Meschkas Enkel 1981

Cattaro Mutiny 1980

In February of 1918, in Boka Kotorska, the greatest uprising of Austrian sailors broke out. Forty warships, with 6.000 sailors, rebelled against the Austrian Monarchy. The uprising was bloodily crushed after two days, and it's leaders shot.

Carnations in Aspic 1976

A commercial artist with a lisp chooses silence, unexpectedly propelling his career. His perceived innovation leads to rapid advancement in an ad agency. Mueller-Stahl shines in this biting critique of East German workplace culture.

Despite It All! 1972

October 1918: Karl 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. The working class is in a rebellious mood; the uprising of Kiel’s sailors against war and militarism sets off a call for revolution led by Liebknecht. On November 9, Liebknecht declares the Free Socialist Republic of Germany. But pro-Kaiser military and right wing Social Democrats oppose him.

Geschichten jener Nacht 1967

Four directors - four styles - four episodes, all relating the events of a single night which has entered the history books: August 12-13, 1961. There are thousands of complex narratives connected with the frontier drawn through the middle of Berlin, and each episode relates the story of a difficult decision made on that night...

Trace of Stones 1966

Bad planning and shortages prevail on an East German construction site. Foreman Hannes Balla uses unconventional methods to overcome the problems. New Socialist Unity Party secretary Werner Horrath is charged with bringing the rough-and-ready builder crew into line. The task seems doomed to fail as the two men compete for the affections of young engineer Kati Klee. But when she gets pregnant by married man Horrath, he is in danger of being expelled from the party, and Balla takes his side...

As Long as There’s Life in Me 1965

This is part one of a two-part biopic about Karl Liebknecht. 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. From then on, he is considered un-German and a traitor to the fatherland, and his own party’s leadership turns against him. Despite threats, Liebknecht speaks up against the war and writes the manifesto “The Main Enemy Is at Home.” Even when he is arrested and charged with treason, he does not surrender.

When Martin Was Fourteen 1964

Martin′s and his girlfriend′s Kathrin′s childhood comes to an abrupt end in 1920, when their Mecklenburg village is drawn into the events surrounding the Kapp putsch. By accident, Martin discovers a charge of weapons that land owner von Bröder had put away for the reactionary forces, and gives them to the workers in the city. When the village starts to organize a strike against the putsch, soldiers arrive at the village to hold down the residents of the village.

Sonntagsfahrer 1963

Kuttel 1961

Young Kuttel belongs to a group of working-class children who live in Berlin at the beginning of the 1930s. In the big summer holidays in 1931, the children want to make a race with their model boats and choose as a venue for the small artificial water in the park of their neighborhood. All children in the area are invited to participate in the competition. But there is a traitor among them, who tells the company to the local police officers, who in any case look with arrogance on the "Reds"...

Nackt unter Wölfen 1960

Sheriff Teddy 1957

A story about thirteen years old Kalle who is moving with the family from West Berlin to East.

Polonia-Express 1957

Railway employee Fritz Marr is not regarded well by his superiors. It is the year 1920, and trains regularly pass the railway hub of Erfurt to the East to secretly transport weapons for the fight against the young Soviet Union. Marr knows about this and wants to mobilise other workers to stop these illegal deliveries. To muzzle him, Marr is relocated to a remote rail work construction site.

Treffpunkt Aimée 1956

DEFA crime film about the smuggling of PVC across the (still open) border from East to West Berlin.

Distinguishing marks: none 1956

Post-war Germany: Like so many other women, Gerda Krause has lost her husband during the war and has to fend for herself and her two children. She finds work as a seamstress but refuses the offering of her department chief Zimmermann to upgrade her qualifications. One day she meets Uschi, an old friend of hers, whom she has helped with schoolwork before the war and subsequently lost track of. The reunion reminds Gerda of her childhood dream: to become a teacher. Thus, she decides to enroll at university to make her dream come true.

The Case of Dr Wagner 1954

Dr. Wagner is a scientist currently working on an experiment for the Asta plant in East Berlin. If the experiment is successful its a brilliant new invention. But Wagner is the target of sabotage, and all the decisive experiment fails. Wagner can not explain this setback.

Ernst Thälmann – Son of the Working Class 1954

This film is the first of a two-part historical and biographical portrait of the communist politician and anti-fascist Ernst Thälmann. In early November 1918, Ernst Thälmann is an unwilling soldier serving on the western front. As the revolutionary movement at home is threatened by the betrayal of the Social Democrats and fissures in the working class, Thälmann calls on his fellow soldiers to put down their weapons and unite with the workers in the communist struggle at home. Thälmann’s qualms about which side he is fighting on continue, but when the local police attempt to prevent a shipment of provisions and supplies from reaching the people in Petrograd, he intervenes and the ship is unloaded. With this moment of clarity, Thälmann continues to follow his political convictions and joins the workers at the Hamburg uprising in October 1923.

Jacke wie Hose 1953