Jena, 1990: Young people have few prospects, and nor does Beate Zschäpe, who’s caught under the spell of right wing extremists and has thus got to know Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Böhnhardt. The three develop a tight-knit community - with murderous plans.

Jena, 1990. Since the Second World War, there’s been no comparable situation in Germany in which so many people have lost their jobs simultaneously. Many young people in East Germany witness their parents’ and teachers’ insecurity, and feel the impotence of the police and state. They feel disoriented, unloved and aggrieved. Instinctively, they categorise themselves as second-class citizens, trying to adapt and learning, in a very short time, that little or no help can be expected from society. One after another, young people drift from school into unemployment. Some make it to the West. But the film addresses those who remain - and angrily begin to rebel.

One of them is Beate Zschäpe, who falls under the spell of right wing extremists in the Winzerla district of Jena. She becomes friends with Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Böhnhardt, and a tight-knit companionship soon develops between the three friends. Her sense of powerlessness and instability reflects the basic pattern of experience that she shares with thousands of young people in East Germany. In the case of these three, however, their development is distinct: rage and rebellion transform into hatred and violence. They search for the truth, and strike it sickeningly rich.

In an extreme right-wing, neo-Nazi environment, they become organised and radicalised, closely followed, and surrounded, not only by associates but by "Nazi comrades" who meanwhile work as informants for the domestic intelligence services. Their actions are known to the police as well as to the intelligence services, but still they’re not arrested. After an unsuccessful bomb attack, and the discovery of explosives in a garage rented by Beate Zschäpe, the three neo-Nazis, now an inseparable trio, go underground at the end of 1998. What follows is the most serious, most shocking killing spree in German post-war history.

Production Country

Germany (DE)

Production Period

2015/2016

Production Year

2016

color

color

Duration

Feature-Length Film (61+ Min.)

Type

Feature Film, Series / Miniseries

Genre

Drama, Kriminalfilm

Topic

Justice, Violence, Home, Fall of the Wall / Reunification, National Socialism, Extremism / Terrorism, Precarity

Scope of Rights

Nichtexklusive nichtkommerzielle öffentliche Aufführung (nonexclusive, noncommercial public screening),Keine TV-Rechte (no TV rights)

Notes to the Licence

Licence Period

14.01.2024

Permanently Restricted Areas

Germany (DE), Austria (AT), Switzerland (CH), Liechtenstein (LI), Alto Adige

Available Media

DVD, DCP, Blu-ray Disc

Original Version

German (de)

DVD

Subtitles

English (en), Spanish (es), French (fr), Portuguese (Brazil) (pt), Russian (ru), Chinese (zh), Arabic (ar), German (de), Czech (cs)

DCP

Subtitles

English (en), Spanish (es), French (fr), Portuguese (Brazil) (pt), Russian (ru), Chinese (zh), Arabic (ar), German (de), Czech (cs)

Blu-ray Disc

Subtitles

English (en), Spanish (es), French (fr), Portuguese (Brazil) (pt), Russian (ru), Chinese (zh), Arabic (ar), German (de), Czech (cs)

• Die Täter - Heute ist nicht alle Tage
• Christian Schwochow