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35 Years of German Reunification: Perspectives on a Time of Upheaval

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  • German with English subtitles
  • Free

Filmstill of an old black and white movie © DEFA-Stiftung

Filmstill of an old black and white movie © DEFA-Stiftung

To mark the 35th anniversary of German reunification on October 3, this documentary program brings together four films that vividly portray the profound transformations set in motion in and after 1990. While the fall of the Berlin Wall ushered in a new era of freedom and possibility for many, reunification also led to unexpected social hardship and disillusionment for others.

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Gerd Kroske’s Sweep It Up trilogy offers a rare, longitudinal look at post-reunification life through the eyes of three street cleaners in Leipzig. Spanning 16 years, the series—Sweep It Up (1990), Sweep It Up, Swig It Down (1996), and Sweep It Up, Again (2006)—follows its protagonists through shifting landscapes of hope, disappointment, and resilience, revealing the often-overlooked human toll of political change.

A starkly different angle is presented in Locked-Up Time. In 1984, filmmaker Sibylle Schönemann was imprisoned by the Stasi after applying to emigrate from the GDR. Bought out by the Federal Republic a year later, she returns to East Germany after the fall of the Wall to confront those who had imprisoned her. The result is a haunting and courageous exploration of state repression, memory, and accountability.

Films

Sibylle Schönemann, Locked-Up Time
(Germany, 1990, 94 min.)

Gerd Kroske, Sweep It Up
(Germany, 1990, 29 min.)

Gerd Kroske, Sweep It Up, Swig It Down
(Germany, 1996, 40 min.)

Gerd Kroske, Sweep It Up, Again
(Germany, 2006, 100 min.)
 

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