"This film must begin seriously." "This doesn't mean it's only serious right from the start." "APRIL 16, 1945" "There once was a war." "It crossed the river twice." "first towards Moscow, then back, completely transformed, bringing liberation and peace with it." "The war isn't a legend." "There are pictures and figures." "1,236,000 bullets used on the first day of the offensive." "They still counted them back then." "That's how peace came." "30,000 Soviet soldiers didn't live to see it." "Neither did countless Germans." "The place they fell is called Oderbruch." "This river has been a peaceful border for 35 years." "The Oder." "The bridges of Küstrin." "Houses in Podelzig." "People in Oderbruch." "Peace had trouble here and emergency." "The liberated had to bring it back to life." "Their fields were mine fields and their houses in ruins, but his children were alive." "Then the war-damaged dykes burst." "A DEFA DOCUMENTARY FILM" "The new farmers." "Their children grew up here and had children themselves." "Their fathers' and grandfathers' war was just history to them." "This film tells their story." "SPARE NO CHARM AND SPARE NO PASSION" "THE STORY OF THE CHILDREN OF GOLZOW A CHRONICLE" "REPORTED BY WINIFRIED JUNGE AND HANS-EBERHARD LEUPOLD" "AND NARRATED BY UWE KANT" "This is how man lives among us." "The country is called the German Democratic Republic, abbreviated GDR." "The region is Frankfurt (Oder)." "The district is Seelow." "The municipality is Golzow." "From above, Golzow is nicely laid out." "Down there, its beauty is solid." "An old picture, perhaps from a balloon." "Its first teacher, cantor and historian said in 1 887," ""Golzow lies at 52.5 degrees north and 32.25 degrees east in the so-called Oder marsh"" "and covers an area of 1 2 square miles stretching from Podelzig to Oderberg on the left bank of the Oder. "" "The original residents of Oderbruch were the Wends." "The crowded houses were made strong by walls made of cow dung on which they grew pumpkins to protect them from the water." "Because the area was often affected by serious floods, it was very unsafe land." "Until Frederick ll began a vigorous, peaceful campaign to create a new province by draining the Oder marsh." "He himself said that it hadn't cost a single soldier." "The village of Golzow, previously called Golze, got its name from either GoIzow meaning "spinster"" "or it's from the word GoIoz meaning "bee"." "The village has a regular layout." "The church is in the centre." "The tower was octagonal and made of wood with a zinc roof." "The area around the church is also octagonal." "There weren't any battles near here." "Unmistakeable Elke." "When she and the others were born, their peace was ten years old, their country six and their agricultural production cooperative three." "These pictures from Golzow family albums are over 20 years old." "The times were still new and raw." "But the children survived." "Back then, there was half a fridge and half a washing machine per 1 00 households." "There are no statistics on the number of hobby-horses." "However, we do know that the horses in Golzow gradually conceded horsepower to iron." "Golzow, 1 979." "Their peace is now 35, their country over 30, their agricultural production cooperative almost 30." "Per 1 00 households, there are now 1 00 fridges and 1 00 washing machines." "Hobby-horses are now extinct." "There are dozens of homes." "Sigmund Jähn from Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz has been in space." "But let's start back then." "Someone's looking at us from back in time." "SOME DAY, WHEN I GO TO SCHOOL..." "What kind of man will this little boy become?" "Funny thought, being able to see a whole life." "A second life, a third," "a tenth." "This makes it possible." "Are you already excited about school?" "Yes!" "The children from the photo album are six and starting school." "She's their first teacher." "Who packed their satchels?" "Me!" "Seeing a whole life at once." "Faces in the flow of time aren't numbered, they're all different." "You have to recognize them." "When it's time for school for me I will learn my ABC I'll learn to read there too" "E and O and I and U" "How does it continue?" "Once I've learnt to count real well l'll start adding up as well" "One plus one is always two" "Two plus one is three mind you I can't wait for school and so" "Rucksack on, it's time to go" "Watch me proudly every day" "As I go to school, hoorayl" "IN AUGUST 1961 , JUST DAYS AFTER THE GDR SEALED ITS BORDER WITH WEST BERLIN" "THE DEFA DOCUMENTARY FILM STUDIO BEGAN ITS CHRONICLE OF A SCHOOL CLASS" "SIX FILMS HAVE SINCE BEEN PRODUCED:" "'SOME DAY, WHEN I GO TO SCHOOL', 1961 , 'ONE YEAR LATER', 1962," "'ELEVEN YEARS OLD', 1966, 'WHEN YOU'RE 1 4', 1969," "'THE EXAM', 197 1 , 'I TALKED TO A GIRL', 1975." "USING CLIPS FROM THESE FILMS AND MANY HOURS OF UNSEEN MATERIAL," "WE ARE ATTEMPTING TO MAKE A SUMMARY OF THE GROUP'S STORY." "THIS CHRONICLE COVERS NEARLY 20 YEARS IN 100 MINUTES" "AND SHOWS HOW PEOPLE GREW UP, ARE AMONG US, AND ARE 25 YEARS OLD." "IT'S SEPTEMBER 1 , 1961 ." "WORLD PEACE DAY." "How secure was peace in 1 961?" "The narrator of the short film made back then said," ""On a day like this, we think of bigger things." "School is starting for these children and their young teacher." "Their school is in Golzow, a small village in the Oderbruch. "" "They enter without complaining, but how will they come out?" ""Learning is fun. " But forever?" "Please stand up." "Who emptied their school cone first?" "Everyone away from your desks." "Who will get fed up first?" "Everyone look at me." "On the first day of school, everyone has the same springboard." "How far will each individual fly?" "So children... llona." "A name to the face." "Everyone look ahead." "Ten little jumping jacks" "Jumping to and fro" "Ten little jumping jacks lt's easy, just like so" "Ten little jumping jacks" "Jumping up and down" "Ten little jumping jacks" "Repeat this round and round" "Ten little jumping jacks Playing