on the West Berlin radio station RIAS (Radio in the American Sector). What a surprise to see his supposedly dead friends a few days later — sitting happily in the pub.

GDR, 8 min., b&w

The Porcupine: Prometheus — Olympic Games with Fire

Das Stacheltier — PROMETHEUS — Olympische Spiele mit dem Feuer (1955)

Director: Thiel, Heinz

Zeus' secretary informs him about complaints about shortages on Earth: people in Leipzig are protesting a lack of matches. Zeus sends Prometheus to deal with the situation in the GDR and discover the cause of the shortage.

GDR, 10 min., b&w

The Porcupine: School of Courtesy

Das Stacheltier — Schule der Höflichkeit (1953)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

A shipment of aluminum pots have arrived at a home goods store, but they can't be sold because the staff can't find the bill.

GDR, 4 min., b&w

The Porcupine: Stiesel's Institute of Good Manners

Das Stacheltier — Stiesels Institut für gute Sitten (1953)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

A reporter visits the director of Stiesel's Institute of Good Manners and watches taxi drivers and restaurant servers during their practical classes on how to offer rude and insensitive customer service. Places are still available for any helpful and friendly employees who wish to enroll!

GDR, 7 min., b&w

The Porcupine: The Beard Is off

Das Stacheltier — Der Bart ist ab (1953)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

A Free German Youth group is putting the finishing touches on their new club room and wants to celebrate by hosting a dance.

GDR, 7 min., b&w

The Porcupine: The BIG Adventure

Das Stacheltier — Das GROSSE Abenteuer (1953)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

Alois Dachleitner, an employee of the Munich Trade Office, is terrified of being arrested and shipped off to Siberia when he is assigned to attend the Leipzig trade fair. The anxiety he experiences throughout the journey is transformed into wonder when he sees the exhibits on display at the fair.

GDR, 5 min., color

The Porcupine: The Household Wonder

Das Stacheltier — Das Haushaltswunder (1955)

Director: Röbbeling, Harald

After seeing ads for the new "household wonder" from the Telewerke Nationally Owned Enterprise, everyone wants to talk to manager Vogel about it.

GDR, 10 min., b&w

The Porcupine: The Ideal Customer

Das Stacheltier — DER vorbildliche KUNDE (1954)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

A grumpy customer in a shoe store asks to be shown one pair of shoes after another.

GDR, 4 min., b&w

The Porcupine: The King in Thule

Das Stacheltier — Der König in Thule (1953)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

A community theater group is preparing their performance of "The King in Thule." When a cultural functionary appears, the young people hope to get some staging tips.

GDR, 5 min., b&w

The Porcupine: The Lodger

Das Stacheltier — Der Untermieter (1955)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

Otto Auch is looking for a temporary place to stay in Berlin until his family can move into their new apartment. After meeting with Ms.

GDR, 8 min., b&w

The Porcupine: The Night of Horror

Das Stacheltier — Die Nacht des Grauens (1954)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

Helmut receives a package from his Uncle Fritz in the West, which contains a number of cheap crime novels like The Night of Terror. Helmut begins reading everywhere, especially before bed.

GDR, 8 min., b&w

The Porcupine: The Parlor Game

Das Stacheltier — Das Gesellschaftsspiel — eine unglaubliche Geschichte oder? (1957)

Director: Beyer, Frank

Three gangsters try to crack a safe but have to flee the scene when an alarm goes off. Their boss at Central Break-Ins, LLC. is furious until Ricky recommends a new "occupation strategy."

GDR, 7 min., b&w

The Porcupine: The Winter Coat

Das Stacheltier — Der Wintermantel (1954)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

During the winter, a man brings fabric to a tailor's shop to have a winter coat made, but the staff laugh at his request. In the planned economy, they need to stick to their work schedule: those types of orders are only accepted in the summer.

GDR, 6 min., b&w

The Porcupine: The Young Englishman

Das Stacheltier — Der junge Engländer (1958)

Director: Kolditz, Gottfried

In 1825, a stranger has withdrawn to the small southern German city of Grünwiesel to lead a quiet life, but he despises the inhabitants narrow-mindedness gossiping. One day a circus comes to town, and shortly afterwards, the stranger presents his "nephew" to the citizens, whose foreign-seeming ap

GDR, 67 min., b&w

The Porcupine: Vigilance According to the Rules

Das Stacheltier — WACHSAMKEIT laut VORSCHRIFT (1953)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

The doorman gives an entry pass to a thief carrying a typewriter case filled with stones. The thief is able to swap out the stones for a typewriter, stamp his own pass and leave without getting questions at the door.

GDR, 5 min., b&w

The Porcupine: What a Fuss!

Das Stacheltier — So'n Theater! (1955)

Director: Thiel, Heinz

The open air theater is always sold out, but the district council refuses to give permission for additional performances due to lack of funding.

GDR, 7 min., b&w

Poster Boys

Musterknaben (1959)

Director: Knittel, Johannes

The young construction workers Bassi and Edwin are considered the lazy black sheep of their brigade, and they also shirk their responsibilities within their living community. They don't see any need to change these attitudes until they decide to court Thea and Susi.

GDR, 71 min., b&w

The Potter and the Tiger

Töpfer und Tiger (1988)

Director: Henke, Manfred

During a thunderstorm, the potter believes that the frightened tiger is actually his escaped donkey. He takes the tiger home. Everyone praises him for his bravery and he gets appointed as the royal army's commander. When a war starts, the potter has to find the enemies' location.

GDR, color

Prelude 11

Preludio 11 (1963)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt

Codeword: Prelude. Daniela — a single mother, whose boyfriend left for the US — believes wholeheartedly in Cuba's revolutionary new order. Meanwhile, in Florida, a plot is afoot.

GDR/Cuba, 91 min., b&w

The President in Exile

Der Präsident im Exil (1969)

This documentary profiles Dr. Walter Becher, who was a member of the West German parliament and spokesperson of the Sudeten German Homeland Association, an organization representing ethnic Germans displaced from Czechoslovakia.

GDR, 93 min., b&w

Prince Irregang und Maid Miseri

Prinz Irregang und Jungfer Miseri (1989)

When a group of goblins save the king from drowning in a swamp, he must promise them his first-born son in exchange. During his captivity, young Prince Irregang completes a series of impossible tasks with some magical help from Maid Miseri, who is also the goblins' prisoner.

GDR, 22 min., color

The Prince Beyond the Seven Seas

Der Prinz hinter den sieben Meeren (1983)

Director: Beck, Walter

The merchant's daughter Constance asks for a singing, soaring lark, which her father obtains from a lion on the condition that he send the first person he encounters at home to the lion's den.

GDR/Cuba, 83 min., color

Problem Children

Die Sorgenkinder — Eine Geschichte für erwachsene Kinder, gedreht vor dem 13. August (1962)

Director: Nitzschke, Helmut

The leader of a women's brigade hands out theater tickets for employees and their families. One woman steals a modern suitcoat for her boyfriend because he only owns a leather jacket from the West. Mishaps on their way to Berlin's Volksbühne Theater cause her to tell him the truth.

GDR, 22 min., b&w

Professional Sports

Wir aus Jena — Unser Sportclub (1983)

This documentary about the sports club "SC Motor Jena" focuses especially on relay runner and club member Bärbel Wöckel, who is interviewed about her life path from participation in school sports to her Olympic victories.

GDR, 34 min., color

Professor Mamlock

Professor Mamlock (1961)

Director: Wolf, Konrad

A Jewish chief surgeon in Berlin, Professor Mamlock believes in reason, humanism and his country. As 1933 begins, he remains blind to the increasing anti-Semitism around him. He is troubled by those with opposing political views and throws his communist-leaning son out of the house.

GDR, 93 min., b&w

Prolog to Kuhle Wampe

Prolog zu Kuhle Wampe (1958)

When director Slatan Dudow returned from French exile to eastern Germany in 1946, he joined the newly founded DEFA Film Studios. He wanted to release his Weimar-era communist film classic, Kuhle Wampe, or Who Owns the World?

Psalm 18

Psalm 18 (1974)

The Chilean Junta orders a Catholic mass in praise of its own accomplishments at the Igesia de la Gratitud Nacional on September 18, 1973. The Cardinal, forced to utter benedictions, resorts to words for all those who suffer and prays that they may be freed and consoled.

GDR, 5 min., b&w

Pugovitsa

Pugowitza (1980)

Director: Brauer, Jürgen

During the final weeks of World War II, the eleven-year-old orphan Heinrich sets out on a trek lead by the old fisherman Komarek. When Heinrich is suspected of betraying someone liable for military conscription, Komarek reluctantly takes the boy under his wing.

GDR, 101 min., color

The Pumpkin Child

Das Kürbiskind (1990)

Director: Backwinkel, Raimund

A childless woman begs Allah to give her a child, even if it is only a pumpkin. When her prayer is answered, she cares for her little pumpkin girl and sends her to school.

GDR, 10 min., color

Puss in Boots

Der gestiefelte Kater (1966)

Director: Krauße-Anderson, Monika

When the old miller dies, he leaves the mill to his oldest son, the donkey to the second son, and a tomcat to the youngest son, Hans. The cat wants to repay his master for his kindness and comes up with a clever plan.

GDR, 26 min., color

The Rabbit Is Me

Das Kaninchen bin ich (1965)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt

Maria, a 19-year-old waitress, has an affair with a a much older man. When she learns that he is the judge who had sentenced her brother for subversive activities against the state, she confronts him, accusing him of opportunism and hypocrisy.

GDR, 109 min., b&w

Rainer Simon — A Second of Life

Rainer Simon — Die Sekunde Leben (1995)

Director: Kasten, Ullrich

This biographical portrait of director Rainer Simon is part of a series of documentaries about DEFA filmakers by director Ullrich Kasten.

Germany, 30 min., color/b&w

The Rats Sleep at Night

Nachts schlafen die Ratten (1988)

Director: Dresen, Andreas

When an old man comes across a little boy in the middle of the rubble after WWII, a white lie starts the healing process. Based on the story by Wolfgang Borchert.

GDR, 10 min., color

Ready for Life

Vorspiel (1987)

Director: Kahane, Peter

Tom, a 17-year-old window design apprentice, dreams about true love. One day, a new girl from East Berlin moves to town. Tom has a crush on her and will do anything to impress her. When he finds out that she plans to become an actress, he even discovers the aspiration to perform himself.

GDR, 89 min., color

REALFilm

REALFilm (1986)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

This multimedia collage, which includes performances by pantomime artist and dancer Fine Kwiatkowski, painter and filmmaker Lutz Dammbeck and musician Robert Linke, is a reflection on the medium of film and its elements: sound, light and movement.

Germany, 48 min., b&w

Rear House Bliss

Glück im Hinterhaus (1979)

Director: Zschoche, Herrmann

Karl Erp is a middle-aged man with two children and a boring marriage. After starting an exciting affair with his intern, Miss Broder, he leaves his loveless marriage and moves in with his lover.

GDR, 98 min., color

Rebuilding Berlin

Berlin im Aufbau (1946)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt

This documentary film portrays the history of Berlin from 1895 to 1945 and the efforts of the inhabitants as they work to rebuild the destroyed city after the end of the war. The film is a compilation of material from the DEFA Eyewitness weekly news features as well as additional footage.

GDR, 22 min., b&w

Rebuilding Dresden

Aufbruch (1985)

Director: Thorndike, Annelie

This film documents the struggle of the city of Dresden in the years following the end of WWII and how, little by little, the city began life anew after the attack.

GDR, 25 min., color

Rebuilding Potsdam

Potsdam baut auf (1946)

Director: Huisken, Joop

This black-and-white documentary shows the citizens of Potsdam rebuilding their city after its destruction during WWII. Emotionally sensitive images of the immediate post-war period provide evidence of the hard-working spirit of the population and their desire to begin anew.

GDR, 29 min., b&w

Recovery

Genesung (1955)

Director: Wolf, Konrad

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.

GDR, 105 min., b&w

The Red Orchestra

Die Rote Kapelle (2004)

Director: Roloff, Stefan

The Red Orchestra was a resistance group that fought against Nazi power within Germany from 1933 to 1942. The Gestapo labeled them as communists and traitors for their efforts to put an end to Hitler's reign, a theory that was upheld by allied secret services until recently.

Germany/USA, 86 min., color

A Refugee from Vietnam

Ein Vietnamflüchtling (1979)

After becoming notorious world-wide for a bloody killing, Nguyen Ngoc Loan, former general and chief of the South Vietnamese police, moved to the United States and opened a restaurant outside of Washington, D.C. Contrasting images from these two phases of his life are intercut.

GDR, 4 min., color/b&w

Relapse

Rückfällig (1988)

Director: Schreiber, Eduard

The life stories of four people struggling with alcohol addition allow for conversations about the apparent "normalcy" of alcohol and the subsequent difficulty of recognizing it as a potentially dangerous drug.

