East Berlin, March 1954: top figures of the East German state have gathered in the capital’s most famous cinema, the Friedrichstadt-Palast, for a major cultural event. Prime Minister Otto Grotewohl, President Wilhelm Pieck, and General Secretary Walter Ulbricht are all in attendance to watch the premiere of Ernst Thälmann: Son of His Class.

Costing over six million East German marks to complete, the film was extremely costly for a Stalinist state still dealing with the destruction of war and crushing reparations to the Soviet Union. Its sequel, Ernst Thälmann: Leader of his Class, would debut a year and a half later, and was an equally expensive production, with thirty-four lead actors, hundreds of minor roles, and thousands of extras.

The two films about the former Communist leader went on to become some of the most successful films in East German history, awarded with countless prizes throughout the Eastern Bloc. Hardly anyone born in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) managed to get through school without watching them at least once.