peek-a-boo" "Ten little jumping jacks Go hide behind you" "This is why we want to add a ribbon." "Who knows what this is?" "They knew what it was." "Jürgen?" "A?" "Yes, so we've learnt our first letter." "Let's all say A loudly." "A!" "Not all mixed up." "A." "Once together now." "A!" "really loud now." "A!" "Start at the beginning of the line." "Memorizing a letter." "Jürgen, don't peek." "This is Jürgen." "Jürgen and the three-letter animal." "Time moves on." "The letter A reveals itself as the beginning of an entire alphabet." "The ten little jumping jacks all find something to do." "This is their work, how they wrestle with their first A." "25 more letters follow." "The first word, the first sentence, the first numbers." "They do their duty, have their plans, help each other." "It won't take long before they're standing among us." "Citizens of the German Democratic Republic." "ONE YEAR LATER - BEGINNING OF JULY 1962" "We learn, we play..." "Then..." "Then we play..." "You have to finish what you start." "The camera and microphone return." "This is great." "The first annual reports are to be given out." "The parents want to watch." "It might be and should be nice." "Gitti, look!" "Gitti!" "Gitti, look, it's fine." "It's a red aeroplane." "Petra remembers." "LEARNING IS FUN" "Look, they're here." "hello." "hello." "We welcome our parents with the socialist Pioneer salute." "Be ready!" "always ready!" "Sit down." "You'II now receive your reports." "Jochen is going into the second year." "1 961 is over." "The teacher has mastered her first school year." "Titov followed Gagarin into space." "The Cuban counter-revolution failed at the Bay of Pigs." "The energy systems of the GDR, Czechoslovakia," "Poland and Hungary are connected." "The GDR suffers a bad harvest." "Arthur Klitzke, the chairman of the Golzow Agricultural Cooperative, joins the Party." "Most of the children pass into the second year." "Algeria, Rwanda and Burundi are freed on the same day." "It's Saturday." "How the sun smiles at us" "Down from the sky Down from the sky" "How the sun smiles at us" "Down from the sky All day long" "The flowers in the garden Will soon bloom" "Some red and some yellow Some red and some yellow" "The flowers in the garden Will soon bloom" "Some red and some yellow All day long" "SCHOOL" " IT'S NOT JUST THE FOUR WALLS OF THE CLASSROOM" "Someone's making time for the children." "'Horse' starts with an H." "You can see one and touch it." "Cabbage is a more important word in Golzow." "At the time of filming, the work unit is worth ten marks." "Strong farmer Klitzke was voted the new chairman when it was 2.92 marks." "Flying has also developed." "Look!" "It's coming back!" "Some laughed at the Golzow high flyer." "The Golzowers laughed too." "This thing has a futurel it's even in this book." ""We're building our cooperative farm."" "Elke reads it aloud." "We are stronger together, arm in arm." "We harvest more." "That's really nice." "Let me in!" "Now you." "B..." "B..." "G..." "G..." "Generator." "Even the hardest words are just made up of letters." "I'II stand here." "I can see from here." "fly!" "fly!" "fly!" "He's dusting!" "This is an aeroplane." "It flies in the sky." "This is the wing." "And this..." "This is Dieter and Miss GreII." "I still have to draw the GDR flag." "I'II make the trees green and brown." "And then..." "I don't know which colour I'II use." "This is the school, where the children look out and see an aeroplane." "Where are they looking out, ilona?" "Are they?" "I can't see them looking out." "This is how they make discoveries." "The poultry ladies are now supposed to incubate the ducks in a cupboard." "I can see it." "I can see that it's alive." "It has a crooked head, though." "Can you hear it?" "It moves a Iot, doesn't it?" "Look at this one." "It's really heavy." "Yes, heavy and warm, isn't it?" "Look at it!" "Stop laughing!" "If you ever get a crooked head, we'II laugh at you." "What's this one?" "It's also a duck." "Chicks require an amazing amount of energy to crack open their eggs." "They want to stand on their own." "You're daydreaming again." "Finished." "Another one." "Fifty." "The source of the saying "You can count it on ten fingers. "" "Jürgen FröhIich, collect the workbooks." "Give it here!" "No!" "Give it back." "Man, I can't work this out." "You can do everything." "You can work it out." "Did you work it out?" "No, no." "Difficulty with borrowed authority." "Don't just write in mistakes." "Come on." "Someone's still writing at the back." "Let go!" "elke!" "I've not finished!" "Wait a minute." "Let go of it." "I have the results from the sums you did." "Two children got an A." "Nine children got a B." "Nine got a C. One got a D." "And one got an E." "First, I have Jochen's workbook." "Jochen got a D." "Work has consequences." "Brigitte, you disappointed me." "You made eight mistakes." "You get a C." "What about handwriting?" "You got a B for handwriting." "Very good." "Jürgen is writing a note about Jochen." "That must be EIke." "Jochen." "What's this?" "Open it." "Watch out." "Jürgen FröhIich, look at your own paper." "Didn't he get an E?" "Show me!" "Names are put to faces." "If you get a thousand Es, you have to leave school." "JANUARY 1966 - NOW THEY ARE 1 1 YEARS OLD" "A lot of snow has fallen this winter." "With a certain meteorological right." "The press has criticized it." "The children throw it." "You have to film our snowball fight." "Not my head!" "You have to show the girls putting snow in our collars during the snowball fight." "well, when people fight outside, when we want to separate them, we have to do the same thing." "well, you have to take a look in Winfried JercheI's rucksack." "He always has headphones and other crazy things in there." "well, Brigitte, she..." "She rarely offers an answer." "Petra plays during lessons too." "So why does she play?" "I don't know." "well, sometimes it's really boring, the same things over and over." "Then we are the guilty ones." "Eleven years old, Petra