GDR, 32 min., b&w

Reminder For All Time

Mahnung für alle Zeiten (1989)

Director: Urbanek, Willi

A short documentary about East German remembrance of the victims of National Socialism.

GDR, 20 min., color

Remington .12 Cal

Remington Cal.12 (1972)

This film comments on the US military practice of testing Remington .12 caliber bullets in Vietnam.

GDR, 15 min., color

The Reminder

Die Mahnung (1982)

Director: Bardem, Juan Antonio

Georgi Dimitrov gives a speech calling for all progressive forces to present a unified front at a 1935 convention of the Communist International in Moscow. Scenes from his life are presented in flashbacks and accompanied by historical documents.

GDR/Bulgaria/USSR, 159 min., color

Rendezvous Aimée

Treffpunkt Aimée (1956)

Director: Reinecke, Horst

Valuable PVC produced in the GDR is being smuggled across the sector boundaries in Berlin to supply Western chemical companies. Officer Schubert begins to investigate the case, but he is at a loss for leads when all the production and export records appear to be in order.

GDR, 72 min., b&w

Rendezvous in Travers

Treffen in Travers (1988)

Director: Gwisdek, Michael

In the fall of 1793, essayist and naturalist George Forster travels from Paris to Switzerland where he will meet his wife, Therese, to discuss divorce. Therese has travelled with her two children and new lover, Ferdinand Huber. Although exhausted from the physical and psychological battles now ra

GDR, 105 min., color

A Report for World History — USA 200

Eine Reportage für die Weltgeschichte — USA 200 (1975)

Director: Forch, Juan

In this cut-out animated short, a representative of the United States government travels around the world to give speeches on four continents in honor of the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independance.

GDR, 10 min., color

Reports from a Peaceful Revolution

(1990)

Director: Tetzlaff, Kurt

Director Kurt Tetzlaff initially intended to create a portrait of young people in East Germany; but political changes soon overtook his concept.

Germany, 168 min., color/b&w

Reserved for Death

Reserviert für den Tod (1963)

Director: Thiel, Heinz

Erich Becker joins the West German secret service, lured in by a harmless but lucrative assignment in Stockholm. His second mission turns out to be something much more serious: military espionage in his former home city of Erfurt.

GDR, 81 min., b&w

The Rescue

Die Rettung (1980)

Director: Hamacher, Sieglinde

A man and a donkey receive gold and sugar for rescuing someone who fell down. From this point on, they only rescue people if there's a reward. When the man himself falls, the donkey doesn't help him — as he has no money!

GDR, 5 min., color

Return from Afar: The Cinema of Egon Günther

Rückkehr aus weiter Entfernung — Das Kino des Egon Günther (1997)

Director: Kasten, Ullrich

This biographical portrait of director and screenwriter Egon Günther is part of a series of documentaries on DEFA filmmakers by director Ullrich Kasten.

Germany, 60 min., color/b&w

Return from the Desert

Rückkehr aus der Wüste (1989)

Director: Stephan, Bernhard

Twenty-five-year-old electrician Thomas Taenzer tries to escape his failed marriage, unfinished college degree, and the confines of everyday life by taking a job in the Algerian desert.

GDR/Algeria, 89 min., color

Return to Go!

Zurück auf Los! (2000)

Director: Sanoussi-Bliss, Pierre

When Sam, a penniless African-German singer and writer who grew up in East Germany and is now living in Berlin, finds out that he's HIV-positive, he gets extremely drunk, spends a few days in misery, and then promptly falls in love.

Germany, 90 min., color

Revolution of a Culture

Revolution einer Kultur (1968)

This documentary begins with the promotion of the arts and culture in the Soviet Occupied Zone of Germany in the years after WWII and the 1948 articulation of the goal of creating art to inspire the masses.

GDR, 36 min., b&w

Rhinestones

Der Strass (1990)

Director: Höntsch, Andreas

East Berlin, 1989: 30-year-old photojournalist Georg follows the beautiful and mysterious dancer Ms. Albena. Blinded by love, he dreams about her. His imagination and reality–a world in the midst of radical social changes–get mixed up.

GDR/Germany, 86 min., color

Rising to the Bait

Der Brocken (1991)

Director: Glowna, Vadim

Widowed Ada Fenske (Elsa Grube-Deister) lives on her own in her little house on the formerly East German island of Rügen.

Germany, 103 min., color

Rivals Behind the Wheel

Rivalen am Steuer (1957)

Director: Fiedler, Erich Wilhelm

Manfred Falk is an experienced race car driver and member of a racing collective in Eisenach. While competing in West Germany, the beautiful Manuela convinces him to leave his girlfriend Inge and his friends at the collective behind in order to join the South American Alvarez racing company.

GDR, 94 min., b&w

The Robe

Das Kleid (1961)

Director: Petzold, Konrad

Poor weavers Hans (Horst Drinda) und Kumpan (Werner Lierck) try to enter a town surrounded by a tall, impenetrable wall, where everyone is apparently very happy.

GDR, 88 min., color

The Robot

Der Roboter (1968)

Director: Georgi, Klaus

Smart Max and his friend Tüte are excited about a robot who has many talents, including a gift for mathematics. They steal the robot from an exhibition and take him home so he can help with their homework.

GDR, 15 min., color

Rock 'n' Roll

Rock 'n' Roll (1987)

Director: Foth, Jörg

Juanita Günther (Judy) and Clemens Balthasar (Dean), two young Berliners, are passionate about Rock 'n' Roll dancing. The film team visits them at their workplaces and accompanies the couple during their dance tour on New Year's Eve. They discuss the history and importance of dance.

GDR, 20 min., color

The Rocking Cube

Kubus im Rock (1989)

Director: Stephan, Thomas

The rhythm of rock music makes a cube move. The cube suddenly develops an astonishing life of its own. Emotions are reflected in its dance in this puppet animation.

GDR, 4 min., color

Romeo and Juliet in the Country

Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe (1983)

Director: Kühn, Siegfried

Two farmers, Grimm and Melcher, were once on friendly terms, but a petty argument over a piece of land has since turned them into implacable enemies. Their children Veronika (Grit Stephan) and Fabian (Thomas Wetzel) likewise used to be childhood friends.

GDR, 101 min., color

Rosaura

Rosaura (1978)

Director: Barke, Lothar

This film visualizes humanity's quest to relentlessly pursue goals. In the human fight for progress, the march forward cannot be stopped, even when individual people become weary and die. This animated short is based on a poem by the Chilean filmmaker and poet Juan Forch.

GDR, 6 min., color

Rotation

Rotation (1949)

Director: Staudte, Wolfgang

Rotation portrays the story of an apolitical working-class family that nevertheless gets drawn into collusion with Nazi policies. The apolitical mechanic Hans Behnke considers joining the Nazi party to improve his financial standing.

GDR, 84 min., b&w

Rumpelstiltskin

Das Zaubermännchen (1960)

Director: Engel, Christoph

The classic Grimm's fairy tale with socially critical overtones in its analysis of work and exploitation.

GDR, 71 min., color

Runner-Up or Victory?

Platz oder Sieg? (1980)

Director: Dobberke, Claus

Silvia and Lutz are both twenty and work as jockeys at the same large racing stables. Lutz hopes to marry Silvia and start a family together, but Silvia wants to focus on her career rather than settling down.

GDR, 75 min., color

The Russian Wonder, Part 1

Das russische Wunder, Teil 1 (1963)

The Russian Wonder tells the story of the sweeping historical changes that took place in Russia, from the empire of peasants and czars, to the October Revolution of 1917, up to the contemporary Soviet Union and the first manned space flight in 1961.

GDR, 116 min., b&w

The Russian Wonder, Part 2

Das Russiche Wunder, Part 2 (1963)

GDR, 114 min., b&w

The Russians Are Coming

Die Russen kommen (1968/1987)

Director: Carow, Heiner

The end of WWII is fast approaching and 16-year-old Günter, a member of the Hitler Youth, still believes in a German victory. He is drafted into Nazi Germany's last-ditch effort to resist the approaching Soviet Army.

GDR, 90 min., b&w

Sabine Kleist, Age 7

Sabine Kleist, 7 Jahre (1982)

Director: Dziuba, Helmut

Since her parents died in a car accident, Sabine has lived in an orphanage. When Edith–her beloved caretaker and the only adult she trusts–leaves to have a baby, Sabine runs away.

GDR, 70 min., color

Sabine Wulff

Sabine Wulff (1978)

Director: Stranka, Erwin

Sabine Wulff is almost 18 when she is released from the juvenile detention center. She doesn't want to return to her unsupportive parents or to her former boyfriend Jimmy, who got her into trouble by persuading her to steal cigarettes.

GDR, 91 min., color

The Sailors' Song

Das Lied der Matrosen (1958)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt
Reisch, Günter

A heroic epic work detailing the German Revolution that occurred at the end of WWI.

GDR, 118 min., b&w

Salut, Red October

Salut, Roter Oktober (1977)

Director: Schnabel, Rolf

This documentary commemorates the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution in Russia.

GDR, 32 min., color

Samuel Claxton — Celluloid and Solidarity: Or How a Cuban Star Worked for DEFA

(2012)

Director: Hosek, Jennifer

Samuel Claxton is a popular Cuban actor. In this interview, he remembers the production of the DEFA's The Light on the Gallows, based on Anna Seghers' eponymous novel.

Germany/Canada, 9 min., color

Santa Willy

Der Weihnachtsmann heißt Willi (1969)

Director: Reschke, Ingrid

Five-year-old Peter and his older brother Hans drop the Christmas present for their parents in the middle of the road and it gets flattened by a car. Deeply distressed, they go to a Christmas fair and buy a lottery ticket with their remaining money.

GDR, 63 min., color

The School Ghost

Das Schulgespenst (1986)

Director: Losansky, Rolf

Carola is a mischievous girl who doesn't care much for school — except for gym class and recess, of course. Without her good friend Willi to keep her on the straight and narrow, she would really be in trouble.

GDR, 80 min., color

The Scout

Der Scout (1982)

Director: Buntar, Dshamjangijn
Petzold, Konrad

In 1877, after the near-complete annihilation of the prairie Indians, the Whites have moved further west. There, they encounter the peaceful Nez Perce Indians, who were scheduled to be forced onto a reservation.

GDR/Mongolia, 96 min., color

Secret Files

Geheimarchiv an der Elbe (1962)

Director: Jung-Alsen, Kurt

During the final months of WWII, SS troop leader Upitz (Günther Simon) negotiates with the American secret service. He hopes to secure his own future in exchange for handing over the SS secret files, which include the entire network of Gestapo agents from the Balkans to the Baltic.

GDR, 78 min., b&w

Security in Old Age

Geborgenheit im Alter (1981)

Director: Petersen, Peter

This documentary illustrates the GDR's respectful and careful treatment of the elderly using examples of retired people living in the Schwerin district. The film suggests that, having spent their lives working hard to build their country, these older people can now enjoy a well-earned rest.

GDR, 24 min., color

The Second Life of Friedrich Wilhelm Georg Platow

Das zweite Leben des Friedrich Wilhelm Georg Platow (1973)

Director: Kühn, Siegfried

Refusing to accept that he has become redundant when his job is automated, Platow, a 57-year-old railway crossing guard, embarks on a new life rebelling against the path laid out by society. Pretending to be his son, he enrolls in a training course and starts to live a second youth.

GDR, 90 min., color/b&w

The Second Pay Packet

Die zweite Lohntüte (1978)

In the GDR, the state heavily subsidized a number of essential goods and social services so that they were available at reduced or no cost to citizens. These subsidies were informally known as the "second pay packet."

GDR, color

The Second Track

Das zweite Gleis (1962)

Director: Kunert, Joachim

Station Inspector Brock witnesses a robbery.

GDR, 80 min., b&w

See You Soon in Berlin

Auf bald in Berlin (1973)

This documentary, filmed mostly in Berlin, serves as preparation for the 10th World Festival of Youth and Students, which was held in East Berlin in 1973. Portraits of a student, an athlete, and a workers' collective present a collective image of life for twenty-year-old East Germans.

GDR, 58 min., color/b&w

Seed Corn Should Not Be Ground

Saatfrüchte sollen nicht vermahlen werden (1967)

Director: Tetzlaff, Kurt

At 47, German sculptor and graphic artist Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945) lost her beloved son Peter in WWI. She began to process her grief in drawings and sculptures, including the famous memorial The Grieving Parents, and became increasingly active in protesting social injustice.

GDR, 20 min., b&w

The Sensation of the Century

Die Sensation des Jahrhunderts (1959)

Director: Sacher, Otto

Preparations for the launch of the first manned American flight to the moon are in full swing. A journalist is breathlessly reporting on the exciting preparations for the sensational event and the newspapers are filled with promising headlines.

