''Stalin-Allee'' is a German short film by director
Sven Boeck.
The film focuses on the
Karl-Marx-Allee, also still known as Stalin-Allee. The homogeneous architecture of the street is unique in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. In 1952, construction work began. Amidst the ruins of
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
"palaces for the working class" were built, the "first socialist avenue in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
".
In the first years of the GDR, Stalin Avenue was the showcase meant to demonstrate the power and effectiveness of the socialist system. Beyond the cultural aspects of the street, a film about Stalin Avenue has to include the failings of the socialist experiment as well. Built during the era of Nation Building, this street is connected with historical events like the
rebellion on the 17th of June 1953, in which the construction workers played an important role, the sudden disappearance of the Stalin monument, the demonstrations on the
1st of May
Events Pre-1600
* 305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor.
* 880 – The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches.
* 1169 &ndas ...
and the parades during the era of
Erich Honecker.
This is a film about the claims of socialism and the wrong ways to realize it. Its subjective description of today's situation combines the views of the inhabitants, the "
Trümmerfrauen" ("rubble women" who rebuilt Germany) and the former construction workers.
External links
*
1991 films
1990s German-language films
German short documentary films
1990s German films
{{1990s-Germany-film-stub