Wilhelm Pieck

The film shows the flag handover and swearing-in ceremony of the first unit of the National People's Army on the eve of May 1, 1956 and the parade of units of the People's Army on the morning of May 1.

This reportage is focused on Wilhelm Pieck’s visit in Warsaw in 1950. He was the president of East Germany between 1949 and 1960. The visit sealed diplomatic relations between the Polish People's Republic and the newly established German Democratic Republic (1949).

Basing his work on documentary material, Andrew Thorndike tells the life story of Wilhelm Pieck: from young worker to fighter for the German working class, and from enemy of national-socialism to the first president of the German Democratic Republic.

Communism spread to all of the continents of the word, lasting through four generations and over seven decades. Hundreds of millions of men and women were affected by this political system, one of the most unjust and bloodiest in history. Using newly discovered propaganda films and archival photos, these four episodes explore the mysteries of this totalitarian political machine that lured its share of important followers into the fold. Known as the red church, communism seduced its ardent followers like some earthly religion.