GDR, 14 min., color

Set a Fire, the Fire Brigade Is Coming

Zünd an, es kommt die Feuerwehr (1978)

Director: Simon, Rainer

The little village of Siebenthal has a voluntary fire brigade, but nothing is ever on fire. Since Zetsche's inn is already threatening to collapse and because he has fire insurance, the fire brigade decides to act in his best interest and lend fate a helping hand.

GDR, 90 min., color

Seven Freckles

Sieben Sommersprossen (1978)

Director: Zschoche, Herrmann

Caroline and Robert knew each other from when they were children. Years later, they meet again at summer camp and fall in love. But being alone together is made difficult by the rigorous daily routine at the camp.

GDR, 76 min., color

Seven Rights of a Viewer

Sieben Rechte des Zuschauers (1980)

Director: Mißbach, Peter
Rasche, Marion

There are seven different ways that a viewer can react to a movie. The filmmaker must endure them all without allow himself to become discouraged.

GDR, 1 min., color

Severino

Severino (1978)

Director: Dobberke, Claus

After an absence of ten years, Severino returns home to the Manzenero tribe, who live on the edge of the Argentinian Andes, only to find a host of problems in his village. His father, who was on the trail of a gang of white cattle-stealing bandits, has been recently found dead.

GDR, 78 min., color

The Seventh Year

Das siebente Jahr (1968)

Director: Vogel, Frank

Shortly before her seventh wedding anniversary, a heart surgeon doubts her ability to keep up with the double burden of career and home. Although the couple lives a comfortable life, they are searching for a different kind of happiness in their marriage.

GDR, 83 min., b&w

Sharp Left Beyond the Moon

Gleich links hinterm Mond (1959)

Director: Rätz, Günter

In this puppet animated film, all of the children on Earth would like a "beeping sputnik" for Christmas, but Santa's team up in space are worried because none of them know what a sputnik is.

GDR, 20 min., color

The Shark-Feeder

Der Haifischfütterer (1985)

Director: Stranka, Erwin

Stefan wants to make the most of the ten days left before his military service begins, so he decides to take risks, speak his mind, and mostly importantly of all, sort out his relationships with the opposite sex.

GDR, 90 min., color

She

Sie (1970)

Director: Nickel, Gitta

A young doctor who specializes in family planning speaks with five East German women working at the Treffmodelle textile plant in Berlin. Of all different ages, positions and social backgrounds, they discuss birth control, children's education and women's emancipation.

GDR, 30 min., b&w

Sheriff Teddy

Sheriff Teddy (1957)

Director: Carow, Heiner

Divided Berlin, 1950s: 13-year-old Kalle lives with his family in Wedding in the Western Sector of the city.

GDR, 68 min., b&w

Shield and Sword

Wir sind das Volk (1993)

Director: Seul, Arnold
Worst, Anne

The Ministry for State Security (MfS) was from its founding in 1950 the central instrument of domination, the "shield and sword of the Party" for defense against external and internal enemies. The Stasi, the political secret police, conducted surveillance and investigated punishable activity.

GDR, 45 min., color

Shipbuilders

Schiffbauer (1978)

Director: Tschirner, Joachim

To what extent can the working people of the GDR apply their creativity and develop their personalities? This film tries to answer this question using the example of the Warnemünde shipyard on the country's northern coast.

GDR, 21 min., color

Short-Circuit

Kurzschluß (1993)

Director: Kroske, Gerd

In the spring of 1990, people gathered in the square in front of the Leipzig Opera House and called for the future, shouting "Helmut, Helmut..."

Only three years later, it seems the city's dreams may have "short-circuited."

Germany, 17 min., b&w

Shortcut to Istanbul

So schnell geht es nach Istanbul (1990)

Director: Dresen, Andreas

A story about an encounter between a young Turkish guest worker living in West Berlin and an East Berlin girl, a few days after the Wall is opened.

Germany, 42 min., b&w

Shots from Noah's Ark

Die Schüsse der Arche Noah (1982)

Director: Schlegel, Egon

The Wensloff family puts themselves in danger during World War II by hiding a Jewish family and falsifying passports.

GDR, 85 min., color

Shunters

Rangierer (1984)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

A GDR version of cinéma verité (filmed with Thomas Plenert's 35mm hand camera), this film offers viewers a glimpse into the physically-demanding and dangerous precision work of experienced shunters.

GDR, 22 min., b&w

Signals: A Space Adventure

Signale — Ein Weltraumabenteuer (1970)

Director: Kolditz, Gottfried

In the mid-21st century, the research vessel Ikaros has disappeared in space. Commander Veikko of the spaceship Laika assembles a crew to search for the missing ship.

GDR/Poland, 86 min., color

Silent Country

Stilles Land (1992)

Director: Dresen, Andreas

A young, naive and enthusiastic director comes to a provincial town in East Germany to put on Beckett's Waiting for Godot at the local theater. Although the lethargic company shows no interest in the play, he remains undaunted.

Germany, 98 min., color

The Silent Star

Der schweigende Stern (1960)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt

The spaceship Cosmocrator with a multiracial and multicultural crew of seven men and a woman undertakes an expedition to Venus in 1970. It had only just been discovered that a cosmic stone that had fallen in the Gobi desert sends signals.

GDR/Poland, 95 min., color

Sing, Cowboy, Sing

Sing, Cowboy, sing (1981)

Director: Reed, Dean

Cowboys Joe and Beny travel the Wild West as a financially-struggling entertainment duo. Joe sees himself as a noble fighter for the good in the world, while Beny dreams of becoming a successful clown.

GDR, 88 min., color

The Singing, Ringing Tree

Das singende, klingende Bäumchen (1957)

Director: Stefani, Francesco

The prince must find the singing, ringing tree in order to win the hand of the haughty princess.

GDR, 70 min., color

Sisyphus

Sisyphos (1987)

Director: Hamacher, Sieglinde

As a punishment, the Greek god Zeus forces Sisyphus to roll a large boulder up a mountain, but every time the rock is almost at the the top, it rolls back down the slope.

GDR, 6 min., color

Sitis

Sitis (1989)

Director: Rainer Schade

The flight of the birds is eternal, gliding effortlessly over a wall that runs right through the middle of a vast plain with cosmic dimension. A baby is born near the wall with a heavy gate that divides an endless field.

GDR, 11 min., color/b&w

Six Go Around the World

Sechse kommen durch die Welt (1972)

Director: Simon, Rainer

In spite of their long service to the king, the soldiers of Malabant receive hardly any wages upon their discharge. When one soldier protests this unfair treatment and predicts that the king will one day lose all his wealth, he is thrown into the dungeon.

GDR, 62 min., color

Sketches from the GDR

Skizzen aus der DDR (1971)

Director: Hadaschik, Joachim
Schnabel, Rolf

Visits to three towns in the GDR (Torgau, Görzig and Guben) provide the opportunity to discuss their economic, social, cultural and industrial development in recent decades. These representative examples demonstrate the positive changes which have taken place since 1945.

GDR, 22 min., color/b&w

Sketches of Thuringia

Thüringer Skizzen (1963)

Director: Hammer, Erich

This report on Thuringia covers its history and beautiful landscape as well as the region's multifaceted industrial sectors and agricultural and forestry production facilities.

GDR, 15 min., color

Ski Champions of the Future

Skimeister von morgen (1957)

Director: Kirsten, Ralf

Herbert and Günther are friends but also skiing rivals. Last year, Herbert received a pair of high-quality "golden snowshoe" skis from the state as a prize. This year, however, Günther is the favorite in spite of his normal skiing gear because he has trained harder.

GDR, 60 min., b&w

Slatan Dudow: A Film Essay About a Marxist Artist

Slatan Dudow — Ein Filmessay über einen marxistischen Künstler (1974)

Director: Koepp, Volker

One of the first works by acclaimed (East) German documentary director Volker Koepp, this portrait of filmmaker Slatan Dudow (1903-1963) follows his life and work in exile, painting a detailed picture of the Marxist artist.

GDR, 29 min., b&w

Sleeping Beauty

Dornröschen (1970)

Director: Beck, Walter

The King and Queen plan an opulent feast to celebrate the birth of their long-awaited child. They invite not only the members of the court, but also the fairies, so that they may bestow wealth and virtue on the Princess. But there are thirteen fairies and only twelve golden plates — so the king i

GDR, 67 min., color

Sleeping Beauty Was a Beautiful Child

Dornröschen war ein schönes Kind (1987)

Director: Georgi, Katja

The beautiful child Sleeping Beauty is cursed by an evil fairy and falls asleep for 100 years. She does not awake until a prince comes through a thick hedge to rescue her. The couple gets married and lives happily ever after.

GDR, color

Snack Bar Special

Imbiss Spezial (1990)

Director: Heise, Thomas

October 1989: While thousands of East Germans have left the country for West Germany or taken to the streets to protest the political situation in the country, the official press ignores the upheaval and only covers the heroic successes represented in celebrating the 40th anniversary of the GDR.

GDR, 27 min., color/b&w

Snapshots from Chile

Schnappschüsse aus Chile (1985)

Chile 1985: The repression of the Chilean people by the Pinochet dictatorship and the resistance of the people.

GDR, 4 min., color/b&w

A Snowman for Africa

Ein Schneemann für Afrika (1977)

Director: Losansky, Rolf

Every day on the beach at Coccatuttibana, Asina, a little girl from Africa, waits for the ship from Rostock. The young sailor Karli will be on it, and he has promised to bring her something special that does not exist in Africa.

GDR, 84 min., color

Snow White

Schneewittchen (1961)

Director: Kolditz, Gottfried

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful and haughty queen who had a magic mirror. She would ask it, "Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" And as long as the mirror answered, "You, Queen, are the fairest here," she was content.

GDR, 62 min., color

Snow White and Rose Red

Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot (1978)

Director: Hartmann, Siegfried

Snow White and Rose Red live on the outskirts of a deep forest. In this forest there is a cave, where the greedy dwarf Mouldy Beard hoards the mountain's treasures. The girls tell the two princes of this, who decide to challenge the evil spirit of the mountain.

GDR, 70 min., color

So Many Dreams

So viele Träume (1986)

Director: Carow, Heiner

Karin, a well-known and loved midwife in her early forties, receives a high-order decoration from the state. While still overwhelmed with happiness about this honor, she is faced with a difficult decision when she encounters a young women who claims to be her daughter.

GDR, 98 min., color

So Many Songs, So Many Words

Soviel Lieder, soviel Worte (1975)

Director: Kun, Julius

This film musical is a romantic comedy of mistaken identities set at the 10th World Festival in Berlin. Alexej from Moscow meets and is attracted to Mascha, right before he leaves for Berlin. Mascha also travels to Berlin to perform with her cultural ensemble.

GDR/USSR, 76 min., color

So That a Good Germany May Flourish

Daß ein gutes Deutschland blühe (1959)

Director: Huisken, Joop

The documentary, which presents an optimistic portrait of the GDR's blooming meadows and cheerful workers, was produced for the occasion of country's 10th anniversary.

GDR, 68 min., color

Solo Sunny

Solo Sunny (1979)

Director: Wolf, Konrad

Sunny (Renate Krößner, Go for Zucker), an aspiring singer, longs for fulfillment and to be recognized as someone special. She gets kicked out of her band, but starts over in the "underground" scene of East Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg.

GDR, 102 min., color

The Solo Sailor

Die Alleinseglerin (1987)

Director: Zschoche, Herrmann

Christine inherits a sailboat from her father, whom she barely knew. Christine is a divorced single mother and her job at a research insitute leaves her with too much work and too little time to sail.

GDR, 90 min., color

The Solution

Die Lösung (1987)

Director: Hamacher, Sieglinde

A flock of birds is sitting on a telephone wire in an orderly row, all looking in the same direction. But one little bird cannot be convinced to conform to this arrangement. The rest of the flock must reckon with this individualist.

GDR, 3 min., color

Somalia: The Great Struggle

Somalia — Die große Anstrengung (1976)

Director: Junge, Winfried

This two-part documentary by Winfried Junge (Children of Golzow series) presents the changes in the country of Somalia following a revolution and the establishment of a socialist government.

GDR, 20 min., color

Someone Must Be the Corpse

Einer muß die Leiche sein (1977)

Director: Gusner, Iris

Beach, boots, Black Sea coast: an East German travel group is enjoying their vacation in Bulgaria until a problem with the ship's motor strands them all on a lonely island. Police expert Dr. Enderlein tries to keep everyone entertained by presenting them with a fake crime to solve.

GDR, 83 min., color

Somewhere in Berlin

Irgendwo in Berlin (1946)

Director: Lamprecht, Gerhard

After WWII, Berlin lies in ruins. For Gustav, Willi and their friends the rubble provides an adventurous, dangerous playground. For Gustav it also helps pass the time, as he longs for his father's return from a POW camp. One day a stranger arrives, looking helpless and hopeless"¦

Germany, 85 min., b&w

A Song for the People

Ein Lied für die Menschen (1983)

Director: Schnabel, Rolf
Seigewasser, Günther

The music festival "Rock for Peace" was organized by the Central Committee of the Free German Youth and the Committee for Entertainment Arts of the GDR between 1982 and 1987.

