A crew from the U.S. intends to film a war drama at an abandoned sugar factory on the remote outskirts of a German city, making the nearby town, which had been a pool of stagnant water, seem to come to life. The residents are excited, each making their own little plans, until a tank pulls up in front of the mayor's house and a sudden power outage disrupts all plans.
Katharina Hendriks loves her job as headmistress of a vocational school. However, cutbacks threaten to spoil her job, as does the arrival of her brother Erik as a guest teacher. Their visions clash and this has consequences not only for the atmosphere, but also for the pupils.
Johanna (13) is in love – but how is she to enjoy this rush of emotions when her violent prone father is returning to the family home? Torn between the wish to stay true to her father and the love for her boyfriend, Johanna is faced with an impossible decision. A story about family secrets, the chains of family loyalty and the power to break free.
Helen, in her early 50s, really doesn't know which problem she should solve first: her husband seems to be cheating on her, the children are in terrible puberty, things aren't going well with the gardening business, and she herself is going through menopause. When her old mother also has a stroke, the otherwise calm Helen threatens to go crazy.
Frank, a tenth grade student, falls in love with his classmate Regine. His father is a well-connected plant manager in the GDR; Regine's mother is a single parent with four children. Regine wants to become a kindergarten teacher, but her grades are poor and she is not allowed to apply for technical college. Frank champions her and seeks an open discussion about these rigid regulations. But his criticism is nipped in the bud.
Three people from very different walks of life meet at a large construction site. Young, unmarried, self-confident construction manager Linda Hinrichs dedicates herself completely to her work and enjoys living more independently then most women. Daniel, a student works on the construction site to make money during his summer holiday, and impresses Linda with his spontaneous energy and idealism. Brigadier Böwe, an older, divorced man works his way from one construction site to the other and has lost his own personal happiness on the path to developing what was seen as officially suitable social standards. Both men try to win Linda over, not realizing that they are taking her freedom away from her.
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.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) was the author of Werther, the romantic novel that was transformed into a play during Goethe's lifetime and which initiated the whole German romantic movement. The book's story tells of young love and suicide. In this East German film, based on a book by Thomas Mann, Lotte (Lilli Palmer) was the woman who served as the model for the heroine in the novel Werther. She comes to Goethe's hometown for a visit, and her experiences there eerily re-create episodes from the book. Goethe comes across as a pompous old bore, and his friends as pandering sycophants, in this very proper communist party-sponsored, anti-heroic movie.
Dr. Barbara Heim, a heart surgeon, and Gunter Heim, a well-known actor, have been married for seven years. They have a six-year-old daughter. Both partners are totally taken up by their work which is physically and mentally demanding. So there is little time left for family life and the strained relations worsen and finally plunge Barbara into a crisis - shortly before their seventh wedding anniversary. At this very point a child dies in hospital, prompting Barbara to ask herself in desperation if - and for how long she can put up with the double burden of career and family. On top of this, she notices that Gunter is starting to compare her to other women.
Magdalena and Michael have loved each other since they were children. But when the Nazis come to power, Michael rebels against the regime and is sentenced to fifteen years in a concentration camp. Magdalena, meanwhile, goes underground with the help of a friend and later immigrates to the Soviet Union. Michael, who has joined the Red Army, discovers on the way to Moscow that Magdalena is staying there. But when his plane lands, she is already on her way back to Germany. Michael hopes that one day, he and Magdalena will be reunited.
A film about the historical uprising of the seamen in Kiel: During the Russian October Revolution of 1917, German and Russian soldiers start to solidarize with each other. By disarming the officers, machinist Henne Lonke and stoker Jens Kasten prevent the attack on a Russian freighter. When German admiralty gives out orders for operation "Nibelungen", which would lead the German fleet into a suicidal attack against England and quell the revolutionary spirit, seamen and soldiers from different political backgrounds unite in protest.