DEFA Releases New DVD Set from Film Library: ‘Reports from A Peaceful Revolution’

The DEFA Film Library’s DVD, “Reports from a Peaceful Revolution,” set is now available to public and academic libraries, scholars, researchers and students around the world.

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“Reports from a Peaceful Revolution” features a pair of documentaries and extensive bonus materials that capture the evolution and experience of East Germany’s unique “peaceful revolution” and the fall of communism.

In March 1989, director Kurt Tetzlaff began following an unusually observant and thoughtful young man, his friends and the nascent East German citizens’ movement that brought down the Berlin Wall. He continued chronicling this group during the post-Wall social processes until German unification took place 18 months later, on October 3, 1990.

Critics praise this impressive and unprecedented survey of personal and political events as one of the most important documents of this historic period. The DEFA Film Library team worked on this two DVD release for nearly two years. Under faculty and professional staff supervision, several graduate students contributed to the project as they learned important academic and job skills.

English subtitles were created by Kevina King (German), Victoria Rizo Lenshyn (German, now Arizona State) and Hasret Eleby (Creative Writing MFA); Katrin Bahr (German, now Centre College) conducted a filmed interview with the protagonist of the films in Berlin; and exchange student Jan Jokisch (now National Technological Univerity in Cordoba, Argentina) translated bonus texts into English.

For more information visit https://ecommerce.umass.edu/defa/film/37898.