Joop Huisken

Frauen von Ravensbrück

East German documentary about the Ravensbrück concentration camp.

Frauen von Ravensbrück

East German documentary about the Ravensbrück concentration camp.

Arnold Zweig

A short biography of Arnold Zweig, through the lens of East Germany state media.

Arnold Zweig

A short biography of Arnold Zweig, through the lens of East Germany state media.

Song of the Rivers

An allegorical documentary about the workers of the world, whose common destinies and hopes for peace are symbolically united by the rivers that run through their respective lands. The film was shot on the Volga, the Mississippi, the Nile, the Yangtze, the Amazon and the Ganges and combines these images of five continents with the music of Dmitri Shostakovich and the poetry of both Bertolt Brecht and Paul Robeson.

1952 - Das entscheidende Jahr

Presentation of the economic upswing in the GDR, emphasizing the discovery of the process for the production of high-temperature lignite coke and the commissioning of the Lauchhammer large-scale coking plant.

Friendship Triumphs

Film about the third 'Weltfestspiele der Jugend und Studenten für den Frieden' in East Berlin, 1951. West Germany is represented as a degenerate country which has been occupied by the Americans and is still inclined to fascism. We see the construction of the stadium, the departure and arrival of the delegations, the opening and closing by Enrico Berlinguer, a sports event, the parade of the delegations, a visit to Potsdam, folk dancing, and police violence against youngsters from West Berlin who want to visit East Germany because of the games. The film is interlaced with shots from the Korean War and a parade by NATO-troops in West Germany. Featuring Robert Montgomery, Konrad Adenauer, Wilhelm Pieck, Dwight Eisenhower, Robert Leer and Erich Honecker. The crew comprised no less than 24 cameramen. This project was the first great colour film Ivens co-operated in.

Potsdam Builds Up

Documenting the rebuilding of Potsdam one year after the war under Soviet supervision.

Potsdam Builds Up

Documenting the rebuilding of Potsdam one year after the war under Soviet supervision.

Potsdam Builds Up

Documenting the rebuilding of Potsdam one year after the war under Soviet supervision.

Unity SPD – KPD

Documentary about the merging of the Communist Party of Germany and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany in the Soviet occupation zone, a merger that would lead to the creation of the Socialist Unity Party that would rule the soon-to-be-created East Germany until 1989.