GDR, 12 min., color

Song International

Song International (1971)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

Part of an international leftwing movement focusing on songs of political struggle, the Festival of Political Song took place in East Berlin every year from 1970 to 1990.

GDR, 45 min., b&w

Song of the Rivers

Lied der Ströme (1954)

Director: Ivens, Joris

An allegorical documentary about the workers of the world, whose common destinies and hopes for peace are symbolically united by the rivers that run through their respective lands.

GDR, 100 min., b&w

The Song of the Trumpeter

Das Lied vom Trompeter (1964)

Director: Petzold, Konrad

Fritz Weineck (Horst Jonischkan), a worker's son from Halle, loves music and hopes to make a living out of it one day. When his friend Alfons, a World War I veteran, gives him a trumpet as a gift, Fritz seems to be one step closer to his dream.

GDR, 85 min., b&w

The Sonnenbrucks

Die Sonnenbrucks (1951)

Director: Klaren, Georg C.

Unlike his assistant Joachim Peters (Raimund Schelcher), who is sent to a concentration camp for his political beliefs, Professor Sonnenbruck (Eduard von Winterstein) refuses to get involved in politics and focuses entirely on his research.

GDR, 95 min., b&w

The Sons of Great Bear

Die Söhne der großen Bärin (1966)

Director: Mach, Josef

Although the Native Americans have been assured of their lands, adjacent to the Black Hills, by contract, the whites want to expel them.

GDR, 93 min., color

The Sorrows of Young Werther

Die Leiden des jungen Werthers (1976)

Director: Günther, Egon

The young and rebellious Werther is passionately but hopelessly in love with Lotte. Although he knows that she is married to somebody who can offer her a secure future, Werther tries to be near her.

GDR, 101 min., color

Spring Takes Time

Der Frühling braucht Zeit (1965)

Director: Stahnke, Günter

Was it an act of sabotage or willful negligence? The non-party engineer Heinz Solter is suddenly arrested and accused of approving a defective pipeline that caused a half million loss to his company.

GDR, 76 min., b&w

Star and Flower

Stern und Blume (1978)

Director: Sacher, Otto

He is surrounded by beautiful flowers, but he only has eyes for the stars in the sky. And what about the man in the clouds, who has all the stars around him? He would be happy with just one flower.

GDR, 3 min., color

Star-Crossed Lovers

Königskinder (1962)

Director: Beyer, Frank

In the final days of WWII the German soldiers Michael and Jürgen are on a Russian military plane to Moscow. In flashbacks, they remember"¦

GDR, 88 min., b&w

Stars

Sterne (1959)

Director: Wolf, Konrad

This gripping drama, based on personal experiences of screenwriter Angel Wagenstein, is set during a chapter of the Holocaust in the Balkans that sheds light on the experience of Sephardic Jews. It was awarded the Special Grand Jury Prize at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival.

GDR/Bulgaria, 88 min., b&w

Stars and Flowers

()

Start

Start (1971)

This documentary reports on the VII District Children's and Youth Spartakiad Games in Quedlinburg and informs the viewer about sports education in the GDR from early childhood on. The footage is allowed to speak for itself without narratorial commentary.

GDR, 52 min., color

Start Fever

Startfieber (1985)

Director: Petzold, Konrad

Jens, Ralf and Holger are competing for a place in the Nordic-combined junior national team — and for the attention of the same girl. Because each of them is stronger than the others in a particular athletic discipline, they need to work together for the good of the team.

GDR, 91 min., color

Steadfast in Fire

Im Feuer bestanden (1978)

September 11, 1973, 7:30 AM: Salvador Allende enters his office in the presidential palace La Moneda in Santiago de Chile. In the early afternoon he leaves it–dead, wrapped in a blanket.

GDR, 75 min., color/b&w

Stein

Stein (1991)

Director: Günther, Egon

Well-known actor Ernst Stein (played by Rolf Ludwig) protested against the military invasion of Prague in 1968 by quitting the stage during a performance of "King Lear," never to return. For him, the theater has lost its claim to being a moral institution.

Germany, 108 min., color

Stielke, Heinz, Fifteen...

Stielke, Heinz, fünfzehn... (1986)

Director: Kann, Michael

Young Berliner Heinz Stielke is a fanatic member of the Hitler Youth. He has only just achieved the rank of Rottenführer when he finds out that his father, who died as a hero for his fatherland, was Jewish.

GDR, 98 min., color

Stone Age Ballad

Steinzeitballade (1960)

Director: Kirsten, Ralf

A group of rubble women work for the Scharrhahn building company in 1946 Berlin. The women are primarily focused on their own survival; only old Ms. Knorz and supervisor Anna Lubitzke try to build a sense of team solidarity.

GDR, 80 min., b&w

Stories of That Night

Geschichten jener Nacht (1967)

Director: Carpentier, Karlheinz
Klein, Gerhard
Thein, Ulrich
Vogel, Frank

Four directors - four styles - four episodes, all relating the events of a single night which has entered the history books: August 12-13, 1961.

GDR, 109 min., b&w

Stories of That Night: Materna

Geschichten jener Nacht: Materna (1967)

Director: Vogel, Frank

The mason Materna (Ulrich Thein) swore in 1945 that he would never take up a gun again, but the events of the uprising on June 17, 1953, changed his mind. On the night the Berlin Wall goes up, he is standing guard with his gun.

GDR, b&w

Stories of That Night: Phoenix

Geschichten jener Nacht: Phönix (1967)

Director: Carpentier, Karlheinz

As the Berlin Wall goes up, a brigade leader tries to leave a young comerade at home that night so he can celebrate his wedding. The young man's insistance on coming reminds his older colleague of a similar situation he experienced in 1933.

GDR, b&w

Stories of That Night: The Test

Geschichten jener Nacht: Die Prüfung (1967)

Director: Thein, Ulrich

Jutta Huth (Jenny Gröllmann) is shocked when her parents announce they want to flee to West Berlin "in order to finally live," as her mother puts it. But the eighteen-year-old sees her future in the East, where she hopes to attend university and has just fallen in love.

GDR, b&w

Stories of That Night: Two Wills

Geschichten jener Nacht: Der große und der kleine Willi (1967)

Director: Klein, Gerhard

Young Will (Jaecki Schwarz) tries to escape to West Berlin in a stolen brigade uniform, but Old Will (Erwin Geschonneck) prevents him.

GDR, b&w

Story of a Painting: The Tower of Blue Horses

Geschichte eines Bildes "Der Turm der blauen Pferde", Franz Marc, 1913 (1988)

Director: Mund, Karlheinz

In this documentary, Karlheinz Mund investigates the fate of the missing painting The Tower of Blue Horses, created by expressionist artist Franz Marc in 1913.

GDR, 21 min., color

The Stolen Battle

Die gestohlene Schlacht (1971)

Director: Stranka, Erwin

During the Seven Years' War, Friedrich II of Prussia (Herwart Grosse) lays siege to the city of Prague without being able to capture it.

GDR/CSSR, 92 min., color

The Stolen Face

Das gestohlene Gesicht (1979)

Director: Barke, Lothar

A nasty witch has stolen the Princess' beautiful face. When the three little bunnies try to help the princess, they also get bewitched and have to experience an adventurous chase. Only when the witch loses the magical crystal are the princess and her friends saved.

GDR, 33 min., color

The Stolen Nose

Die gestohlene Nase (1955)

Director: Weiler, Kurt

Karl, little Kathrin, and Spatz spend their winter vacation with their grandmother in a little village. Near the house, they build a funny snowman with a carrot nose, but the nose is gone the next morning. Replacement noses disappear one after another.

GDR, 12 min., color

The Story of a Young Couple

Roman einer jungen Ehe (1952)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt

A young couple–both actors–live and work in Berlin before the Wall is built. Agnes is on location in East Berlin and her husband Jochen works at the Westend Theater in West Berlin.

GDR, 99 min., b&w

The Story of King Midas

Vom König Midas (1962)

Director: Stahnke, Günter

This children's film opera was made by Günter Stahnke, Günter Kunert and composer Kurt Schwaen–the same team that collaborated on the banned 1962 TV-film opera, Fetzer's Escape.

GDR, 51 min., color

The Story of Little Mook

Die Geschichte vom kleinen Muck (1953)

Director: Staudte, Wolfgang

In a small town, a hunchbacked old man is teased, taunted and chased by the local children. One day, he manages to hold them spellbound with a story — his own story:

GDR, 96 min., color

The Story of Poor Hassan

Die Geschichte vom armen Hassan (1958)

Director: Klein, Gerhard

Hassan has nothing else in the world other than his wonderful parrot. When the rich neighbour's dog threatens the bird, Hassan defends it so vigorously that the dog is soon lying dead before him.

GDR, 58 min., color

The Story of the Goose Princess and Her Faithful Horse Falada

Die Geschichte von der Gänseprinzessin und ihrem treuen Pferd Falada (1988)

Director: Petzold, Konrad

Princess Aurinia is travelling to meet her bridegroom, whom she has not yet seen. On the way, her crafty maid Liesa robs her mistress of all her possessions and forces her to exchange clothes and swear an oath of eternal silence.

GDR, 80 min., color

A Strange Love

Eine sonderbare Liebe (1984)

Director: Warneke, Lothar

After a hot and steamy company party, Sibylle and Harald, both in their late thirties, spend the night together. He is a widower with two sons, with the younger son just entering school. She is single and relatively satisfied in her current relationship with a married colleague.

GDR, 104 min., color

Strawalde and Penck Paint a Picture

Strawalde und Penck malen ein Bild (1991)

On the afternoon of September 18, 1991, Strawalde and Penck, both significant contemporary German painters, get together for a unique joint-painting action in Berlin-Wedding.

FRG, 29 min., color

Street Acquaintances

Straßenbekanntschaft (1948)

Director: Pewas, Peter

The difficulties of the postwar period are reflected in twenty-year-old Erika's face. Although her good friend Walter is in love with her, he cannot offer her the pleasure and diversion she longs for.

GDR, 91 min., b&w

Strong Bonds Unite Us

Uns einen starke Bande (1980)

Director: Hadaschik, Joachim

Party Secretary Erich Honecker and leading members of the East German government visited Cuba in 1980. This film shows their meetings with Fidel Castro and Cuban workers, as well as displays of industrialization and progress in the socialist island's development.

GDR, 39 min., color

Stronger Than the Night

Stärker als die Nacht (1954)

Director: Dudow, Slatan

This film is centered around the destinies of Hans Löring and his wife, Gerda, two workers from Hamburg who are representative of German opponents of Nazism. Gerda is carrying their first child. When the couple is arrested for political resistance after Hitler's rise to power, Hans is sent to pri

GDR, 117 min., b&w

Studio Visit: Werner Stötzer

Atelierbesuch bei Werner Stötzer (2009)

On September 17, 2008, the directors visited (East) German sculptor and graphic artist Werner Stötzer (1931-2010) in his studio in Altlangsow. Stötzer talks about his artistic process in creating drawings and sculptures, as well as his time as an art student.

Germany, 7 min., color

The Subversive Camera

Die subversive Kamera (1997)

Director: Klauß, Cornelia

The history of the GDR Super-8 scene–an underground art movement that produced films outside official channels in the 1980s–produced by Cornelia Klauss, herself a Super-8 artist. The Stasi (secret police) monitored this rebellious scene closely.

Germany, 42 min., color

A Successful Man

Un hombre de éxito (1986)

Director: Solás, Humberto

A chronicle of three decades, beginning in the 1930s and ending with the Cuban revolution, is represented through the lives of two brothers separated by ideology and ambition.

Cuba/Spain, 103 min., color

Summer, Sun, AK 8

Sommer, Sonne, AK 8 (1956)

Director: Schneider, Helmut

This documentary, intended to inspire new home filmmakers, tells the stories of ordinary people who learned how to make their own films by renting inexpensive AK 8 cameras.

GDR, 19 min., color

Sun Seekers

Sonnensucher (1958)

Director: Wolf, Konrad

A socialist story of "atoms for peace" and compulsory labor in an East German uranium mine under Soviet control. Two young women are arrested after a bar room brawl in 1950 and sentenced to work in the Wismut uranium mines.

GDR, 116 min., b&w

Sunday

Sonntag (1989)

Director: Georgi, Klaus
Stützner, Lutz

The entire globe is barren; no trace of green remains. A long line of people edges slowly and eagerly forward. Under the strictest security, the people finally manage to get into a museum to view the main attraction: a lone tree.

GDR, 3 min., color

Susanne and the Magic Ring

Susanne und der Zauberring (1973)

Director: Stranka, Erwin

Twelve year-old Susanne has only one friend, the old lock keeper. When she tells him about her problems with classmates who continually tease her, he gives her a ring with magic powers. Sometimes the ring will help, sometimes not.