and Christian." "The sexes separate and become closer because of this." "We have to show life in Year 5 for the film." "Like, what we do at school, how we behave." "If we're naughty or good." "And, well, that would just be, be favour." "well now then class, that'II be enough of that." "Sit down." "Mr TempIin, class 5A reports to class." "Thank you." "A Greek myth." "Listen carefully." ""Heaven and Earth were created." "The sea lapped at its banks and the fish played in it." "The birds gathered in the air and the land was alive with animals." "But still one creature was missing that could rule the world." "Prometheus entered the world." "He was clever and ingenious and saw what was missing from Earth."" "The creature needed to rule the world." "How do you explain that?" "I guess by creature, it could mean humans." "Christian, what do you think?" "Why must it be humans?" "It says a "creature was still missing that could rule the world."" "well, humans can..." "They can work and animals can't." "Someone has to decide who has to do what." "Like they do it in the rainforest." "They have to teach the elephants to clear away the tree trunks too." "Yes, willy?" "Can I leave?" "Leave?" "His name is Willy." "Like I said, Willy." "In 1 946, the Seelow district newspaper reported on the celebratory delivery of three ploughs to three new farms from one district authority." "This plough was made by the agricultural cooperative in 1 966." "It was called the Big One." "Now the Golzowers enjoy even deeper furrows." "With the big one. 40 centimetres into the heavy cracked earth." "The creature to rule." "You have to film." "This scene is posed." "The shop assistant is playing along." "A student and a director." "Bernd's father is the director of 1 00 hectares of a cooperative farm." "Elke and Elke's mother." "The daily bread comes from the bakery in Golzow." "Marieluise's father, who is a milker." "He keeps up the faith even if the Golzow bells hang lower since the Nazis blew up the church steeple in 1 945." "The War crossed the river twice." "This house was on the path." "In 1 966, it's on the path to everywhere in the world." "Well..." "They had bombs." "They cowardly threw them down from up above to destroy everything and then they..." "Then they showed how many children they had shot." "They were all lying in..." "A sort of grave." "They put them all in graves." "They shot and murdered thousands of children." "They wanted to conquer the country, so they made war." "I want to know why they make war." "Why can't there be peace?" "The simple question of 1 1-year-old Ilona." "Eleven years old." "The world is bigger if the legs grow longer." "At the time, the GDR applied to join the United Nations." ""Spare no charm and spare no passion" "Labour or intelligence" "That a decent German nation" "Flourish as do other lands" "That the people give up flinching" "At the crimes we do evoke" "And hold out there hand in friendship" "As they do to other folk" "And because we'II make it better" "Let us guard and love our home" "Love it as our dearest country" "As the others love their own."" "AII together." "Spare no charm and spare no passion" "Labour or intelligence" "That a decent German nation" "The song from a good teacher." "No one has ever forgotten this one." "He teaches them more than just good tone." "He founded the collective art of choral singing based on the ability and encouragement of each individual." "As they do to other folk" "As they do to other folk" "Just a second." "Let's take you." "Let's pay attention." "Perhaps we can even add a girl." "Now you sing and the others will listen." "Spare no..." "Pay attention to your mouth." "Okay." "Spare no charm and spare no passion" "Labour or intelligence" "That a decent German nation" "Flourish as do other lands" "AII together!" "That the people give up flinching" "At the crimes which we evoke" "And hold out their hand in friendship" "As they do to other folk" "What do you think we need to build our republic?" "Dieter?" "You raised your hand." "Come up front." "He'II sing alone first and we'II pay attention." "Spare no charm..." "No, that's not right." ""We don't want to be above or below others."" "What does that mean?" "This is how they work together." "And Dieter's amazed that he can sing solo." "And..." "Spare no charm and spare no passion" "Labour or intelligence" "Stop." "Open your mouth wide." "Wider still." "Yes, that's right." "After me:" ""Spare no charm..."" ""Spare no charm..."" "Yes, exactly." "That was great, but you have to sing." "Spare no charm and spare no passion" "Labour or intelligence" "Is it so hard standing up?" "Now it's your turn." "And because we'll make it better" "No, no." "The note first." "Sing the note." "Higher, even higher." "That's it exactly." "You got it." "And because we'll make it better" "Let us guard and love our home" "Now we've got it!" "It took a while." "Neither charm nor passion were spared and they kept singing." "Long may she livel" "Three cheersl" "Thank you." "Clever Petra, who scared the boys has planned a dance." "Soon they'll be calling it a party." "well, Mrs PohI, it's just that if you think about it," "I went to school for four years during the War." "At the end of the War, we only had two hours of school." "My father spoke at the parents meeting." "He said that he couldn't help me at all." "I think they used to learn a lot less." "We learnt as good as nothing." "He understands a little about technical things." "He wanted to be an electrician, but then the war happened." "He'd learnt half of it, though." "This is the speaker." "It's a small wire." "If the wire breaks, the headphones won't work any more." "Winfried is early to start learning what his father didn't and more, future information technology graduate." "And goats?" "Do they lay eggs?" "No, the billy goat covers her." "That's correct." "Yes, that's right." "But what does that mean, he covers her?" "Is it really that funny?" "I saw a cow do it once." "And what happens?" "She had a