Die Dubrow-Krise

The setting for this unlikely satire is the fictional village of Dubrow, located in the Wendland, a region that borders with the West. One night GDR border troops are ordered to undertake a minor border correction, a cause of great confusion to the villagers the next morning, since they would now appear to find themselves on the other side of the border fence. What happens next is familiar to everyone from the very real events that played out in the winter of 1989/90.

The incident, based on a screenplay written by award-winning director and journalist Wolfgang Menge († 2012), are then placed within a wider, equally fictional context, as international experts are called upon to discuss the situation on a TV talk show, before indeed the East Germans realise they have made a mistake and return Dubrow to normality. Eberhard Itzenplitz, who also directed an episode of cult TV series, as well as BAMBULE (1970, authored by Ulrike Meinhof), stands out here with a remarkable authenticity of character. KF