GDR, 67 min., color

The Suspicion

Der Verdacht (1991)

Director: Beyer, Frank

Frank Beyer's first production after the fall of the Wall tells a love story set in the GDR of the 1970s. Karin's father, a district council chairman whose influence got Karin her job, wants her to break up with her boyfriend Frank, since his criminal record for rowdy behavior threatens her bloss

Germany, 94 min., color

Swan Island

Insel der Schwäne (1982)

Director: Zschoche, Herrmann

When he is 14, Stefan's parents decide to move the family to Marzahn, a desolate high-rise suburb of Berlin that is still under construction. Stefan's innocent childhood suddenly ends when he encounters the bullying of an older boy and his gang.

GDR, 88 min., color

The Swapped Queen

Die vertauschte Königin (1984)

Director: Scharfenberg, Dieter

The mistress of the castle is a moody, domineering queen, while her clever and cheerful look-a-like Hanne works busily in the smithy. The women are so similar that they could easily be mistaken, and this gives the court jester an idea.

GDR, 71 min., color

Sweep It Up

Kehraus (1990)

Director: Kroske, Gerd

The city of Leipzig made headlines with its peaceful Monday Demonstrations before the collapse of the Berlin Wall in fall 1989. The uproar at that time was replaced by the hectic electoral campaign in spring 1990.

Germany, 29 min., b&w

Sweep It Up, Again

Kehraus, wieder (2006)

Director: Kroske, Gerd

Ten years have passed since director Gerd Kroske met the three Leipzig street sweepers in 1996. Their social decline is even more visible due to alcoholism and unemployment. While one of them has died, the others just live their lives.

Germany, 100 min., color

Sweep It Up, Swig It Down

Kehrein, kehraus (1996)

Director: Kroske, Gerd

In October 1996, almost 10 years after meeting the three Leipzig street sweepers, director Gerd Kroske visited them again. In the meantime, they had given up their cleaning jobs and lost contact with each other.

Germany, 70 min., color

Sweeping Melodies

Rauschende Melodien (1955)

Director: Fiedler, Erich Wilhelm

During Prince Orlofsky's ball, at which the "honorable" gentleman of Viennese high society are wont to amuse themselves with pretty young ballet dancers, Notar Falke gets revenge on Dr.

GDR, 84 min., b&w

Sylvia

Sylvia (1983)

Director: Cantzler, Ernst

This documentary profiles twenty-six-year-old Sylvia Erdmann, a true Berliner, at her job at a television electronics plant in Berlin-Pankow.

GDR, 24 min., b&w

The Tailor of Ulm

Der Schneider von Ulm (1979)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

The little town of Ulm is governed and oppressed by its bishop. Nobody speaks up against him except the tailor, who is also an artist. He rebels against the bishop's power and believes the impossible is possible. He believes in his dream–that he can fly!

GDR, 14 min., color

Taken for a Ride

Bockshorn (1983)

Director: Beyer, Frank

Two homeless boys, Mick and Sauly, live in a fictional big city that looks much like New York. They want to fulfill their dream of escaping to the ocean.

GDR, 103 min., color

Talking with Fish and Birds

Mit Fischen und Vögeln reden (1999)

Director: Simon, Rainer

Mánari Ushigua, the last shaman of the Zápara Indians, died in 1997. Ushigua helped save the tribe's culture and protected it from Catholic missionaries and evangelical sects. This film is about Ushigua's family, its connection to the spiritual world and a life led in harmony with nature.

Germany, 43 min., color

The Tale of the Golden Shuttle

Das Märchen vom goldenen Schützen (1962)

Director: Böttge, Bruno J.

Peter and Anne live in a struggling Upper Lusation weavers' village and would get married if they weren't so poor. Anne's father tells them that things used to be different when the village had a magic golden weaving shuttle that made everyone's work much easier.

GDR, 14 min., color

Tamara

Tamara (2007)

Peter Kahane's only documentary film to date, Tamara is the story of a rock icon that galvanized an entire generation of East German youth. It recently screened at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Germany, 85 min., color

Tambari

Tambari (1976)

Director: Weiß, Ulrich

Circumnavigator and South Seas voyager Luden Dassow (Erwin Geschonneck) returns with his white fishing boat Tambari to his home village Koselin. But the other fishermen are hardly welcoming.

GDR, 84 min., b&w

Tango

Tango (1985)

Director: Misselwitz, Helke

A brief history of the emergence and artistic innovations of tango in 19th-century Argentina and Europe.

GDR, 6 min., color

TangoDream

TangoTraum (1985)

Director: Misselwitz, Helke

A melancholic dream about dance and music, as well as unfulfilled desires and wanderlust behind the Berlin Wall.

GDR, 20 min., color

The Tango Player

Der Tangospieler (1990)

Director: Gräf, Roland

Disenchanted and angry, Dr. Dallow has been released after 21 months in prison for playing piano in a "subversive" cabaret program. He refuses the Stasi offer to "help" him get his university position back in exchange for becoming an informant.

GDR, 96 min., color

Täve on the Track

Auf Täves Spuren (1958)

Director: Hornig, Harry

In this documentary, Young Pioneers visit celebrated cyclist Gustav-Adolf "Täve" Schur. In 1955, he became the first (East) German to win the Peace Race, an international amateur cycling competition.

GDR, 16 min., b&w

A Teacher

Eine Lehrerin (1987)

Director: Machalz, Alfons

Monika Iben, who teaches at a secondary school in Berlin, is reunited with her homeroom students two years after their graduation. She is a responsible model teacher in every way: in the classroom, on field trips, as a mentor for students, and in her relationships with colleagues and parents.

GDR, 26 min., color

Tecumseh

Tecumseh (1972)

Director: Kratzert, Hans

This historical panorama presents the tragedy of Tecumseh, one of the most significant characters in Indian history. The film depicts the years 1806 - 1813 and his struggles to united the fragmented Indian peoples.

GDR, 104 min., color

Teenage Years

Jugend-Zeit (1978)

Director: Steiner, Roland

Three young women, Anke, Birgit, and Katrin, are earning their high school degrees while training for agricultural professions.

GDR, 18 min., b&w

Teenage Years as a Couple

Jugend-Zeit zu zweit (1981)

Director: Steiner, Roland

Two young couples and a young woman whose husband is in the army describe their views on married life. They all have different expectations about the roles they will play in society with or without children.

GDR, 19 min., b&w

Teenage Years... in the City

Jugend-Zeit... in der Stadt (1979)

Director: Steiner, Roland

Teenagers from Berlin share their lives and viewpoints about the future. Many of them expect that their lives will turn out better than those of their parents. Part 2 of Roland Steiner's 4-part Teenage Years series about young people in East Germany.

GDR, 17 min., b&w

Tension Zone

Im Spannungsfeld (1969)

Director: Kühn, Siegfried

Electronic data processing is an absolute must in the Information Age. Karl Hoppe, the director of a large plant, is aware of this need for modernization and hires mathematician Dr.

GDR, 79 min., b&w

That Was the GDR: A History of the Other Germany

Das war die DDR — Eine Geschichte des anderen Deutschlands (1993)

Director: Belz, Uwe
Klemke, Christian
Kompatzki, Lothar
Körbler, Martina
Nickel, Gitta
Schober, Donat
Scholz, Gunther
Schwarze, Wolfgang
Seul, Arnold
Worst, Anne

This 2-DVD set includes seven documentaries covering cultural, economic, and political developments from the founding of the GDR in 1949, to German unification on October 3, 1990.

Germany, 360 min., color

Theater Work: The Berliner Ensemble at 25

Theaterarbeit (1975)

Director: Voigt, Peter

From May to October 1974, Peter Voigt filmed at the Berliner Ensemble (BE) during the 25th anniversary of the theater's founding. Voigt, a member of the BE himself in the 1950s, interviewed theater technicians who had been part of the world-famous ensemble for decades.

GDR, 63 min., b&w

Their Own Factory

In eigener Sache — Reportage über die Arbeiter in einem volkseigenen Betrieb (1974)

Director: Plickat, Kurt

This documentary about the nationally-owned IFA Automobil Factory in Ludwigsfelde depicts workers' rights and responsibilities as they participate in decision-making processes at the company.

Commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

GDR, 27 min., color

There Are No Blue Mice

Blaue Mäuse gibt es nicht (1958)

Director: Georgi, Klaus

Two little mice are forbidden by their parents from playing with the differently looking blue mouse: All respectable mice are gray! We don't want anything to do with you!

GDR, 11 min., color

There Once Were Three Sisters

Es waren einmal drei Schwestern (1982)

Director: Georgi, Katja

There once were three sisters: Darkhair, Redhair and Goldhair. Darkhair and Redhair hope to marry young Silverwater, who is held captive by an evil sorceress.

GDR, 17 min., color

They All Knew One Another

Sie kannten sich alle (1958)

Director: Groschopp, Richard

The Isenau automobil company is the region's only large company, so almost everyone in the area works together and knows each other.

GDR, 80 min., b&w

They Called Him Amigo

Sie nannten ihn Amigo (1958)

Director: Carow, Heiner

A glaring poster in front of the house states "Wanted - Escaped murderer and robber! 5000 Marks Reward!" Rainer, known as Amigo, spots a man wearing a convict's uniform with a red sign on it, in a junk shed.

GDR, 60 min., b&w

Thomas Müntzer

(1956)

Director: Hellberg, Martin

This film documents the last years of the great Reformation-era peasant leader Thomas Müntzer: his marriage to Sister Ottilie von Gersen; the effect he has as a radical preacher in Allstedt; his flight to southern Germany; and his role in the Peasants' Revolt.

GDR, 130 min., color

Thomas Münzter

(1988)

Director: Schulze, Klaus

This documentary communicates the importance of Thomas Müntzer for East Germany in the late 1980s. The film crew visited important sites to convey the life of the powerfully eloquent theologian and radical preacher of the Reformation, who became the leader of the Peasants' Uprising.

GDR, 30 min., color

Three GDR Women Painters

Malen in der DDR (1986)

In this West German Kulturweltspiegel TV report–filmed on occasion of the first East German art exhibition in West Germany after East and West Germany had signed a bilateral agreement on cultural exchange in 1986–three women painters in Dresden–Angela Hampel, Gudrun Trendafilov and Ursul

FRG, 12 min., color

Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella

Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel (1974)

Director: VorlíÄek, Václav

After her father's death, Cinderella's stepmother forces her to work as a maid at the family's manor, but all the servents and animals are fond of her because of her kind heart.

GDR/CSSR, 83 min., color

Three Letters

Drei Briefe (1963)

Director: Jaap, Max

Three international students write letters home about their time in East Germany. Antonio Dega, a Cuban studying shipbuilding, writes home about the beauty of the Baltic Sea and studying in German. Julienne, from Togo, praises the training she is receiving in midwifery in Dresden.

GDR, 20 min., b&w

Three of Many

Drei von vielen (1961)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

An affectionate portrait of three workers–Peter Herrmann, Peter Graf and Peter Makolies–who took art classes with Böttcher. Ralf Winkler, another of Böttcher's students, who later became known as A. R. Penck, also makes an appearance in the film.

GDR, 33 min., b&w

Three Songs

Drei Lieder (1983)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

This short color documentary features American singer Harry Belafonte performing at the Palace of the Republic as part of the Free German Youth music tour.

The film was commissioned by the GDR Ministry of Culture and directed by Jürgen Böttcher.

GDR, 28 min., color

Thumbelina's Adventures

Däumelinchens Abenteuer (1958)

Director: Wiemer, Christl

Once upon a time, Thumbelina was born in a blossom. The little girl's adventure starts when a bumblebee opens the flower. Thumbelina has to hide in a nutshell from a toad who is eager to get married and she lands on a water-lily leaf.

GDR, 16 min., color

Till Eulenspiegel

Till Eulenspiegel (1974)

Director: Simon, Rainer

On the eve of the Peasants' Revolt, Till Eulenspiegel–the legendary fool and provocateur of old folktales–goes tearing through the countryside laying bare society's grievances.

GDR, 104 min., color

Tilman Riemenschneider

(1958)

This historical biographical film–shot by Eugen Klagemann (The Murderers Are among Us)–celebrates Tilman Riemenschneider, one of the greatest German sculptors of the late Middle Ages.

GDR, 98 min., b&w

The Timid Little Rabbit

Der Angsthase (1964)

Director: Barke, Lothar

Cowardy, cowardy custard! shout the children who do not want to play with the little rabbit who sees danger everywhere. The little rabbit is very unhappy until one day, without thinking of being afraid, he catches the fox, who tries to kidnap his friend.

GDR, 5 min., color

Time in the Jungle

Dschungelzeit (1987)

Director: Foth, Jörg
Tran Vu

Armin is one of 20,000 former German soldiers in Vietnam with the French Foreign Legion between 1946 and 1954, when the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu.