calf." "tell us about it." "No, I can't tell you." "It's too silly." "Someone else should." "Everyone will laugh." "Three years later, they were laughing at Winfried's cows again." "Brigitte's enjoying herself there, right?" "A man goes to market with his son." "He wants to buy a cow." "He pinches the cow." "Then the man sees..." "Then the boy sees a man pinch the cow on the leg." "The boy asks the man what he's doing." "The boy's father says that the man wants to see if the cow has any meat on it." "Then they get home and the boy sees..." "Then he pinches..." "Keep going, Winfried." "Then a man pinches a girl." "There's no joke." "There's no joke?" "No." "WHEN YOU ARE FOURTEEN" "There once was a hot and dry summer." "The country was celebrating its 20th anniversary." "Two Americans walked on the moon." "Other Americans dropped 1,400,000 tons of bombs over South Vietnam." "The people of Golzow saw both." "The old Oder, the pond where 1 4 years ago the stork fished each one of them out." "The bathers will someday be called the landlords of tomorrow." "Bernhard and Bernd, the boys, are quite unwittingly showing off some of their muscles." "Karin, the girl, pays them hardly any attention." "Dancing was a child's game at eleven." "But at 1 4, there are suddenly problems." "I'm having a good time." "I Iike it." "When you're 1 4, you have your whole future ahead of you." "You have 70 or 80 years until you die." "By then, scientists will discover something new." "Maybe that you don't have to die." "I heard something about spaceships." "If they travel at the speed of light, you don't age and stay the same." "They're old enough now to receive government papers." "Brigitte HeerwaId, please come forward." "The authority has arrived to look them deep in the eyes." "What colour are your eyes?" "Green." "Green?" "Green-grey?" "Have you really looked in the mirror?" "No." "Then look into the light over there." "Who knows themselves?" "What colour are your eyes?" "Do you know?" "I don't know." "Dark blue?" "Dark blue?" "I don't know." "Look here." "Don't look away." "blue, aren't they?" "There is no dark blue." "It's..." "There's bIue-grey." "Any special markings?" "Scars?" "No." "Any visible scars?" "You don't have any." "What's your eye colour?" "Do you know?" "Just open your eyes." "Do you know what colour your eyes are?" "I've already seen." "What then?" "Light brown." "Light brown, yes." "Any special markings?" "A scar behind my right ear." "Behind your right ear?" "Turn around." "Did you have an operation?" "Bernhard, this identification card..." "Tested, stamped, signed." "Citizen, identification card owner." "There aren't many scars, but they do have special features." "Winfried is thick behind the ears." "Brigitte has a good, but not very healthy heart." "Ilona wants to do plenty of things for a living, just not teaching." "It isn't all recorded, though." "The identification card is a very small book." "Man-made rain." "At its source, the pumping station on the Oder, our Golzowers with their chairman at a youth meeting." "Boys and girls, we're here today to talk about our area and hear about the development of our area and our agricultural cooperative." "This is Arthur Klitzke." "Let's talk about soil cultivation." "What can we harvest in the future?" "In Golzow, we've harvested on average 3. 85 tons of grain." "We think that's an acceptable crop." "But wouldn't we rather increase it?" "There has to be a limit." "No scientist has yet determined that there was a limit." "This is because new varieties are bred." "The earth is worked deeper." "An increase is always possible." "We want to harvest 6 tons of grain." "Science has proven this is possible." "This means that the yield potential of the earth can always be increased." "There are particular opportunities for us here in the marsh." "This is certainly not the end." "Surely not." "The man who doesn't believe in a limit started on 1 2 hectares of mined land in 1 946." "Two centuries after the vigorous Frederick ll, he has taken control of 2000 hectares of land again." "The strategy is called cooperation, amelioration, socialist agriculture." "Why should he believe in an end?" "Another first day." "Across the country, this is known as lessons in production." "This is also a job opportunity." "The cows are still a little big." "The overalls too." "Marieluise, the milker's daughter, leaves later." "Eckhard, the metalworkers son, wanted to stay." "He's teaching how to work with hot iron." "Hard hats for hard men." "We're off to 1 969, the consecration year." "Consecration trip to Schwedt." "This is connected." "See?" "Then the heat exchanger is shown." "When the kids struggled to pronounce the letter A, you could barely see the oil tanks for the trees here." "Later one of them will return to Schwedt to work here." "Consecration trip to Weimar." "Later, one of them will return here to study." "Golzowers in Goethe's house." "So this is how poets livel" "Consecration trip to Sachsenhausen." "WORK SETS YOU FREE" ""That the people give up flinching At the crimes we do evoke. "" "Consecration trip to the National People's Army." "There once was a war." "This is no legend." "It's the past and must stay in the past." "So the efforts of the young men who wear the uniform year after year." "Every effort." "tilt back the lever and you can fire." "This plane is safe." "That summer, their peace was 24." "The war in Vietnam was 23 years old." "A DAY AGO IN APRIL 1969" "Willy's trying something difficult." "Entering into the world of adults." "The youths are marching in." "The music is playing until they are seated." "You'II see when the first people sit." "I'II give you a sign." "I stay standing here." "The best thing would be for those at the back to watch the first row." "Youth moves on its own." "The consecration has to be practiced." "Production. the head master." "The village is coming to watch." "So is the film crew." "careful on the stairs." "walk up to here." "Not too close to the curtain, then