The media libraries of the public broadcasters and various streaming services offer a wide range of engaging films about music, film, art, literature and architecture. Here are our viewing recommendations for you to enjoy.
2020, documentary, 16 min, OV with German subtitles
In the ZDF series FilmFrauen. Die Interviews, female actors, directors, producers and screenwriters talk about their experiences in the German film industry.
Watch on ZDF-Mediathek until 01.01.2099.
A documentary about the role of classical music under the Nazis. The stories of the Jewish cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch and the conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler provide an insight into German musical life from 1933 to 1945.
Watch on DW Doku@Youtube.
Documentary about the organised theft of art from Jewish families during the Nazi era. Dr Kathrin Kleibl, a North German provenance researcher, investigates this crime.
Watch on ARD Mediathek until 15.05.2027.
Documentary about the fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. In revealing interviews, he gives insights into his life, career and philosophy.
Watch on DW Doku@Youtube.
From the series Cinema strikes back: Documentary about 10 German filmmakers and actors who made it in Hollywood and how they got there.
Watch on funk until 12.10.2026.
The Neue Deutsche Welle is regarded as the most creative period in the history of German pop music. This documentary examines its rise and fall.
Watch on ZDF Mediathek until 16.04.2028.
The film portrays the life of the writer Erich Kästner. Starring Matthias Bundschuh as Kästner, Lisa Wagner as his partner Luiselotte Enderle. Directed by Annette Baumeister.
Watch on ARD Mediathek until 01.01.2099.
Documentary about the burning of books under the Nazi regime, which targeted books by Jewish writers and others viewed as subversive or representing ideologies opposed to Nazism.
Watch on DW Doku@Youtube.
@ DW / Susanne Spröer
@ DW / Susanne Spröer
2022, documentary, 75 min, OV, no German subtitles
In 1983 the West German band Die Toten Hosen performed in a secret (and illegal) concert in East Berlin. This documentary looks back on the event with contributions from musicians from the former East and West (directed by Martin Groß).
Watch on ARD Mediathek until 13.04.2027.
