Erwin Geschonneck

In a small village in West Prussia in the 1870s, Germans, Poles, Gypsies and Jews live together as neighbors. One night Johann, a German mill-owner, secretly opens the dam gates and floods the mill of his Jewish rival Levin. After his business is ruined and his calls for justice go unanswered, Levin leaves town.

A Jewish ghetto in the east of Europe, 1944. By coincidence, Jakob Heym eavesdrops on a German radio broadcast announcing the Soviet Army is making slow by steady progress towards central Europe. In order to keep his companion in misfortune, Mischa, from risking his life for a few potatoes, he tells him what he heard and announces that he is in possession of a radio - in the ghetto a crime punishable by death. It doesn't take long for word of Jakob's secret to spread - suddenly, there is new hope and something to live for - and so Jakob finds himself in the uncomforting position of having to come up with more and more stories.

During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), five International Brigade soldiers of different nationalities are given a crucial assignment as their commander lies dying: they are to smuggle top-secret information across enemy lines.

Lavish adaptation of Wilhelm Hauff′s fairy tale: Young charburner Peter Munk dreams of joining the upper class. He makes a deal with the sinister Holländer-Michel, who offers to trade Peter′s human heart for one made of stone. Once he has the "cold heart" in his body, Peter eventually strikes a fortune and enjoys great wealth, but at the same time, he becomes a bitter and emotionless man – and, having lost all traces of humanity, even murders his wife Lisbeth. Only then does Peter Munk finally realize what has become of him, and he decides to regain his real heart from Holländer-Michel.

Tambari - it's a name of an old boat which children of a small village on a Baltic sea shore got from an old fisherman Luden. But not all the village adults were ready to approve it...

Based on a true story of inmates at KZ Buchenwald that risked their lives to hide a small Jewish boy shortly before the liberation of the camp.

A car tells its story and the story of its seven owners during the years of the Third Reich.

Kuhle Wampe takes place in early-1930s Berlin. The film begins with a montage of newspaper headlines describing steadily-rising unemployment figures. This is followed by scenes of a young man looking for work in the city and the family discussing the unpaid back rent. The young man, brother of the protagonist Anni, removes his wristwatch and throws himself from a window out of despair. Shortly thereafter his family is evicted from their apartment. Now homeless, the family moves into a garden colony of sorts with the name “Kuhle Wampe.”

Europe in 1793. For years, England and France have been at war with each other. Now, France sends three men to the British colony of Jamaica to organize a slave revolt. The envoys are Debuisson, the grandson of a Jamaican rum manufacturer, who knows the island very well, his old friend Sasportas, and the sailor Galloudec. After having established contact with the fragmented rebel groups, they receive the surprising news of Napoleon′s takeover in France. Whereas Debuisson, who by now has gotten used to his role as a rich heir, wants to wait for new instructions from home, his companions are determined to press ahead with the revolt. When a slave kills a British guard, the situation escalates.

In the 16th century, as Flanders is invaded by the Spanish, Till the Mischievous uses stratagems to enter the service of Ferdinand Alvare de Toledo, Duke of Alba, and from there organize resistance against the invaders.

Who hasn't dreamed the sweet dream of the land of milk and honey, where roast pigeons fly into your mouth? But even the fairy tale makes it clear that such effortless indulgence is unhealthy because it makes you unproductive and unfit for life. Heinrich Mann discovers the land of milk and honey not behind a wall of semolina in a somewhere and sometime, but in the salon of the banker James Louis Türckheimer, who is bursting with money at a time of transition from the 19th to the 20th century. A first address for very different people who want to partake of its splendor...

The late summer of 1918. Paul, Willi and Heinrich from an age-old German town are good friends, although there is a great deal that divides them. Heinrich comes from an officer's family with an army tradition and is preparing to enter cadet college. Paul's father and grandfather are workers, and Willi, left to depend on himself, works as a hotel messenger. The last year of the war is hard for everyone, but while Paul and Willi know their own minds and do not hesitate to help the war fugitives Tony and Sepp, for Heinrich everything is more complicated.

It was supposed to be a cozy Christmas evening with the family. Labor Director Walter Lörke was particularly looking forward to it. But then his daughter Anne surprised him with her future son-in-law Thomas Ostermann. And that's not all: Lörke is to become a grandfather. This doesn't suit him at all, especially as the young man clearly shows his critical attitude towards the state whose ideals Lörke has fought for all his life. An argument ensues - on Christmas Eve. Lörke leaves the apartment in a rage. But he is driven by unrest: He wants to know what kind of person his future son-in-law is and why he has such a negative attitude towards the state. It turns out that Thomas has had bitter experiences with the opportunistic attitudes of many adults and that, although he was the best student in his class, he was not admitted to university because of his critical opinions.

Two boys from West Berlin, Klaus and Max, live in poverty. They dream of a career in boxing and save every penny in order to buy boxing gloves for training. Nevertheless, they cannot seem to save enough and so they let themselves be hired by the bartender Klott for a twisted scheme. However, Klaus overhears one of Klott's conversations and learns that Klott intends for the boys to steal horses from the East Berlin Barlay Circus, where Klaus recently made some good friends. Indignant, he sets out to stop the robbery—and an adventurous action story results.

