Die Klasse: Berlin 1961 is a docudrama which premiered on German television (ARD) in 2015.
This is the story of six students who lived in East Berlin but went to school in West Berlin, until the Berlin Wall went up in August 1961. Then, all of a sudden, there was no school for them anymore.
Here is some basic information about this drama:
** Director: Ben von Grafenstein
** Writers: Michael Klette and Ben von Grafenstein
** Language: German – no English subtitles!
** Released on DVD in 2015
** Run time: 90 minutes
The cast includes the following:
The first group
** Vincent Radetzki as Rüdiger
** Alexander Pensel as Christian
** Johannes Klaussner as Eckhardt
** Sarah Horvath as Heidi
** Jella Haase as Eva
** Isabel Bongard as Anke
The second group
** Maren Eggert as Ms Lessmann – a school teacher
** Uwe Preuss as a Stasi officer
To understand what happens in this drama it is necessary to know some historical background.
In 1945, when World War II ended, Germany was divided into four zones, one for each of the great powers: the US, the UK, France, and the Soviet Union.
In 1949, the three western zones became a state known as West Germany (BRD), while the eastern zone became a state known as East Germany (DDR).
The old capital Berlin, which was located in the middle of the eastern zone (East Germany) was divided into four sectors. The three western sectors became West Berlin, while the eastern sector became East Berlin.
The border between the two German states (known as the inner German border) was sealed shortly after 1949, but in the old capital Berlin it was still possible to cross the line between east and west for several years.
Many East Berliners did this every day: in the morning they crossed the line and went to work or to school in West Berlin. At the end of the day, they crossed the line again to go home.
By the end of the 1950s, things began to change: many East Berliners who crossed the line did not return. They stayed in the west. From West Berlin they could move to West Germany.
Most of those who left had important skills. The DDR was slowly but surely being drained of its well-educated manpower.
In this situation, the government of the DDR had two options:
(1) They could change the system, so most people would want to stay of their own free will.
(2) They could seal the border and stop the outflow completely.
The government of the DDR could not and would not choose option number one, so they went for option number two.
On 13 August 1961, they began the construction of the Berlin Wall which put a ring around West Berlin.
The outflow was stopped almost completely, but many East Germans were not happy about the situation.
For many years, it was dangerous to speak out and say so, because agents or informers of the secret police – the Stasi – were watching everyone all the time.
In this drama, we follow six students who are caught up in this situation. They live in East Berlin, but they go to school in West Berlin.
They attend the Kepler School in the district called Neukölln. Their class is known as 13e, and 1961 is the year in which they are supposed to graduate.
Some students from East Berlin are aware of the growing tension between east and west. They move from east to west before the wall goes up. In August 1961, when the wall goes up, they are already in West Berlin. They are safe.
But other students do not move. They still live in the east. They refuse to believe the city will ever be divided. They cannot imagine East Germany is going to build a wall that will separate West Berlin from the surrounding area (East Berlin and East Germany).
When the wall goes up in August 1961, these students are in trouble. They are stuck behind the wall. What about the final exam? And what about graduation? What about the diploma for which they have been working for so many years? Are they going to get it?
This is how the story begins and this is where my presentation ends.
I do not wish to spoil the viewing for anyone. I am not going to say more than this. But I can say that this drama is captivating, dramatic, and often highly emotional.
In addition, it is based on a true story. The six students we meet in this drama are real persons. From time to time, the drama is interrupted by interviews with them.
In these interviews, which were conducted recently, they look back at the past and talk about what happened to them and their classmates in 1961 and later on.
This type of movie is known as a docudrama, because it is a combination of a documentary film and a historical drama.
The students from 13e, the class of 1961, are connected by a special bond because of what happened to them in 1961 - during the height of the Cold War - when the Berlin Wall went up and divided not only a city but also a school class in two. They hold a reunion every three years.
What do reviewers say about this drama?
Here are some results:
On IMDb it has a rating of 59 percent.
On Amazon Germany there are at the moment 19 ratings of this product; but no reviews.
The average rating is 3.6 stars which corresponds to a rating of 72 percent.
If you ask me, both ratings are too low. I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).
PS # 1. The following items are available online:
Heike Kunert,
“Das verriegelte Klassenzimmer,”
Die Zeit,
2 October 2015
Heike Hupertz,
“Dann kam die Mauer, und das Abitur war weg,”
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung,
3 October 2015
PS # 2. The Kepler School in West Berlin had an odd schedule in 1961: the long summer holiday was placed between the first and the last exams, and graduation was scheduled for September 1961.
In many European schools, all exams as well as graduation take place in June; the summer holiday is in July, and the new school year starts in August.
*****
Die Klasse: Berlin '61
A docudrama which premiered
on German television (ARD)
in 2015
*****
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