Coal: The Dawn of a New Era

For the 1994 World Cup, Germany entered as the favorite and defending champion, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Internal conflicts, media campaigns, and public criticism of coach Berti Vogts led the so-called "eleven friends" – players like Lothar Matthäus, Jürgen Klinsmann, Stefan Effenberg, Bodo Illgner, and Matthias Sammer – to maneuver themselves into a collective nightmare within just a few weeks. This documentary takes a behind-the-scenes look at Germany’s memorable World Cup and shows how one of the strongest German teams of all time spectacularly failed.

It is a horror scenario that unfolds on September 5, 1972, in the Olympic Village in Munich. Eight Palestinian terrorists sneak into the Israeli team’s quarters, kill two Israelis, and take nine others hostage. The German security forces are completely unprepared for such a crisis situation. When, after tough negotiations, the terrorists and their hostages are to be flown out, the police prepare a rescue operation at the Fürstenfeldbruck military airport. But that is when disaster strikes.

The Battle of Stalingrad, which cost the lives of at least a million German soldiers, Red Army troops and Soviet civilians, was the bloodiest of the decisive battles in the "war of extermination" which Hitler had unleashed. This three-part documentary, employing previously unreleased film footage and brutally frank statements from survivors on both sides, explains exactly how the catastrophe came about and describes the gruesome consequences of the battle for the soldiers and the inhabitants of the city.

Six million Jews died during World War II, both in the extermination camps and murdered by the mobile commandos of the Einsatzgruppen and police battalions, whose members shot men, women and children, day after day, obediently, as if it were a normal job, a fact that is hardly known today. Who were these men and how could they commit such crimes?

Documentary tells the story of the book and shows what impact its racist and ultra-nationalist content has on us today, where arson attacks, right-wing riots and hate comments against asylum seekers are the order of the day.

A review of German football player Toni Kroos's recent career, including his time at FC Bayern Munich and Real Madrid as well as his participation in the FIFA World Cups 2014 and 2018.

Hard to imagine, but true: According to current estimates, out of 500,000 active male football professionals worldwide, under ten (10) are openly homosexual. While homosexuality hardly plays a role in other areas of life today, the topic seems to be completely taboo in professional football. The feature-length documentary THE LAST TABOO lets those who broke exactly this taboo tell their very personal stories alongside Thomas Hitzlsperger. Like the British professional footballer Justin Fashanu (*1961 in London; † 1998 in London), who broke this taboo for the first time in 1990 and paid for it with his life. His niece Amal tells his story. Marcus Urban, on the other hand, was about to make the jump to the Bundesliga as a teenager and, by deciding to come out, he also went against his big dream. The stories of the US professional Collin Martin and the British player-coach Matt Morton, on the other hand, suggest that normality is not far away.

With the final shift at the Prosper Haniel coal mine in Bottrop in December, an era comes to an end: the age of Western European coal mining. *DIE STEINKOHLE* brings to life the challenges people have had to overcome over the past 250 years in extracting “black gold.” And it shows, in a moving and surprising way, how German and European history are reflected in coal mining.

Wolfgang Joop and his daughter Jette are among Germany’s most prominent designers. Both regularly make headlines. Wolfgang: the eternal boy, the “child prodigy,” the fashion genius, the artist. No matter what he does, he fascinates and polarizes in equal measure. Jette leverages her name in the marketplace with business acumen and shrewd calculation. She makes millions with her designs, whether in jewelry, fashion, or simply home goods. On the red carpet, she presents herself as a femme fatale to strengthen her brand. “The public eye is my destiny,” she says. Father and daughter—two strong personalities who constantly clash. Yet they are united by their creativity and the daring to constantly reinvent themselves. The future will show whether the Joops will remain a design dynasty, whether the legacy will continue into the third generation—and whether father and daughter can finally make peace.

In the run-up to the 2024 European Soccer Championship in Germany, “Soccer Miracle: From Bern to Berlin” offers an extraordinary, deeply emotional look at the evolution of the DFB national team—from the postwar era to the present day.

The Aldi Story—Karl and Theo Albrecht Theo and Karl Albrecht are the most mysterious figures in the Federal Republic of Germany. They built a global business empire, amassed a fortune worth billions, and became the richest Germans. When Theo Albrecht died in 2010 and his brother Karl in 2014, they had turned a small corner store—which they took over from their mother in 1946—into a chain with 4,300 stores in Germany. The company sets the prices for our staple foods; moreover, the brothers have influenced our food culture and shaped our mindset.

It is the fashion retailer that has shaped the lifestyle of millions of Germans over decades like no other. With 456 stores, it can be found in every major city in Germany, and 98 percent of Germans are familiar with the brand: C&A. Yet very few people know that behind this success lies a large family: the Brenninkmeyer family. With an estimated fortune of more than 25 billion euros, they rank among the wealthiest families in Europe. Yet the public knows almost nothing about this family of entrepreneurs.

The numbers speak for themselves: One in seven jobs in Germany depends directly or indirectly on the automotive industry; without it, our economy would be very different. Full employment, just ten years after World War II, would have been almost unimaginable without the boom in this industry. And the Volkswagen Group remains at the heart of this key industry to this day: approximately 600,000 employees, 200 billion euros in revenue, and 120 factories. VW is the world’s largest automaker.

How did New Year's Eve change Germany? Parts of the press are making a U-turn and heralding the end of the welcome culture. The German government is also realigning its refugee policy. At the same time, refugees in Germany are increasingly experiencing xenophobia. But there are still people who remain unimpressed in their humanism despite these events - that gives hope.