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...

Albert Hauptmann is an out of work waiter in Cologne who is often confused with a former Captain of the Nazi Army. Albert uses this to his advantage and becomes the Director of the Montan Corporation, and a member of the West German Parliament. Herr Karjanke, the real Captain, learns of Albert’s ruse, and wants to claim his "rightful" position in Parliament. But Karjanke cannot come forward until his politicking "Doppelganger" succeeds in passing an amnesty law for war criminals. When Albert is finally brought before a judge on charges of fraud, he learns that this own amnesty law does not apply to him.

Mother Wolffen, a washerwoman, is a woman of principle: A poor man must do what he must to get through life, only he mustn't get caught doing it. All sorts of crooked deals contribute to the improvement of the daily menu and the increase of household funds. When everyone is searching for pensioner Krueger's missing beaverskin coat, Mother Wolffen and her family are calmly enjoying fresh roast venison.

A funny adventures of a two young boys who are trying to rebuild the ship called "Emma" for their friend - the old captain.

Little Matti and his friends are restoring the old abandoned fire truck .

Old Otto Gratzick is a porter at DEFA and a great admirer of Asta Nielsen. When the famous actor Hermann Gschwindner dies shortly before the end of his film, the director is looking for a double for the final scenes and discovers Otto in the movie theater, who has just been moved by Asta again. Otto takes on the task. He also places a marriage advertisement looking for a woman who resembles Asta. The first date with Astrid, who does indeed look like Asta, is a flop. Otto falls asleep. He tries again with her - as Hermann Gschwindner - and is successful. He is recognized in a hotel bar and asked to perform a song. Everyone, including Astrid, is entranced. After a few complications, his real identity is revealed - Astrid had also done a lot of work to look like Asta.

Ewald Honig can't break his bad habit. Hardly has he crossed over into the GDR when the strapping, well-built man in his late fifties once again starts courting ladies with fraudulent intentions. His daughter Ina, burdened with the same genes, specializes in married men in their prime. Two criminologists are on the Honigs' trail, but they soon have enough to handle just dealing with each other. Meanwhile, Honig and his daughter have left their wayward path of their own accord.

Benno (Torsten Rennert), a bright boy from Berlin, is not really a problem case, although his parents have enough trouble with him. But that's not just because of Benno, but because no one really has time for him. During a train ride, he meets a pensioner Oskar Schrader (Erwin Geschonneck), who likes to cook, collect watches, master magic tricks and who lives in the middle of nature. Between them they develop a real friendship. Benno is allowed to spend his school holidays with his friend. The grumpy Oskar lives alone in a garden colony - with friendly and unfriendly neighbors. Benno enjoys playing tricks with his buddy Mutz (Thomas Hoffer) on this neighborhood including the cranky animal lover Irma Kalweit (Agnes Krause) and the rude daredevil Ralf Klotz (Henry Hübchen).

In 1960, farmer Walter Wagemühl learns from the West that his life is coming to an end. In order to pass the farm into loyal hands, he sends his adopted daughter Catharina to the East to marry his prudent nephew Ewald. The surprising request puts him in a huge quandary. He is about to take his final exams and the university officials have earmarked an academic career for him. But Ewald wants nothing more than to become chairman of the socialist cooperative in Hullerbusch. And now this too...

A young man and woman meet on a bridge, both about to commit suicide by jumping into the river, and recount to each other their experiences.

Polizeiruf 110 is a long-running German language detective television series. The first episode was broadcast 27 June 1971 in the German Democratic Republic, and after the dissolution of Fernsehen der DDR the series was picked up by ARD. It was originally created as a counterpart to the West German series Tatort, and quickly became a public favorite.

As a German soldier in the 6th Army, Colonel Joachim Ebershagen is trapped in the Stalingrad cauldron. His experiences cause him to begin to doubt the meaning of the war. He is flown out as a wounded soldier on one of the last planes. Back home, he becomes commander of Greifswald. Towards the end of the war, he surrendered the city to the Soviet army without a fight on April 30, 1945. The death sentence pronounced by a court martial is not carried out.

Prague 1913: The family of newspaper publisher Alexander Reither, traditionally reunited for a New Year’s dinner, moves along convoluted and secretive paths in everyday life. Granddaughter Wally is impressed by the opaque businessman Marko Gelusich. Her cousin Adrienne meets the young socialist Joseph Prokop at an illegal anarchist meeting. On a business trip to Vienna, Alexander Reither falls in love with Irene v. Claudi. Adrienne wants to move completely into Joseph Prokop’s proletarian world, but her mother Kalivoda makes her a painful announcement. Joseph already has a girl. Alexander finds Irene v. Claudi in Budapest. They spend happy days in Vienna. In Prague, the printing workers go on strike. Adrienne fights alongside the workers and Robert Kalivoda. She experiences class struggle with her cousin Guido Frank. Alexander tries to introduce Irene to the family.

A German couple start a silent campaign against Hitler's dictatorial reign after the loss of their only son at the front.