... then they are still alive today - the end of the neverending story

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In 2007, the last two parts (parts 3 and 4 of the graduation film) of the Kinder von Golzow saga by director Winfried Junge were published with ... Then They Still Live Today - The End of the Neverending Story .

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The third part is about the unemployed business clerk Elke Telemann in Golzow, the geriatric nurse Karin Howald in Wuppertal, the first teacher of the class, Marlies Teike, in Letschin and the former mayor of Genschmar, Gudrun Klitzke, and her father Arthur Klitzke, the long-term LPG - Chairman of Golzow. The fourth part is about Bernhard Gutejahn and Eckhard Hoppe, who were very similar in their youth. Therefore, the stylistic device of the double portrait was used in this film.

Elke Telemann

As a child you can see Elke u. a. when meeting Soviet children, issuing ID cards and taking the final exams in 10th grade. She only took part in the youth consecration of her classmates as a guest because her aunt, with whom she lived, insisted on confirmation . At the age of 20 she was married to Reinhard Hinkelmann and had a daughter. She studied agricultural engineering and economics in Beelitz and then worked as a wage clerk in the LPG animal production Alt Tucheband . After she became unemployed at the age of 40, she got an ABM position in the museum of the “Children of Golzow” for two years . Meanwhile divorced, Elke lived in 2004 with Gerd, a trained locksmith who had worked in a civil engineering company and is also unemployed. Elke's daughter Kati lives in Munich and works there as an office communications clerk . Kati is celebrating her 30th birthday in Golzow together with Elke and her family. Elke's younger son Kai works as a farmer .

Karin Howolt (née Sonnack)

Karin comes from a new farmer family and is one of eight siblings. This means that she has the most siblings of all classmates. One sees Karin u. a. during a company tour, during swimming lessons, when (not) singing the national anthem and when visiting the Sachsenhausen concentration camp . Like many of her classmates, she leaves school after the 8th grade and is learning to be a skilled worker for poultry farming in Spreenhagen . In 1979 she moved to Fischbeck with her husband Hans-Joachim Howolt because they were given an apartment there, and had a daughter named Doreen. Karin works in boar breeding . The film shows them donating sperm from boars to an " artificial sow " and during a festive demonstration of breeding boars. Her husband is initially still in training and later works as an electrical signal mechanic for the railway . Because he started drinking while he was in the army, Karin got divorced after three years of marriage . In 2004 she lives in Wuppertal and after three years at Aldi, she worked for the second time as an unskilled everyday carer in a nursing home . Her daughter Doreen lives in Frankfurt am Main and is married to a Turk . Karin is celebrating her 50th birthday with her Italian partner Giuseppe, a sister, her daughter and their sons. Later Karin and Giuseppe split up, she changed jobs and left Wuppertal again. "Everything flows," comments the film.

Marlies Teike (née Krell)

Marlies was the first teacher in the class. She practiced the letter “A” with the children, but occasionally had to look into her lesson preparation. In 1991 she became headmistress in Letschin . It explains the meantime made changes in the way the education of children. The film also shows her at the age of 61 doing internships in a first class.

Gudrun and Arthur Klitzke

The viewer learns through numerous interviews that Gudrun was an exemplary, committed and reliable student at school. She became involved as a pioneer in school from an early age. At the age of 20 Gudrun was a trained cook and member of the SED, but a few years later she was drawn into politics. She became head of political science in the Chamber of Deputies. In 1983 Gudrun attended an annual course at the party school in Frankfurt an der Oder. In the same year Gudrun was interviewed and asked about her political views. In conformity with the party, she replied that people should reflect on Marx, Engels and Lenin and apply the principles.

After the course she was introduced to Genschmar as mayor. Many film scenes show the everyday life of their mayor's life.

A topic that was addressed particularly frequently in the interviews is the problem that Gudrun was successful in politics and in public, but that success in private life failed to materialize.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Gudrun was shown as a disappointed person who had lost faith in the system. However, she was still a member of a socialist party, the PDS .

In 1991, at Gudrun's request, filming was stopped. Arthur Klitzke (* 1925; † 2008), the LPG chairman and Gudrun's father, is also the subject of the film. Scenes illustrate how technical progress was progressing in the GDR's largest agricultural operation.

The father-daughter relationship was also addressed. It was not always easy for Gudrun to assert himself as the daughter of the LPG chairman. After the fall of the Wall, Arthur Klitzke's retirement and the election of a new chairman were documented. The last film sequences about Arthur Klitzke were also from 1991.

Bernhard Guderjahn and Eckhard Hoppe

At the same time, the film reports on the lives of the two Golzowers in chronological order. Both Bernhard and Eckhard were considered cautious and were therefore more camera shy. After completing the 10th grade, both of them train to be agricultural machinists. Neither of them are drawn into the distance, but Bernhard and Eckhard develop differently in Golzow from now on. While Eckhard pursued his life plan marriage, children, house and farm from an early age, Bernhard long looked for a goal in life. He too becomes the father of Doreen early (1979), but does not move in with his mother Rita, who works as a commercial clerk in an LPG animal production facility, but stays in Golzow .

After the turn

The fall of the Berlin Wall is a decisive event for both of them. The film is initially based on Bernhard, who received a boost from the political change . He left home, lived alone for a short time and soon moved in with his new partner Ines Bartelt, who is a qualified gardener. He keeps his job in the LPG , which is now being converted into Landwirtschaft Golzow Betriebs-GmbH . From 1993, Bernhard agreed to travel to Ukraine several times a year to work in a former collective farm that was a joint venture with the Golzowers. Bernhard is described as hardworking and reliable. Eckhard is not as lucky as his friend after reunification. By the time he turned 50, he had already been unemployed for two years. Although he was initially employed in various companies thanks to his numerous manual skills, he could not prevent this in the end. Towards the end of the film, Eckhard seems increasingly frustrated.

Others

In addition to the résumés of the two Golzowers, the film offers an interesting insight into agriculture in the GDR and the problems that arose after the fall of the Wall. Manfred Grosskopf, the managing director of the GmbH founded by Golzower LPG, explains the goals and problems of his company in a chapter dedicated to this purpose. Junge also tries to illuminate the background for the development of the two main characters and to explain it to the viewer. Bernhard and Eckhard are also questioned in detail about their political attitudes and their attitude towards the fall of the Berlin Wall.

literature

  • Junge, Barbara and Winfried: CVs - The children of Golzow - pictures, documents, memories. Schüren Verlag GmbH 2004.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Interview with Gudrun Klitzke ( Memento from July 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive )