Defa Movies

In the ruins of post-WWII Berlin, a twelve-year-old boy is left to his own devices in order to help provide for his family.

After returning from a concentration camp, Susanne finds a traumatized ex-soldier living in her apartment in bombed out Berlin. Together the two try...

Commissioned by the newly founded SED for the first regional elections (October 1946) in the Soviet occupation zone.

Post-war Germany 1945: Two rival gangs of uprooted boys fight each other in the ruins of Berlin, whose business is the black market out of necessity...

Dr. Blum, a Jewish manufacturer, is falsely accused of a murder. Even when the real killer’s identity becomes evident, the state prosecutor...

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...

While on leave in Berlin during the Second World War, a soldier named Hans meets a young woman named Monika. They fall in love and make plans for a...

When a significant quantity of valuable gemstones is to be transported to South America by plane, those responsible are naturally extremely nervous....

Boys are usually busy playing "Indians", but when their uncle decides to rent part of their home to a Doctor Höflin, they took an oath to cast...

A decent small-town citizen named Fridolin Biedermann travels to Berlin and wants to finally experience something. And he succeeds. First he falls...

During the Thirty Years' War, Christine, an orphan, falls in love with the colonel Count Merian. In order to always be with him, she puts on men's...

The young actress Bettina has angered the director of a West Berlin camp for troubled youth with a song that celebrates the adventurous lives of...

A chemist and his assistant make a groundbreaking discovery. They manage to make butter directly from pasture grass without having to deal with...

French teacher Annette Müller has two ardent admirers who are constantly urging her to marry: diplomat Klaus and engineer Theo. But she can't...

After WWII, Berlin lies in ruins. For Gustav, Willi and their friends the rubble provides an adventurous, dangerous playground. Especially for...

Berlin, shortly after World War II. Five parentless siblings, led by the oldest sister Inge Kuckert, search for a place to stay and a basis of...

Der 13. Oktober – 1. Der durchbrochene Kreis (1949) is an East German documentary directed by Andrew Thorndike and produced by DEFA. As part of...

Shortages in postwar Berlin have created a blooming black market, and the goods rounded up during a major police raid all seem to come from the same...

Set during the rise of the Nazi regime, Elisabeth Maurer and Hans Wieland enjoy successful careers as actors in Berlin. Confident in her career,...

Documentary short about the Leipzig Tradefair in 1946.