turn." "Like this and then the row stands like this." "And then as follows." "Mr KowaI comes first." "Mr KowaI reads out a maxim." "After he gives the reading, he'II hand out the certificates." "Let's give it a go." "congratulations." "hold them under your left arm." "Very important." "Then Mr KowaI comes back." "Then me." "Then you get a book from me." "Take it and then place it in your other hand." "Right and now you are congratulated by me." "I think I'II congratulate them and then give them the book." "And then come the flowers from the back." "Start from the back, the other way." "Hand over the bouquet." "Come quickly!" "Do it like you really would." "Do we go back?" "Then come back." "would five be better, Miss FröIian?" "Then turn around, Christian." "Then slowly go down the stairs to applause." "Come on!" "quickly!" "Come on!" "Someone practical drove to the district town and bought loads of identical black shoes" "Clothes make the woman..." "knackered." "Look at thatl What does it look like?" "Yes, you can show that." "It's funny how everyone gets ready, wanting to look as nice as possible." "I don't like being the centre of attention." "Pictures of a serious occasion." "It doesn't take long to walk in." "But preparation took 1 4 years." "Now they've got closer to us." "By centimetres, they're almost adults." "They make their pledges loudly, even as their voices break." "You are your parents' hopes and dreams..." "Marieluise is being confirmed." "Find your own strength to good dreams and let good deeds follow." "Let's follow the path that brings joy to Earth's people." "Be strong and responsible." "Don't tolerate the evil things that confront you." "neglect nothing." "How do you sit in ironed trousers and listen to a poem?" "...in the light of socialism." "Back to real life, back to school." "Let's just say life has them again and that still means school." "school means ten years, even in the country." "Learning continues." "And the teachers, the teachers always know something new." "Good morning." "Morning." "Be seated." "Good morning." "Morning." "Be seated." "I'm learning Russian in class 8." "I'm learning Russian in class 8." "An internal or external fertilization." "What about humans?" "Now we want to express "rho" in a different size." "well, look, Bernd and WiIfried say it well." "But with some of you, I have the impression that learning isn't taken very seriously." "Look at any important person." "They are educated people." "tell me the names of a few." "people, men, women who are educated and have become important people." "tell me one." "please." "KarI Marx." "karl Marx was an excellent student." "His reports were always glowing." "Dieter?" "Rosa Luxemburg." "Friedrich EngeIs." "Yes." "Lenin." "Lenin had one of the best report cards of all." "Not only students, but also school administrators often have difficulty saying the right thing correctly." "Your marks are only as good as how you study." "And your lives will only be as beautiful, as good and as successful," "as how you learn for yourselves..." "He was asked to speak to the class." "Delivering compensation in the library followed of his own accord." "Don't imagine that man is always good or always free of faults." "You're growing up, becoming adults and more mature." "Women and men." "I can believe that you can't always accomplish everything to the best of your ability, you know?" "Sometimes you're too weak." "It's nice to go home." "Even better?" "When you go home a little more clever and a little changed." "The class's Free German Youth group meets after school." "They also have change in mind." "Mr Graf would." "I think he did last year." "Then we'II have to ask." "But first we need disciplinary reform." "Maybe then the teachers will be more prepared to explain and help." "I think if the teachers first see that there's a will to Iearn, then they'II help." "But if we sit there and just watch how it's done and not participate, then teachers won't care either." "Gudrun and Annegret are trying to get the group active." "There must be a reason you're not saying anything, right?" "I think most people didn't even read the constitution at home." "They say it's good enough having it and put it in the cupboard." "We have to really go through it at school." "The new Blue Shirts make them recognizable as part of the FDJ." "They have to do it for themselves." "The landlords of tomorrow will soon be called the revolutionaries of today." "What do you think about this?" "I'd assign it to the students who never really participate in the work." "Then they'II have to come to the meetings that we'II all hold." "please come forward, Jürgen Weber," "evelyn Schneider," "Brigitte HeerwaId." "It's the end of the eighth year." "It's already time for small goodbyes." "Jürgen, all the best on leaving school." "Good luck in your trade." "Keep learning and you'II achieve the things you want." "Thanks." "Jürgen Weber didn't continue on to the tenth year." "It's too bad and not typical." "Whether they would succeed remained unproven, and left to life itself, as life is not short-term." "Now the students who will attend preparation courses at the college in SeeIow." "congratulations!" "Good luck, Petra, Bernd, Winfried..." "Petra, Winfried, Bernd are proudly being sent to school in the district city." "They also carry the burden of proof." "We'II see." "Jürgen became a painter." "Anyone need one?" "Step by step, we march Step by step, we march" "Happy holidays, everyone!" "TWO YEARS LATER - 16-YEAR-OLDS IN MAY 197 1" "There once was a human who was allowed to live, who was sent to school at the age of six or seven, who was able to touch one ear with a hand right over the head," "First came school cones, then report cards, from A to B, unknowns in algebra, and learning to make a statement." "Learnt laws to differentiate between the past, the present and the future." "And after ten years, the human took an exam." "This human was Ilona." "The test subject was Russian." "Well, the