DEFA in Thüringen

Between 1946 and 1992, DEFA produced approximately 700 feature films, 450 shorts, 950 animated movies and 2000 documentaries, about 900 of which relate or refer to Thuringia. The ten essays in this volume are based on case studies that analyse the link between medium and topography with regard to different topics and protagonists. Taking prominent movies and celebrities as examples, they explore fields of literary traditions, the revolutionary workers' movement, the rise and consolidation of a socialist society, the historical foundations of the former GDR and its anti-fascist heritage. Their findings indicate that in the region of Thuringia elements of a constitutive part of national film history merge with the GDR's self-characterisation. Moreover, they reveal a wealth of filmic depictions of people's identification with the region, which continue to exert an influence today.
With contributions by
Günter Agde, Anne Barnert, Julia Dünkel, Ralf Forster, Wieland Koch, Michael Grisko, Dorett Molitor, Jens Riederer, Patrick Rössler and Anett Werner-Burgmann.