BROKEN TABOOS

SOCIALLY CRITICAL FILMMAKING IN EAST GERMAN

Criticism of the political system was taboo in East Germany. Officially, problems such as housing shortages, unemployment, crime or western-oriented youth cultures did not exist in the socialist state. Any existing social issues that the system considered problematic were tabooed. Yet these were the very issues that many DEFA filmmakers attempted to explore in their feature films and documentaries, even if they had to anticipate penalties. Lengthy production times or a lack of success were frequent consequences. Their films were often not shown in cinemas or were excluded from export.

Today, as important documents of the times, these films give us an insight into life in East Germany. The series Broken Taboos – Socially Critical Filmmaking in East Germany takes up socially critical perspectives in DEFA filmmaking and directs our attention to the very topics that were declared taboo.

Deutsche Film AG (DEFA) was founded exactly 75 years ago in Potsdam-Babelsberg. By reunification, it had produced about 700 feature films, around 2,500 documentaries and short films and 950 animated films. Today, the entire film output of East Germany is administered by the DEFA Foundation. Together with the DEFA Library, this film series was put together to mark the 75th anniversary.