teacher taught the student for ten years and now he wants to see what he's taught the student." "He can test for himself how he's done the last ten years." "It can be a hard hit sometimes." "They expect something from students." "If nothing comes, they're disappointed." "They know what you're like in lessons, and hope you do better in the exam." "If not, they're disappointed and think it was all for nothing." "You've embarrassed yourself and him in front of the headmaster." "The exam is civics and Elke is being examined." "It's best to go in cheerfully and believe that it's all going to work out." "If you're scared, you won't do well anyway." "really think about it, get organized." "Bernhard, for whom it wasn't easy, who strived to reach the tenth year." ""Give your reasons why leadership by the working class and their Marxist-Leninist Party is the foundation of our socialist state." "Use your knowledge of the historic mission of the working class."" "The subject is maths, the fashion is mini and is an exam for all participants." "My assignment is to calculate the weight of a 1 .5-metre steel pipe with an external circumference of 22 millimetres and tape thickness of 1 .5 millimetres." "Look, now we're there." "The socialist state is the instrument of power..." "Of the worker, the working class." "Yes, the working class." "To put it generally, the ruling class." "That's why the capitalist state is included." "That was expert knowledge." "When I see your father, I'II say," ""Arthur, your daughter really knows everything."" "Relief." "Arthur is Arthur Klitzke." "Good news for the main man in the village." "Just relax." "Add a little magnesium to a test tube." "What do you observe?" "The magnesium and the acetic acid are reacting to each other." "To prove the presence of hydrogen, I'II light the gasses." "This is the so-caIIed squeaky-pop test." "The person was Marieluise, daughter of a milker." "She wanted to be a laboratory assistant in the city." "The apprenticeship was guaranteed." "The exam just a formality, with charm and a little labour." "When you look back, it wasn't really that bad at all." "Now it's over." "Sometimes, you don't use the opportunities you're given." "The last two or three years have gone by so quickly." "It's shocking really." "The last beat in the auditorium before the caretaker locks up." "I think I could've done more." "I wasn't the hardest worker." "Separation is immanent." "Holding each other tight won't help." "When they were tested, they were recognized and needed." "This country has enough work for every young person." "APPRENTICESHIPS AND THE FIRST YEARS AT WORK" "This is the time to get involved in the 8th Party Conference's social programme and its implementation." "Eckhard is becoming an agricultural machinery mechanic, no dream job with sleepless nights and it's not unreachable." "An apprenticeship contract has been signed." "Now do the same." "Power-on the engine." "Cover it with the guard." "Christian and Bernhard learn their job from watching their friend Eckhard." "That's 15.6, so you do what you want." "It's precision work." "Look, it's exactly 16." "well, when Dad's doing it, it's right." "exactly 1 7." "What more do you want, man?" "Ilona with the dark blue eyes isn't going to be a hairdresser, actress or poultry farmer." "She's going to be a technician at a semi-conductor factory in Frankfurt Oder." "Yes, we have to..." "But..." "Don't switch it on until I check." "Use the E key." "The bridge between E and D is fine." "Then to the ammeter and the relay spools." "No, that's wrong." "Ilona has never been showered with successes, so she remembers the small ones." "These ones here." "See, Iike I said." "Someone has returned to Schwedt to work." "Bernd." "He first looks into small jars to see what happens in large tanks." "He didn't feel comfortable as a high school student." "He says it's better now as a worker." "To the Ieft." "To the right and rotate." "Ten little jumping jacks." "Space." "S, W, S, space." "L, O, L, space." "S, W, S, space." "Gudrun Klitzke in Golzow's new cooperative kitchen." "Come with me, Gudrun." "Let's move on to this." "A little pickIing salt, rolls on top, then the onions and garlic." "Then paprika and mustard seeds." "We're making Königsberg meatballs." "It won't be long until she's part of the district council herself." "This cook was to help govern the state." "Jochen, who was never dumb." "Used to be fat but now he's strong." "What is the external composition of the udder?" "An udder has two halves, which are separated by the diaphragm." "There are four quarters, which are equal." "Two back and two front quarters." "Are the quarters the same?" "Yes, they should be, but aren't now." "should be?" "Breeding requires equality." "In theory, they should be the same, however the front ones are smaller." "Ten years later and Jochen has been found at a vocational school near Strausberg." "He's studying udders to be a milker." "Now take up the trowel, then nail on a board." "Dieter the climber from the eighth year has almost reached the goal." "Can the barrow come up?" "Yes." "Raise the barrow." "His face has always been an open book, whether watching Vietnam on TV or singing a solo." "fill it up right to the top." "You have to hold that bit so it doesn't run out." "The vocation is carpentry, but there isn't any wood here." "Hopefully, he won't forget before some arrives." "hold the trowel properly." "Jürgen, who saw the cat, isn't just learning to paint." "He's learning to paint and hang wallpaper." "You have to really push it in." "Otherwise, air gets behind it, which usually carries bacteria." "Cut the sides into the edge at the window." "The other boy is the one who got an F." "It's the same for that corner." "Don't use your hand when pasting." "You'II leave paste marks." "A painter against a drying factory." "He makes money by the square metre, but doesn't have any fun." "Up there is, Willy, yes, Willy, who, surprisingly, wanted to help people when he was 1 4, that