GDR/Vietnam, 95 min., color

Time Loops: In Conversation with Christa Wolf

Zeitschleifen — Im Dialog mit Christa Wolf (1990)

Director: Mund, Karlheinz

Christa Wolf (1929-2011) was one of (East) Germany's most important writers. Wolf's novels, scripts and essays offer rich reflections on her experience in Nazi, divided and reunified Germany. Adapted as films and published abroad, her works often caused controversial public discussions.

GDR, 110 min., color/b&w

Time of the Gods

Zeit der Götter. Der Bildhauer Arno Breker (1992)

Director: Dammbeck, Lutz

While working on his Hercules Concept, director Lutz Dammbeck became fascinated by the life and work of the German sculptor Arno Breker (1900-91).

Germany, 92 min., color

Time of the Storks

Zeit der Störche (1970)

Director: Kühn, Siegfried

Susanne and Wolfgang have a harmonious relationship. But when Susanne meets Christian, she is attracted to his restless energy, and they fall for each other. Although she decides to end the affair after spending an intense week together, the experience has left deep marks on both of them.

GDR, 89 min., color

The Tinderbox

Das Feuerzeug (1959)

Director: Hartmann, Siegfried

A young soldier discovers copper, silver, gold and an old tinderbox in the hollow of an oak tree. He is now richer than he had ever dared dream, but he squanders his money until his pockets are empty. The old tinderbox is the only thing he still has.

GDR, 80 min., color

Tinko

Tinko (1956)

Director: Ballmann, Herbert

After 1945, land reform forces Old Kraske to become an agricultural worker, but he continues to work on his own, flatly refusing to join any collective farming activities. He desperately wants a large-scale farm like Kimpel's in order to pass it on to his adored grandson, Tinko.

GDR, 91 min., b&w

To Hell with Harbolla

Zum Teufel mit Harbolla — Eine Geschichte aus dem Jahre 1956 (1989)

Director: Fürneisen, Bodo

Even the military academy can't stop kind-hearted officer Gottfried Engelhardt from seeing the world through rose-colored glasses. Everything in the young GDR is blooming: Engelhardt's career, the socialist state, the black market, and maybe even a chance at love.

GDR, 88 min., color/b&w

Tom Schilling, Choreographer

Tom Schilling, Choreograph (1985)

Director: Petersen, Peter

Tom Schilling, choreographer at the Komische Oper Berlin (Comedic Opera Berlin), made significant contributions to musical theater in the GDR through his style of realistic dance theater.

GDR, 25 min., color

tonight and tomorrow morning

heute abend und morgen früh (1979)

Director: Hochmuth, Dietmar

Friday evening: A busy week is over for a dentist in her mid-30s. Feeling an intense desire to break the cycle of her monotonous everyday life, she takes detours to experience an evening in the streets of East Berlin.

GDR, 54 min., b&w

Too Young for Love?

Für die Liebe noch zu mager? (1973)

Director: Stephan, Bernhard

At the textile company, everyone appreciates the work of 18-year-old Susanne (Simone von Zglinicki), but nobody really considers her a woman–including Lutz, with whom she is in love.

GDR, 86 min., color

Toxi

Toxi (1952)

Director: Stemmle, Robert A.

A five-year-old girl suddenly appears on the doorstep of a well-to-do Hamburg family. The different members of the multi-generational, white household have different reactions to the arrival of Toxi, who is black, the daughter of an African-American G.I. and a German woman who has died.

FRG, 85 min., b&w

The Trace Leads to the Silver Lake

Die Spur führt zum Silbersee (1989)

Director: Rätz, Günter

Hobble Frank und Aunty Droll promised Indian chief White Bear to bring Little and Big Bear, his heirs, the map with the safeguarded treasure in the Silver Lake. But bandit chief Brinkley steals the map and plans to rob the treasure.

GDR, 84 min., color

The Trace of My Days on Earth

Die Spur von meinen Erdentagen (1968)

Director: Thiel, Lotti

The title of this documentary is drawn from the final monologue of Goethe's Faust, in which the protagonist looks back on his life's work, saying, "The trace of my days on earth cannot disappear for eons."

GDR, 20 min., color

Trace of Stones

Spur der Steine (1966/1990)

Director: Beyer, Frank

Foreman Balla is the self-proclaimed king of a massive construction site. His co-workers stick close to him, like musketeers, as long as he makes sure they are paid.

GDR, 134 min., b&w

Trace of the Times - The Director Frank Beyer

Spur der Zeiten - Der Regisseur Frank Beyer (1997)

Director: Kasten, Ullrich

A slightly melancholy tone drives this film, which shows Frank Beyer in a period of a contemplation and self-awareness. Beyer's extensive filmography is viewed today as a greater reflection of DEFA and and even East Germany itself.

Germany, 60 min., color/b&w

Traces

Spuren (1989)

Director: Schreiber, Eduard

Martin Brandt (1903-1989), an unforgettable Jewish actor and former member of the Jewish Kulturbund Theater in Berlin, recites from Macbeth and Nathan the Wise, the play that opened the theater in October 1933.

GDR, 21 min., color

Trade Fair in Damascus

Messe in Damaskus (1958)

Director: Landvogt, Wolfgang

The Fifth International Damascus Fair, at which the GDR also presented its products and inventions, provides the occasion for brief comments on the city's history, culture and industry.

GDR, 7 min., color

Tradition and Progress

Tradition und Fortschritt (1983)

Director: Hein, Rudi

This short documentary about quality products made in the GDR was commissioned by the East German Foreign Ministry.

GDR, 23 min., color

Train in the Distance

Zug in die Ferne (1990)

Director: Dresen, Andreas

A parable about the "wanderlust of the confined GDR citizen," filmed in October 1989, when no one foresaw the coming changes.

GDR, 19 min., color

Cover Photo for Transformations I-III: Potter

Transformations I-III: Potter's Bull, Venus by Giorgione, Woman at the Clavichord

Verwandlungen I-III: Potters Stier, Venus nach Giorgione, Frau am Klavichord (1981)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

Böttcher paints over postcards of Renaissance master paintings and films this process of artistic modification that creates lively images with new dimensions. The only avant-garde experimental films ever made at the East German state-run DEFA film studios.

GDR, 54 min., color

The Tree of Magdalena

Der Magdalenenbaum (1989)

Director: Behrend, Rainer

Sailor Felix Striebel visits the fresh grave of "Mother Magdalena" during his vacation. This brings back memories of his childhood: the tree of Magdalene was an oak named after the district nurse Magda and stood as a symbol of stability and security.

GDR, 84 min., color

A Tribute to Johann Sebastian

Ein Denkmal für Johann Sebastian (1985)

Director: Milinski, Peter

A documentary on Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and his contemporary relevance in the GDR.

GDR, 19 min., color

The Trial Is Postponed

Der Prozess wird vertagt (1958)

Director: Ballmann, Herbert

In 1955 Michael Vierkant, a Jew who emigrated during the Nazi-era, returns to the BRD to obtain the judgment of the former denouncer Korn, who was responsible for the murder of his sister.

GDR, 97 min., b&w

The Trip

Die Reise (1986)

Director: Hamacher, Sieglinde

With massive amounts of luggage, a man hurries up onto the railway platform. Once he arrives, the announcements on the loudspeaker send him from one platform to another. Resigned and exhausted, he takes a seat on a bench, feeds the pigeons, and eventually flies off with them.

GDR, 6 min., color

Triumph Over Violence

Obyknovennyy fashizm — Der gewöhnliche Faschismus (1965)

Director: Romm, Mikhail

This documentary uses archival footage to trace the rise and fall of fasciscm, using Nazi Germany as a case study.

USSR, 128 min., b&w

Tsar and Carpenter

Zar und Zimmermann (1956)

Director: Müller, Hans

In the Dutch town of Saardam, Tsar Peter the Great has disguised himself in order to learn the art of ship-building. Another Russian named Peter also works at the wharf, causing a comical case of mistaken identities.

GDR, 97 min., color

Tuba wa duo

Tuba wa duo (1989)

Director: Foth, Jörg

Two men sit on the top of a roof, playing the tuba. They continually call out absurd messages making fun of official solutions and of their own slogans.

GDR, 12 min., color

Turbine I

Turbine I (1953)

Director: Huisken, Joop

In the early 1950s, frequent power outages hurt production in the GDR. Using an innovative method from the USSR, workers at the Zschornewitz atomic power plant in Saxony-Anhalt are able to quickly repair a turbine and prevent a long delay in energy output.

24 min., b&w

The Twelve Chairs

Las doce sillas (1962)

Director: Alea, Tomás Gutiérrez

On her deathbed, a wealthy woman reveals that she — in order to keep her possessions from being given to a collective — has hidden her jewels in one of twelve identical chairs, newly confiscated by revolutionary authorities.

Cuba, 90 min., b&w

Two Days in August: Reconstruction of a Crime

2 Tage in August — Rekonstruktion eines Verbrechens (1982)

Director: Gass, Karl

Although German cities were spared from the atomic bomb in WWII, the "perfect bomb" was dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, shortly before capitulation.

GDR, 28 min., b&w

Two from Soweto

Zwei aus Soweto (1977)

Director: Said, Hashim

Two young men took part in the Soweto riots in summer 1976, a key event in the fight against apartheid in South Africa. They encountered fierce police and military brutality. Now they are students at the School for Tropical Agriculture in Altenburg, East Germany.

GDR, 21 min., color

Two Germans

Zwei Deutsche (1988)

Director: Nickel, Gitta

Two soldiers in the Second World War stare out at us from a photo: one of them is crying in despair, the other is standing proud and tall and wearing a medal.

GDR, 94 min., color

Two Mothers

Zwei Mütter (1957)

Director: Beyer, Frank

A WWII bombing run strikes a small Germany town, including the temporary hospital in which two women have just given birth.

GDR, 84 min., b&w

Two Strange Characters

Zwei schräge Vögel (1989)

Director: Stranka, Erwin

Kamminke and Frank, both computer science students, have developed a program that enables a computer to automatically find and correct errors in its software. In spite of their technological prowess, the two men run into trouble because they simply will not adapt to accepted social patterns.

GDR, 94 min., color

Ulzana

Ulzana (1973)

Director: Kolditz, Gottfried

Under the guidance of their captain Ulzana, the Mimembros built an irrigation system and made their patch of desert fertile. Now they can live independently of the businessmen in Tucson.

GDR, 90 min., color

Under the Egyptian Sun

Unter die Sonne Ägyptens (1956)

Director: Stanke, Kurt

In 1956 the popular car models Trabant and Wartburg were almost ready for mass production. A test drive of various GDR automobiles in Egypt serves as the impulse for this short documentary portrait of the North African country.

16 min., color

Under the Pear Tree

Unterm Birnbaum (1973)

Director: Kirsten, Ralf

A dreadful secret binds innkeepers Abel and Ursula Hradscheck together. When Szulski, a debt collector from Krakow, arrives one day, unusual events begin to happen.

GDR, 86 min., color

Unity SPD-KPD

Einheit SPD-KPD (1946)

Director: Maetzig, Kurt

This black and white documentary film presents the post-war political climate of the time through an effective combination of film, text, and music.

GDR, 19 min., b&w

Until Death Do Us Part

Bis dass der Tod euch scheidet (1978)

Director: Carow, Heiner

Scenes from an East German marriage. A young couple, Sonya and Jens, are very much in love. They get married and have a child. When Sonya wants to go back to work after her maternity leave, they clash for the first time; Jens insists that she remain a full-time wife and mother.

GDR, 92 min., color

Up and Down

Oben-Unten (1994)

Director: Orr, Joseph

For Franz, life is a series of pitfalls. But maybe true love can change things? Franz sees his ideal woman on the tram and searches the whole town for her.

This slapstick comedy is set in Berlin when the city was an enormous construction site.

Germany, 80 min., color

Uschi Brüning - GDR Magazine (1972/25 - #1)

DDR-Magazin 1972/25 (1972)

Director: Belz, Uwe

Famous GDR jazz singer Uschi Brüning works on her first record at the Amigo Studio; she is working on the song "Manchmal" ("Sometimes"), for which Günther Fischer wrote the music.

GDR, 8 min., color

Vacation and the Old House

Ferien und das alte Haus (1972)

Director: Bartsch, Wolfgang

Gisi, Manne, Bert and the other students from class 6b did not expect that their summer vacation would be so thrilling. It all started when they were invited to ride in a new electro-locomotive. Because they want to thank Mr.

GDR, 36 min., b&w

Vacation in Sylt

Archive sagen aus — Urlaub auf Sylt (1957)

Vacation in Sylt is a black and white compilation film about Heinz Reinefarth, a Nazi Party member, high SS police leader of Warthe, and later mayor (1951-1964) of Westerland/Sylt.

GDR, 18 min., b&w

The Valiant Tailor

Das tapfere Schneiderlein (1956)

Director: Spieß, Helmut

Seven with one blow is the inscription on the cheerful little man's sash - referring to a heroic feat in which he swatted seven flies at once. Emboldened by this success, the journeyman tailor wanders through valleys and over mountains testing his courage.

