Germany game
Deutschlandspiel is a two-part German television film from 2000 . The docu-drama was created for ZDF with the editorial assistance of Guido Knopp and tells the story of German reunification . In addition to game scenes, the main protagonists of the reunification and other contemporary witnesses have their say in interviews. The game scenes are also supported by original documents.
Alexander von Plato , the project's scientific advisor, published the book Die Vereinigung Deutschlands - a global political power game: Bush, Kohl, Gorbachev and the secret Moscow Protocols in 2002 - based partly on the work and interviews for 'Deutschlandspiel' .
action
On the street (1st part)
The film begins with the 40th anniversary of the GDR in October 1989. Gorbatschow travels to the GDR and finds a nervous Erich Honecker who reacts insulted to the "Gorbi" calls and blocks any political change. The first part tells of the beginning of the Monday demonstrations in Leipzig and looks behind the scenes of the GDR power apparatus, which is undecided as to whether to stop the peaceful demonstrations by force or just observe them. The hardliners in the Politburo of the SED Central Committee suddenly see themselves in the minority. Eventually Honecker was replaced and Egon Krenz became his successor. The situation in the GDR and Gorbachev's reactions to the change are observed and commented on by the Soviet embassy in East Berlin and its envoy Igor Maximytschew . The first part ends with Günter Schabowski's incorrect report about the freedom of movement of GDR citizens and the opening of the Wall on November 9, 1989.
Urgent Fatherland (2nd part)
The second part begins with Helmut Kohl's hasty departure from Warsaw to be in Berlin on November 10, 1989 . The whole world was surprised by what happened on the night of November 9th and 10th. Krenz had tried to reach Gorbachev during the night, but the general secretary of the CPSU was not woken up and is outraged the next day. The GDR decided to open the border without consulting the Soviet Union, thereby disregarding the interests of the Soviet Union in Berlin. But Gorbachev did not follow up on his indignation. The Soviet rulers are very quickly aware that the GDR will be lost as an area of influence for the Soviet Union. The Soviet government advisor Nikolai Portugalow mentioned the possibility of reunification for the first time in a conversation with the German government advisor Horst Teltschik . The Soviet representatives spoke of it before the German government could even grasp the idea. After that the train rolls faster and faster in the direction of reunification. The French President François Mitterrand and the British Prime Minister Thatcher try to stop this train, but find no partners in the Americans under President Bush and his adviser Condoleezza Rice . The first free elections in the GDR took place in March 1990, ending with the victory of the CDU under Lothar de Maizière . The people of the GDR have thus given their vote for reunification. The only obstacle is international alliance policy. When Gorbachev finally explains to George Bush that it is up to the Germans to decide which alliance they want to belong to, the way to reunification is free. The film ends with the fireworks at the Brandenburg Gate on the day of reunification , October 3, 1990.
Reviews
"A montage of game scenes, documentary material and statements from prominent decision-makers, which reflects the reunification process, which only lasted one year."
"Director Blumenberg condenses his chronicle of the fall of the Berlin Wall into an entertaining political thriller [...] He mixes documentary material and interviews with contemporary witnesses with excellently cast scenes from the game."
Web links
- Deutschlandspiel in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Germany game at filmportal.de
- Germany game at the production company Cinecentrum
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alexander von Plato: The unification of Germany - a world political power game. Links, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-86153-269-7 .
- ↑ Germany game. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ tv-spielfilm.de: Film criticism Deutschlandspiel (1 + 2). accessed on January 29, 2014.