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4 DVD SET: DIE DDR RUFT - EAST GERMAN NEWSREELS (1946 - 1990)

IF ORDERED IN PLASTIC CASES, THE ENTIRE COLLECTION COMES IN ONE CASE, WHICH HOLDS MULTIPLE DVDs:

 

DIE DDR RUFT - EAST GERMAN NEWSREELS (1946 - 1990)

Our 4 DVD set contains a variety of newsreels from the former German Democratic Republic covering diverse events in East Germany from its beginnings in the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany (SBZ) in 1946 til the dissolution of the DDR in 1990.  The contents are as follows:

PART I  (1946 - 1950)  (135 min.):


The Merging of  the Communist and Socialist Parties in the East Zone: 
19 minute film from 1946 about the merging of the KPD and the SPD into one party (the SED) in 1946 in the Eastern Zone of occupied Germany.  Wonderful footage of the wartime ruins, especially in Dresden, and a thoughtful insight into the conditions in the Soviet zone, unintentionally revealed by the East German cameramen;

The Reconstruction in the Soviet Zone:  54 minute montage of four films from 1946 (Berlin baut auf; Potsdam baut auf; Leipziger Messe; Dresden) document the rebuilding of the SBZ in 1946.  The films show the struggle of Germans on both sides of the sector borders working to rebuild their homeland into a viable and livable state from the misery and ruins of a defeated and completely crushed Germany;

Freie Deutsche Jugend Are Always Prepared:
  This 62 minute, color film documents the first Festspiel of the Freie Deutsche Jugend, the Communist equivalent of the HJ and BDM,  Filmed in the summer of 1950, this film shows the determination of East Germany's youth to create and lead a new Germany into a secure and communist future.  Lots of period music, marches, parades, sports events.

PART II  (1950 - 1953)  (133 mins.):

The One Year Anniversary of the Founding of the DDR:
81 minute film for the first anniversary of the DDR, tracing the economic and cultural development of the Soviet Zone from 1945 to 1950.  Covered are the years of chaos and misery during the first postwar years, the joining of the KPD and the SPD into one party, the rebuilding of the eastern zone and much more.  In contrast, the misery of the western zones is portrayed as it really looked like behind the facade of a "democratically ruled" unit;

East German Pioneer Youth Show the Way: 
52 minute film about the activities of the Freie Deutsche Jugend (FDJ) in the re-education and rebuilding of the new German youth in the East, concluding with a mass meeting of the organization in Dresden;

PART III (1953 - 1962)  (149 mins.):

Our Leader in Socialism - Walter Ulbricht:  74 minute film from 1953 produced for the 60th birthday of Walter Ulbricht.  The film shows Walter Ulbricht the private man, the ruler and the father.  Due to the political changes in the year of its making, the film was put into archival storage before it could even be shown to the public.  It found its first showing in 1997 in Berlin;

Our President, Wilhelm Pieck:  75 minute film put out in 1962 for the 75th birthday of the first president of the DDR, Wilhelm Pieck;

PART IV  (1962 - 1990)  (176 mins.):


West Berlin as seen through East German Eyes:
  80 minute film from 1962 shows the need to close the borders with West Berlin and West Germany because of the instigations, provocations and espionage emanating from those "over there" and their allies in the West.  Put out fairly shortly after the erection of the Berlin Wall;

The Wall:  96 minute film from 1990 depicts the fall of the wall and the end of the DDR.

TOTAL TIME:  593 mins. (almost 10 hours).  Region Free  (can play in any DVD player).

IN GERMAN WITH NO SUBTITLES.