GDR, 80 min., color

The Valiant Truant

Der tapfere Schulschwänzer (1967)

Director: Junge, Winfried

One sunny day, fourth grader Thomas is heading to school when he decides that the streets of Berlin are much more interesting than his classroom. When he notices a building on fire, he alerts the fire department and ends up saving two small children's lives.

GDR, 64 min., color

The Valley of Hadramaut

Das Tal von Hadramaut (1978)

Director: Hornig, Harry

A report on the history, traditions and social changes in South Yemen, which became the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen under a Marxist government.

GDR, 31 min., color

Valley of the Innocent

Tal der Ahnungslosen (2003)

Director: Branwen Okpako

Shortly before her 40th birthday, detective Eva Meyer revisits the Dresden orphanage where she grew up, intent on discovering her identity in this noir thriller.

Germany, 85 min., color

Variants

Varianten (1979)

Director: Georgi, Klaus

An amusing look at the behavior of people who will do everything for their own home, yet will go out of their way to avoid inconveniences and push responsibilities onto others.

GDR, 3 min., color

Veitstanz/Feixtanz

Veitstanz/Feixtanz (1988)

Director: Gabriele Stötzer

The tradition of St Vitus' Dance (Veitstanz) first appeared in the Middle Ages, when groups of adults and children had danced in public until they lost consciousness. In 1988, 13 women and men revisited the power of this ancient ritual in Erfurt, East Germany.

Verdict on Auschwitz: The Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial 1963-1965

Strafsache 4 Ks 2/63 (1993/2005)

Director: Bickel, Rolf
Wagner, Dietrich

The only documentary about the Auschwitz Trial, which was held in Frankfurt am Main, West Germany, from 1963 to 1965.

Germany, 180 min., color

Verdict on Auschwitz: The Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial 1963-1965 (Abridged Version)

Strafsache 4 Ks 2/63 (2005)

Director: Bickel, Rolf
Wagner, Dietrich

This is a 60-minute condensed and abridged version of the original 3-hour documentary with the same title, which is also available for streaming.

Germany, 60 min., color

Vietnam 1: Devil's Island

Vietnam 1 — Die Teufelsinsel (1976)

The first of another series of Vietnam documentaries by filmmaking team Heynowski and Scheumann, Devil's Island focuses on the South Vietnam prison Co Son.

GDR, 65 min., color

Vietnam 2: And Then the First Rice

Vietnam 2 — Der erste Reis danach (1977)

Anecdotal stories from the lives of everyday Vietnamese people illustrate the changes taking place in Saigon in the summer of 1975 after the end of the Vietnam War.

GDR, 58 min., color

Vietnam 3: I Sincerely Repent

Vietnam 3 — Ich bereue aufrichtig (1977)

The third installment in a cycle of Vietnam documentaries by filmmaking team Heynowski and Scheumann presents interviews with former South Vietnamese army commanders in the Quang Trung reeducation camp. Le Minh Dao, Major General and holder of highest American decorations has the following messag

GDR, 52 min., color

The Wall

Die Mauer (1990)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

A poetic and enigmatic documentary by painter and filmmaker Jürgen Böttcher, who relies on sight and sound to contemplate the Berlin Wall's historic and symbolic significance.

GDR, 98 min., color/b&w

Walter Ballhause: One Among Millions

Walter Ballhause — Einer von Millionen (1982)

Director: Mund, Karlheinz

With his hidden Leica camera, amateur photographer Walter Ballhause (1911-1991) documented the lives of unemployed workers in Hanover and the rise of the Nazis during the Great Depression. His striking black and white photos were subsequently forgotten and only rediscovered in the 1970s.

GDR, 21 min., b&w

Walter Ulbricht, Builder of Socialism

Baumeister des Sozialismus Walter Ulbricht (1953)

Director: Ensink, Ella
Grandy, Theo

This documentary depicts Walter Ulbricht as a venerated and omniscient national father figure, interweaving his personal history with scenes of the building of the GDR.

GDR, 74 min., b&w

The War of the Mummies

Der Krieg der Mumien (1974)

Chile, September 11, 1973: Army Commander-in-Chief Augusto Pinochet overthrows the Unidad Popular government. President Salvador Allende dies under murky circumstances after the military storms his presidential palace, La Moneda.

GDR, 96 min., b&w

Wartburg Castle

Die Wartburg (1953)

Director: Mühlpforte, Günter

This documentary from the DEFA Studio for Popular Scientific Films traces the history of the Wartburg Castle in Thuringia and explains the landmark's contemporary significance.

GDR, 17 min., color

We Are Building Our Gate to the World

Wir bauen unser Tor zur Welt (1958)

Director: Reusch, Heinz

In the summer of 1958, volunteers from across the GDR come together to build an open-sea harbor for international trade near Rostock. In only six months, they are able to erect a 540 meter sea wall in Warnemünde.

GDR, 27 min., color

We Are the Music!

Nosotros, la música! (1964)

Director: Paris, Rogelio

Featuring legendary Cuban musicians, as well as vibrant spontaneous performances, We Are the Music! captures the mood and vitality of Havana during its golden period.

Cuba, 66 min., b&w

We Are the People

Wir sind das Volk (1993)

Director: Körbler, Martina

We are the people: this was the chant of 70,000 protesters in the streets of Leipzig. A film about the end of the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

Germany, 45 min., color

We Must Make Our Moves: Chess Olympiad 1960

Wir müssen die Züge tun — Schacholympiade 1960 (1960)

Director: Sobiczewski, Heinz

This documentary presents the 14th international Chess Olympiad, which was held in Leipzig in the fall of 1960.

GDR, 16 min., b&w

We Shall Overcome

We shall overcome (1971)

Director: Goldschmidt, Hans

The UN declared 1971 the Year for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination. On this occasion, Ralph Davis Abernathy, president of the Southern Christian Leadership conference, accepted an official invitation to visit East Germany (GDR).

GDR, 18 min., b&w

We Will Triumph Through Solidarity

Wir werden siegen durch die Solidarität — Venceremos con la solidaridad (1977)

Director: Hadaschik, Joachim

Luis Corvalán, the Secretary-General of the Chilean Communist Party, who lived in the Soviet Union from 1976 until 1990, visited East Germany in early 1977.

GDR, 45 min., color

Wedding Night in the Rain

Hochzeitsnacht im Regen (1967)

Director: Seemann, Horst

In this first musical from the DEFA Studios, Gabi, a young hairdresser from the Baltic coast, desperately wants to be East Germany's first female jockey.

GDR, 100 min., color

A Weekend of Sports

Ein Sportwochenende (1982)

Director: Juantorena, Alberto

This documentary presents the concept of "people's sports." Making a wide variety of athletic activities accessible to every East German citizen–from children to amateurs to internationally known professional athletes–is an important goal of socialist society. In particular, the film highlights t

GDR, 21 min., color

A Weimar Film

Ein Weimarfilm (1976)

Director: Böttcher, Jürgen

This documentary goes beyond simply presenting facts about the thousand-year-old city and its famous names: Goethe, Schiller, Herder, Cranach, Bauhaus, Buchenwald. Böttcher captures the transient beauty of the city and its culture through associative images of winter landscapes, parks in bloom, d

GDR, 60 min., color

Welcome, Comrades!

Bienvenidos, Compañeros! Willkommen, Genossen! (1974)

Director: Hadaschik, Joachim

A delegation of leading figures from the GDR government, heading by General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party Erich Honecker, visited Cuba in February 1974. The politicians were hosted by Fidel Castro and given a tour through the country.

GDR, 39 min., color

Wengler & Sons: A Legend

Wengler & Söhne — Eine Legende (1986)

Director: Simon, Rainer

A story spanning three generations, from 1871 to 1945. When Gustav Wengler, a farmer's son, returns from the Franco-German war in 1871, he goes to work for a precision mechanics and optical company, where he soon becomes a master craftsman.

GDR, 139 min., color

Were the Earth Not Round

Wäre die Erde nicht rund (1981)

Director: Gusner, Iris

Christiane arrives at a Moscow hospital to see her little daughter. While she waits for the child to recuperate, she reflects on her life. Remembering her childhood in East Germany, she thinks about her grandfather and his obsession with building a perpetual motion machine.

GDR, 89 min., color

What Every Man Must Do

Was jeder muß... (1988)

Director: Dresen, Andreas

Simone and Dieter are 20 years old. They have just had a baby and it would be the right time to start their life together as a family. But Dieter has to do his military service.

GDR, 18 min., color

What Remains: In Memory of Erich Fried

Was bliebt... Eine Erinnerung an Erich Fried (1994)

Director: Löprich, Frank
Richter, Annerose (Anne)
Steiner, Roland

Only a few days before his death, the film team met the famous Austrian-born author Erich Fried in London. The result is a very personal and moving film diary about one of the most important poets of the twentieth century.

Germany, 55 min., color

What Would Happen If...?

Was wäre, wenn"...? (1960)

Director: Klingenberg, Gerhard

In the late 1950s, the collectivization of agriculture is in full swing in the East German village of Willshagen on the German-German border. Those in charge have to face many obstacles, especially from a large-scale farmer who is unwilling to join the co-op.

GDR, 90 min., b&w

When Martin Was Fourteen

Als Martin vierzehn war (1964)

Director: Beck, Walter

Martin and his friend Kathrin find their youth abruptly ended in March 1920, when their village is drawn into the events surrounding the reactionary Kapp Putsch.

GDR, 83 min., b&w

When the Wall Came Tumbling Down - 50 Hours That Changed the World

Als die Mauer fiel - 50 Stunden, die die Welt veränderten (1999)

Director: Hertle, Hans-Hermann
Scholz, Gunther

Berlin, November 9th, 1989. Thousands of people break through the border checkpoints of the divided city. The "death strip" has lost its horror. East and West Berliners are dancing on the Wall and chip it away with hammers and chisels throughout the night.

Germany, 89 min., color

When Unku was Ede's Friend

Als Unku Edes Freundin war (1980)

Director: Dziuba, Helmut

Twelve-year-old Ede comes from a very poor family in Berlin, and he wishes for a bicycle so that he could earn more money at his job as a newspaper boy. When a group of gypsies moves to town, Ede's family and friends are upset by his friendship with Unku, a gypsy girl.

GDR, 67 min., b&w

When You Think of Chile

Wenn du an Chile denkst (1977)

Director: Weiß, Konrad

Konrad Weiß' lyrical, music-filled homage to Chile's struggle for social justice addresses East German youth. He focuses on the lives of Chilean children as a means to document the situation in Chile in the years before and after Pinochet's military coup.

GDR, 24 min., b&w

When You're Older, Dear Adam

Wenn du groß bist, lieber Adam (1966/1990)

Director: Günther, Egon

Nine-year-old Adam lives alone with his father while his mother studies out of town. He is a clever boy with an active imagination. One day, a grateful swan gives him a magic flashlight. When its rays shine on someone who is lying, the person floats up into the air!

GDR, 74 min., color

Where Others Keep Silent

Wo andere schweigen (1984)

Director: Kirsten, Ralf

Ten days in the life of socialist politician Clara Zetkin. In August 1932, she is summoned from Archangelskoje near Moskow to open the new legislative session because at seventy-five, she is the oldest representative in the German Reichstag.

GDR, 104 min., color

The White Cat

Die weiße Katze (1988)

Director: Eckhold, Walter

The little cat is proud to have white fur . But the color changes after the cat unintentionally slides through a chimney. Still, the cat tells everybody that it has a white coat. The rooster, the chicken, the pig are not sure if they should laugh or protest.

GDR, 10 min., color

The White Crane

Der weiße Kranich (1990)

Director: Georgi, Oliver

A farmer tends to a wounded white crane. Back home, he has been trying unsuccessfully to weave a new type of material because the merchant stopped accepting his corse linen. A stranger comes to his hut and she secretly produces a wonderful fabric behind a closed door.

GDR, 6 min., color

While All Germans Sleep

Wenn alle Deutschen schlafen (1994)

Director: Beyer, Frank

After 50 years, Marek remembers his dangerous adventure as a five-year-old, when he and his friend Itzek left a Polish transit camp one night in 1942 — a few days before their evacuation to Auschwitz — to go get the toys they forgot at the ghetto.

Germany, 72 min., color

whisper & SHOUT

flüstern & SCHREIEN (1988)

Director: Schumann, Dieter

This film documents important parts of the East German rock music scene of the late 1980s, from well-established bands like Silly to underground rock bands like Feeling B.

GDR, 115 min., color

White Blood

Weißes Blut (1959)

Director: Kolditz, Gottfried

Army officer Manfred von der Lohe (Jürgen Frohriep) returns to West Germany from a special training program in the United States, only to learn that he has been exposed to a potentially fatal dose of radiation during an atomic test.