is, fix things when they're broken." "He's grown like a weed and so has his hair." "A lord in Golzow, Eckhard." "During harvest, he's here from before sunrise to after sunset." "A lot of work and a lot of money for someone who isn't even 20." "A modern egg factory in Spreenhagen near Berlin." "Besides the 800 hens and 200 cocks, there are Brigitte and her colleague." "Chickens and hutches full of eggs, how long has it been like this?" "School, apprenticing and work life." "That can't be everything." "is there anything else?" "MOTHERS, FATHERS, SPOUSES - THE SEVENTIES" "Come on." "swallow." "The settings are increasing in number, the performances are solos." "Come on." "Seventeen and a half years after her birth," "Brigitte became a mother herself." "Ilona and Marieluise watched with amazement and admiration." "Brigitte." "Who would have thought?" "She named her son Marcel." "She shared the joy of the day alone with her parents." "Coming home after vocational training, an apprenticeship." "But that can't have always been the case." "Returning home for a short spell." "When are you due?" "On the 2nd, next week on Wednesday." "Your mother had four children." "Five." "Five children, so you often saw the children being born." "Now it's happening to you." "What do you think about the day?" "I'm hoping everything will go smoothly." ""Then we're the guilty ones. "" "Ilona and Wolfgang the driver." "Brigitte's Marcel is followed by a Jacqueline." "There's a French Golzow on the horizon." "If I wasn't happy about it, I couId have got rid of it." "But..." "I mean, you just don't do that." "We have to take responsibility for what we've done." "At least, that's what I think." "hello, little sparrow." "Precision work when Daddy's doing itl" "Christian found love in Mecklenburg." "He lost it on the long road between Golzow and there, now it's gone." "If anything happens." "If?" "Then I'II laugh." "will you?" "He'II get a real spanking." "That's ridiculous." "Of course." "black magic..." "Yes, sure enough." "Of course, there are weddings." "With real brides and grooms." ""We're building our cooperative farm, we are stronger together, arm in arm. "" "Elke's wedding was a big celebration and Catholic event." "It was missing almost nothing." "The child was already here too." "They separated a short time after." "But let's not be more clever now than they were then." "So let's see what the wedding looked like." "There have been other marriages and divorces and 1 8, 1 9 and 20-year-old mothers and fathers, but they didn't notify DEFA, so its cameras often stood outside at private events." "BECOMING A SOLDIER" "Let's comb it and see how it lies." "It's all to the front, not Iike this." "We can read more in Dieter's wide open face." "The basic shape of his normal haircut was rescued by a errant barber from the typical People's Army cut." "Dieter is staying for three years." "Uncomfortable." "Yes, the army is uncomfortable." ""And because we'll make it better, let us guard and love our home"" "It still had to be proven." "So the verse he once sang out loud caught up with him." "We look forward to welcoming you to the Rudolf Egelhofer Academy." "From today at midnight, you are all members of the National People's Army." "I wish you much success in your training as NCOs." "Dieter was the first to become a soldier." "Bernd, Eckhard, Willy, Christian and the two Jürgens still in Golzow in their civvies." "Marieluise is there, beside Dieter." "On December 28, 1 972, a new memorial was dedicated in Seelow Heights" "Thirty years after the battle that took place near the village." "A tribute to the 30,000 fallen soldiers of the first Belorussian Front." "Dear citizens of Seelowl" "We have joined here in a meeting to commemorate the thousands of Soviet heroes who gave their lives to the liberation of their country and ours." "There once was a war." "For ten days, the US Air force has been bombing the densely populated areas of Hanoi and Hai Phong." "The Basic Treaty between West and East Germany has been signed for seven days." "The bravery of all the young men." "Two years later at the same location, Gudrun Klitzke becomes a party member." "She is the first one of our Golzowers." "It is the pleasure of the socialist Unity Party of Germany to welcome you to the SeeIow Heights memorial to the fallen soldiers of the First BeIorussian Front on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the liberation from fascism," "and to present you with your party documents." "Comrade Gudrun KIitzke." "Gudrun, congratulations." "Thank you." "Father now heads a cooperative crop production division with seven communes and 7,300 hectares." "It will become an agricultural cooperative called the "30th Anniversary of the Victory"." "The vegetable crop area has increased 20-fold since 1 960 and covers nearly one fifth of the Frankfurt Oder district with no end in sight." "Down, down, down." "Go right!" "The Pioneer divers' command on the Uecker is to investigate, under enemy sight, whether the river bed is suitable for heavy equipment." "Dive down." "The command is to investigate whether the land is radioactive or contaminated and to mark those areas." "This chemical technician is being used as a chemical scout." "Bernd." "A carpenter again without wood." "Employed as the head frogman." "Dieter." "He's learnt to explore in the old Oder." "Suitable." "suitable?" "Yes." "Hi, you're here." "Home leave - leave at home." "Another 1 00 days or so and they'll have him back." "Why's that?" "We could display your letter." "They're lazy writers." "They weren't writing workers." "You're Iazier than me." "He wasn't a writing soldier." "The last mile is the best advance." "A safe return home." "Winfried with the headphones became a radio operator, of course." "The quiet before starting studies." "Four years of electronics." "The second Jürgen, poison pen writer, painter and soldier, is planning for a shorter term." "Helpful Willy." "Willy the father comes home at lunch to drop off