Red Republic

Chronicles the odyssey of a gay musician in Nazi Germany. Director Klaus Stanjek's cheerful Uncle Willi lived with his family, except when he was touring as a musician across Germany. Only when Willi turned 90 did his nephew Klaus Stanjek detect what his whole family had hidden: that Uncle Willi has spent eight years in Nazi camps and that he was gay. In a radical personal approach, veteran filmmaker Stanjek follows the complex turns that his family takes when they confront his Uncle Willi's secret. The result is a personal and political portrait of his beloved uncle, a talented singer and accordion player, that is one part historical inquiry and one part fascinating detective story.

Short film by Dagmar Knöpfel.