GDR, 85 min., b&w

White Cloud Carolin

Weiße Wolke Carolin (1984)

Director: Losansky, Rolf

It's no big secret that twelve-year-old Hannes is in love with his classmate Carolin, who he compares to a beautiful white cloud in the sky. But when Carolin spends most of her time exploring the village's history with Benno, Hannes becomes increasingly jealous of his rival.

GDR, 82 min., color

White Wolves

Weiße Wölfe (1968)

Director: BoÅ¡koviÄ‡, BoÅ¡ko
Petzold, Konrad

In the sequel to Spur des Falken, young chief Farsighted Falcon is on his way to the Black Hills with his wife Blue Hair. They hope to join the Cheyenne tribe in the safety of the mountains.

GDR, 96 min., color

Who's Afraid of the Bogeyman

Wer fürchtet sich vorm schwarzen Mann (1989)

Director: Misselwitz, Helke

A close-up of a small private company that delivers heating coal in the Prenzlauer Berg district of East Berlin. The feisty woman who runs the business does so with humor and understanding, and her seven male employees respect her.

GDR, 52 min., b&w

Whoever Loves the Earth

Wer die Erde liebt (1974)

Director: Belz, Uwe
Böttcher, Jürgen
Hellwig, Joachim
Hornig, Harry

This documentary about the 10th World Festival of Youth and Students contains no form of commentary and comes alive only through the original audio of the students in discussion, the musical contributions, and the speeches and presentations.

GDR, 69 min., color

Why Everyone Has a Kernel of Wisdom

Warum jeder ein Körnchen Weisheit besitzt (1959)

Director: Böttge, Bruno J.

In this silhouette animation film, a teacher tells his students a traditional fairy tale from Ghana: Anansi, a clever but self-centered spider, wants to gain power over all the other animals by controlling their wisdom.

GDR, 18 min., color

The Willi Busch Report

Der Willi-Busch-Report (1979)

Director: Schilling, Niklaus

Willi and Adelheid Busch have inherited a local newspaper from their father. But ever since the German-German border split the region, cutting off half of their former customer base, there hasn't been much to report in their now-provincial town and the paper has been struggling financially.

FRG, 118 min., color

Wilhelm Pieck: The Life of Our President

Wilhelm Pieck — Das Leben unseres Präsidenten (1952/75)

Director: Thorndike, Andrew

This black-and-white documentary portrays the life of Wilhelm Pieck and his ascent from young working-class revolutionary to the first president of the GDR. Archival film, historical photos, and documents from the period between 1914 and 1945 trace the history of Germany during his lifetime.

GDR, 75 min., b&w

The Winged Serpent: Lucas Cranach the Elder

Die geflügelte Schlange (1971)

Director: Barke, Lothar

This short documentary portrays the life and work of the important Renaissance painter Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553). It features a rich spectrum of his works in (former East) German collections, including the Old Masters Gallery in Dresden.

GDR, 17 min., color

Windows on Monday

Montag kommen die Fenster (2006)

Director: Köhler, Ulrich

A new city, a new house — it could be a happy moment in the life of this small family. But Nina (Isabelle Menke), a doctor, feels estranged in the half-empty rooms and leaves her family behind. When she returns, she learns that her absence has not been without consequences.

Germany, 90 min., color

Winner on Points

Sieger nach Punkten (1958)

Director: Fischer, Heinz

This short documentary shows how the restlessness of youth can be channeled into boxing, promoting a healthy, youthful national pastime and sports culture.

It is available for rent as part of the DVD collection Chronicle of Film 1958.

GDR, 16 min., b&w

Winter Adé

Winter adé (1988)

Director: Misselwitz, Helke

Shortly before the collapse of the GDR, Helke Misselwitz traveled the country by train to interview East German women of different ages and backgrounds.

GDR, 116 min., b&w

The Wishing Table

Tischlein deck dich (1970)

Director: Schraps, Rudolf

A tailor drives his sons from the house because he mistakenly believes they have allowed his goats to go hungry on purpose. In the course of their travels, each brother is given a magical gift.

GDR, 33 min., color

Witches

Hexen (1954)

Director: Spieß, Helmut

In 1949, superstition still thrives in the Thuringian village of Hunsdorf. Pigs keep disappearing from different farmyards and the village residents naturally blame the problem on witches.

GDR, 99 min., b&w

Without a Passport in Strange Beds

Ohne Pass in fremden Betten (1965)

Director: Brebera, Vladimir

With a train layover of one hour in Berlin, the Czech Jelinek wants to go to the fair. But as he reaches the top of the Ferris wheel it stops spinning, and he misses the train where he left all his luggage and his passport.

GDR, 86 min., b&w

Without a Roof

Kein Hüsung (1954)

Director: Pohl, Artur

This historical film is set in a village in Mecklenburg during the mid-19th century. The law requires that Mariken and Johann obtain the local Baron's permission before they can marry and live on his land, but their request is denied because Mariken once rejected the Baron's advances.

GDR, 90 min., b&w

Wittstock Girls

Mädchen in Wittstock (1975)

Director: Koepp, Volker

This is the first of a masterly chronicle of seven documentaries made over a twenty-three year period. Koepp not only investigates how young women in an agricultural region become workers at a knitting factory, but also how industry changes their lives and thoughts.

GDR, 20 min., b&w

Wittstock III

Wittstock III (1978)

Director: Koepp, Volker

The third installment in the Wittstock documentary series centers primarily on Edith Rupp and her role as an assembly line supervisor at the Ernst Lück textile plant in the small town of Wittstock.

GDR, 32 min., b&w

Wittstock, Wittstock

Wittstock, Wittstock (1997)

Director: Koepp, Volker

A new kind of normality that has taken hold in Wittstock and filmmaker Volker Koepp has captured it for us — definitely for the last time, he says. The big factory is no longer there. Elsbeth goes from one retraining course to another, always on the hunt for a job.

Germany, 114 min., b&w

Cover Photo for Woe to the Vanquished: The Workers

Woe to the Vanquished: The Workers' Uprising, 17 June 1953

Wehe den Besiegten — Der 17. Juni 1953 Der 17. Juni 1953 (1990)

Director: Andrea Ritterbusch

This documentary explores the events that led up to the East German Popular Uprising on June 17, 1953, and what happened during and after that day.

GDR, 87 min., color/b&w

The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats

Der Wolf und die sieben Geißlein (1990)

Director: Sacher, Otto

In spite of their grandmother's warnings, seven little goats open the door for the big bad wolf, who procedes to gobble up all but one of them! When the mother goat finds her seventh kid, she knows she must rescue the others from the wolf's belly.

GDR, 10 min., color

Wolfgang Kohlhaase on the Art in Film

Wolfgang Kohlhhase über die Kunst im Film (2017)

Director: Nadine Fuhrhop

Renown (East) German scriptwriter Wolfgang Kohlhaase collaborated with director Konrad Wolf on the 1973 DEFA feature film The Naked Man on the Sports Field. In this interview, Kohlhaase talks about his friendship with sculptor Werner Stötzer, which was the inspiration for the script.

Germany, 14 min., color

Wolz — Life and Illusion of a German Anarchist

Wolz — Leben und Verklärung eines deutschen Anarchisten (1973)

Director: Reisch, Günter

Soldier Ignaz Wolz returns from WWI with an immeasurable hatred of capitalist war profiteers. He decides to start his own revolution, but tries to stay away from the organized class struggle. He steals from the rich men and divides the wealth among the poor.

GDR, 110 min., color

The Woman and the Stranger

Die Frau und der Fremde (1984)

Director: Simon, Rainer

Karl and Richard, two German soldiers captured by the Russians in World War I, become very close friends–so close that Richard shares intimate stories about his wife, Anna. Through these stories, Karl falls in love with her in his thoughts.

GDR, 97 min., color

Women Doctors

Ärztinnen (1983)

Director: Seemann, Horst

Lydia Kowalenko is fired from the pharmaceutical company where she has worked for many years because she refused to help cover up the use of a dangerous chemical.

GDR, 107 min., color

Women on the Ball

Frauen am Ball (1987)

Director: Tetzke, Ted (Detlef)

Turbine Potsdam was one of the GDR's most successful women's soccer teams, thanks to the hard work and dedication of the players and the strict coaching of Bernd Schröder.

This documentary includes interviews with the team and footage of their practices and competitions.

GDR, 15 min., color

The Wonderful Smell of Fresh Hay

Ein irrer Duft von frischem Heu (1977)

Director: Oehme, Roland

Party secretary and farmer Mattes is said to have inherited his family's traditional second sight. He can predict the weather, locate missing husbands, heal the sick and all sorts of other amazing things.

GDR, 87 min., color

Words and Deeds

Worte und Taten (1970)

Director: Goldschmidt, Hans
Schnabel, Rolf

This documentary about Cambodia is based on archival footage.

GDR, 24 min., b&w

Work and Health

Arbeit und Gesundheit (1981)

Director: Urbanek, Willi

This film reports on the goals and purposes of the wide variety of workplace health services in the GDR, from prophylactic examination to ergonomic redesign of the working environment.

GDR, 18 min., color

World Championships

Championnats du Monde (1960)

Director: Sobiczewski, Heinz

This short documentary presents the 1960 Cycling World Championships, which were hosted by the GDR. The crowning achievement for East Germany was when cyclists Bernhard Eckstein and Täve Schur took first and second place in the amateur road race.

GDR, 28 min., b&w

Wozzeck

Wozzeck (1947)

Director: Klaren, Georg C.

While an anatomy seminar prepares to examine the cadaver of Franz Wozzeck in the name of scientific progress, medical student Büchner excoriates humanity for having allowed Wozzeck's fate. The tragic story unfolds in flashbacks, as Büchner narrates.

Germany, 101 min., b&w

The Year 1945

Das Jahr 1945 (1984)

Director: Gass, Karl

This documentary, made in honor of the the 40th anniversary of the liberation of Germany from Hitler's fascism, records a chronological account of the final 128 days of World War II in Europe.

GDR, 90 min., b&w

The Yearning for Peace

Sehnsucht nach Frieden (1979)

Director: Raue, Dieter

Even though human beings yearning for peace, wars continue to occur and seem to be becoming ever more terrible and deadly. Who profits from and promotes wars? Who suffers because of them?

GDR, 56 min., color

Yell Once a Week

Einmal in der Woche schrein (1982/1989)

Director: Jordan, Günter

This short film follows East Berlin teenagers, from hanging out on the streets to a dance party. It was banned before its release, in part because the lyrics of the title song, played by the East German rock group Pankow, call for self-determination and freedom.

GDR, 14 min., color

Yesterday and the New City

Gestern und die neue Stadt (1968)

Director: Bartsch, Wolfgang

In summer 1964, the East German government approved the concept to build a new city, Halle-Neustadt (aka Chemical Workers' City) in the center of East Germany's chemical industry in an effort to improve the workers' living conditions.

GDR, 26 min., b&w

Yesterday Girl

Abschied von Gestern (1966)

Director: Kluge, Alexander

Born in 1937 to Jewish parents, Anita G. leaves the GDR for West Germany in search of a better life. With no home or job, she is caught stealing and sent to prison.

FRG, 86 min., b&w

You and Some Comrade

Du und mancher Kamerad (1956)

This documentary presents the history of twentieth-century Germany from an East German ideological perspective, focusing especially on the causes and political background of both World Wars.

GDR, 98 min., b&w

You Are Not Alone

Du bist nicht allein (2007)

Director: Böhlich, Bernd

They all live in the concrete jungle and tristesse of Berlin's Marzahn district: the decorator Hans Moll (Axel Prahl) and his wife (Katharina Thalbach), the television announcer Ms. Wellinek (Karoline Eichhorn) and her ex (Herbert Knaup), and the Russian Yevgenia (Katerina Medvedeva).

Germany, 92 min., color

Young as Ever Berlin

Die junge alte Stadt Berlin (1986)

Director: Machalz, Alfons

In honor of the 750th anniversary of the GDR's capital city, Berlin's famous landmarks are shown, including Alexander Square, Leipziger Straße, Schönhauser Allee, Friedrichstraße, Unter den Linden, the Theater House, and the Berlin Cathedral.

GDR, 31 min., color

Young People in the City

Junge Leute in der Stadt (1985)

Director: Lotz, Karl Heinz

One day in the lives of young people Berlin during the economic crisis at the end of the 1920s.

GDR, 85 min., color

Your Presence Is Imperative

Erscheinen Pflicht (1983)

Director: Dziuba, Helmut

Elisabeth, whose father is a Party functionary, has grown up in a secure and privileged environment. Her understanding parents are always prepared to answer Elizabeth's questions to herself and about life.

GDR, 73 min., color

Your Unknown Brother

Dein unbekannter Bruder (1982)

Director: Weiß, Ulrich

It is the year 1935: After being released from a concentration camp, Arnold remains working for the resistance movement in Hamburg. He has mixed feelings about his new contact agent; he almost envies the man's self-confidence, but cannot help mistrusting him.

GDR, 108 min., color