tomatoes and look after things." "He's the first of the boys to have a second child." "When he asked about problems, he became contemplative." "If you come to Golzow now, you won't find many from the class." "They've left for a job, to get married, for a flat." "Golzow's agriculture can do without them." "The district's industry could really use them all." "If you come to Golzow today..." "SPRING 1975 - THE 20-YEAR-OLDS MEET AGAIN lf you come to Golzow today, you'll find almost everyone at the class reunion." "On behalf of the students, I'd Iike to give you this bouquet." "Our schooIdays were lovely." "Thank you!" "We love it when people look back at school and think it was a lovely time." "Clever people could settle and cultivate an uninhabited island together and make it inhabitable, Golzow." "They went for their old school over the new community centre." "The auditorium, where they learnt to sing, where they were examined and danced to the beat." "The Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe is being prepared in Helsinki." "The people of Vietnam have almost achieved victory." "The GDR is now the 1 33rd member of the United Nations." "Everyone's alive." "Of course they are, at their age." "Of course, in this century?" "Remember the thing with the light?" "Banged it to pieces." "Things often went to pieces at school." ""Remember?"" "The word is used like at veteran's meeting." "They had all faced difficulties, but never in real trouble." ""Remember?"" "I was raised more strictly than my siblings." "It made a difference." "The thrashings I got!" "God!" "Not my sister, though." "There was a big light." "The ball went right into it." "Then we'd have to answer to the headmaster!" "What were we like back then?" "Later on it's different." "But they don't need to smoke at that age, they could wait a bit..." "Dieter's just as daft today as then." "You hurt your head." "You hit a rock with your bike." "Stop it, you." "Remember when we went out to Genschmar?" "He was on the front of my bike and got stuck in the spokes." "He fell and hit the kerb." "His face looked like this." "Looking back, it was nice." ""Looking back, it was nice, " says Willy the father." "But would he go back?" "would you go back?" "Not to that age." "Oh, no." "The river of life?" "No, it's just the Oder, the river in their lives." "A body of water for fishing, swimming, making rain." "For cruising along on a class reunion." "Two banks at peace and land with the main human right." "You can live therel" "They live there and no one is unemployed, homeless, hopeless." "Their children will have a job this century and will make their parents grandparents." "And will become pensioners themselves around the 7 0th anniversary of the Republic." "Nice prospects?" "is that everything?" "is it all going as it usually does?" "Prospects are nice when things don't remain static." "Things come along nicely, when life doesn't march lock-step." "To give their secure lives meaning is each individual's responsibility." "TODAY - AFTER 35 YEARS OF PEACE" "And back to the sandbox in Golzow." "Children born in 1 97 3 in this historic sand, shortly before they start school." "What kind of man will he become?" "How, in what way?" "Will we need him?" "Will he need us?" "The mothers, fathers, bosses, teachers and instructors?" "Playful thoughts." "Being able to see an entire life." "It was possible." "We have to thank all the Golzowers for allowing us to observe them for 1 8 years." "The school attracted us to Golzow." "It was central, polytechnic, general education, rather new." "Now it's the old school." "When it's time for school for me I will learn my ABC I will learn to read there too" "E and O and I and U" "Once I've learnt to count real well l'll start adding up as well" "The camera and microphone have been present since Autumn 1 961, when those born in 1 955 started school or went on a trip or sat an exam, had snowball fights, consecration, dances, sat more exams, learnt a trade or got married." "Watch me proudly every day" "As I go to school, hoorayl" "We saw tears, but more laughter." "We heard spontaneous words and thoughtful ones." "The changes in faces over time weren't numbered, but they were all different, so you can recognize them." "Ilona, electrical technician, member of the FDJ district council in Frankfurt Oder." "Jochen, dairyman in Birkholz near Bernau." "Bernd, petrochemical plant operator in Schwedt." "Gudrun, cook, county council member, political science student in Weimar." "Petra, civil engineer, technologist in Ribnitz-Damgarten." "Christian, agricultural mechanic in Alt-Landsberg near Berlin." "Marieluise, laboratory assistant at a semi-conductor factory in Frankfurt Oder." "Dieter, carpenter at the building combine in Frankfurt Oder." "Willy, farm machine mechanic and welder at the Golzow Agricultural Cooperative in Reitwein." "Bernhard, farm machine mechanic at the Golzow Agricultural Collective." "Elke, draughtswoman for special construction at the People's Enterprise in Potsdam." "Eckhard, tractor driver and farm machine mechanic at the Golzow Agricultural Cooperative." "Brigitte, worker at a poultry farm in Spreenhagen near Berlin." "Winfried, student at the Institute of Technology in Karl-Marx-Stadt information technology department, electronic tool manufacturing." "Jürgen, painter, currently in the motorized infantry unit of the "Paul Hegenbarth" regiment in Brandenburg Havel." "This chronicle was dedicated to the class." "The camera and microphone have followed the individuals to the present day." "But that's another film altogether." "There once was a war." "It crossed the river twice." "first towards Moscow, then back, completely transformed, bringing liberation and peace with it." "Peace had its difficulties and pains." "The time was still new and raw." "But it let the children live." "SPARE NO CHARM AND SPARE NO PASSION" "THE STORY OF THE CHILDREN OF GOLZOW A CHRONICLE" "Copyright © 2010 TITELBILD, berlin subtitles:" "Dennis McAIIister et aI."