English narration & German dialogue with English subtitles where needed.
This astonishing chronicle of the German Democratic Republic (or as we called it, East Germany) features illuminating interviews complimented by rare archival materials from film, photographs, posters, caricatures, popular songs and speeches. Former citizens both prominent and unknown reflect on cultural, economic, and political developments from the founding of the GDR in 1949 to German unification in 1990. This is the ultimate film history of events such as the suppression of the Prague Spring in 1968, the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall, economic stagnation, Stasi activity, and the popular upheavals that finally brought down the state.
CHAPTER 1: I Was a Citizen of the GDR
Former East German citizens -- from Holocaust survivors, to artists, officials, civil rights activists and ordinary people -- talk about their personal feelings, experiences, and attitudes toward the GDR.
CHAPTER 2: From "Zone" to State
Events the led up to the construction of the Berlin Wall on August 13, 1961 and the final division of the two German states.
CHAPTER 3: From Economic Plan to Economic Collapse
The development of the GDR's planned economy, from its beginnings to its failure.
CHAPTER 4: For the People's Welfare
"Unity of economic and social policy," the program of the SED (Socialist Unity Party), became the trademark of the Honecker era.
CHAPTER 5: Intellect and Power
The history of literature and the art in the GDR was punctuated by State repression; such breaks reveal contestation between intellectuals and state power in the GDR.
CHAPTER 6: Shield and Sword
From its founding in 1950, the Ministry for State Security and its political secret police (the Stasi) were the central instruments of domination; this "shield and sword of the Party," was seen as a defense against external and internal enemies.
CHAPTER 7: We Are the People
This was the chant of the thousands of protesters in the streets of Leipzig and other East German cities in the fall of 1989.
