Wolfgang Staudte
Wolfgang Staudte was born on October 9, 1906 in Saarbrücken, Germany. He was a director and actor, known for Ciske de Rat (1955), Rotation (1949) and Murderers Among Us (1946).
Kirmes
In 1959, in a small German village, the annual fair is set up. When a carousel is fixed firmly in the ground, a fair worker discovers a skeleton, a steel helmet, and a machine gun. The skeleton belongs to Robert Mertens, a plain soldier, who deserted in 1944 und flew to his home village.
Die Geschichte vom kleinen Muck
An old man living in an oriental city tells the story of his life to a group of kids: He too was once a young boy by the name of Little Muck - much like them, but with better manners and a heap of problems. Having lost his father at early age, little Muck is expelled from home by his greedy relatives.
Der Untertan
Diederich Heßling is scared of everything and everyone. But as he grows up, he comes to realize that he has to offer his services to the powers-that-be if he wants to wield power himself. His life motto now runs: bow to those at the top and tread on those below.
Rotation
The mechanic Behnke wants to join the Nazi party to secure a good living. However, after his Jewish neighbors have been taken away, he changes his views. Trying to remain "a non-political man," he withdraws from reality and becomes a Nazis laborer.
Die Mörder sind unter uns
Murderers Among Us was the first German film after the Second World War. Filmed in the Soviet occupied section of Berlin in the summer of 1946. The film would be the first film about the wreckage from the war and the first film produced by DEFA.