Andreas Fischer

In July 1943, the Allies carried out heavy air raids on Hamburg. The day and night attacks, which lasted from July 25 to August 3, 1943, were codenamed “Operation Gomorrah.” Today, only a few survivors of the firestorm who consciously experienced and survived it are still alive. In the first part of this documentary, the so-called “experience generation” has its say. The second part is dedicated to the children of the survivors. What impact did their parents' traumatic war experiences have on those born in the 1950s and 1960s?

From 1959 to 1962, about 5000 disabled children were born in Germany, often with shortened and altered limbs, but also very often with damage to internal organs. About half of the children did not survive. In November 1961, it turned out that the sleeping pill and sedative Contergan was responsible for the disabilities. The active ingredient thalidomide had disrupted the growth process of the children in the womb in the early stages of pregnancy. In this documentary, parents of the so-called "Contergan children" tell how they experienced the tragedy.

At the end of the 1960s, Les Humphries, trained as an all-round musician in the British Navy, came to Hamburg and had a brilliant idea. Inspired by the hippie musical "Hair," he put together a choir of international singers and produced modern gospel arrangements—the Les Humphries Singers were born. The choir's appearance and image captured the spirit of the flower power era, and their catchy party music found a large audience, launching the Les Humphries Singers to meteoric success. Hits such as "Promised Land," "Mexico," "Mama Loo," and "Kansas City" followed, thrilling an entire generation. By 1976, they had sold 48 million records.