''The Silent Revolution'' (german: Das schweigende Klassenzimmer), lit. "The Silent Classroom") is a 2018 German drama film directed by

Lars Kraume Lars Kraume (born 24 February 1973) is an Italian-born German film director, screenwriter and producer. He has directed 35 films since 1996. Biography Born in Abruzzo, Italy, to German parents. Career Kraume has directed numerous television prod ...

. The film tells the story of a high school class in the

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, who have a moment of silence in their classroom for the victims of the failed anti-communist

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

. This small act of solidarity has unforeseen consequences, impacting the children, their parents and the school board. The film is based on a true story told in a book of the same name by Dietrich Garstka (1939–2018), one of the students.https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/wissen/geschichte/id_83292974/als-die-ddr-eine-ganze-schulklasse-drangsalierte.html
Interview with Dietrich Garstka (German)

Plot

In late 1956, prior to 1961 construction of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

(GDR) high school students Kurt and Theo secretly go to the cinema in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

. They watch a

newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, informa ...

and learn of the

anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

Hungarian uprising. Back home in Stalinstadt, they convince some class members to visit the nearby home of Edgar, the great-uncle of one of the students, Paul. At Edgar's, the students listen to the radio station RIAS, broadcasting from West Berlin. While listening, they learn of the death of

Ferenc Puskás Ferenc Puskás (, ; born Ferenc Purczeld; 1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian football player and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. A forward, ...

, a Hungarian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

adored by the students, which ultimately turns out to be

misinformation Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. It differs from disinformation, which is ''deliberately'' deceptive. Rumors are information not attributed to any particular source, and so are unreliable and often unverified, but can turn ou ...

, possibly intended to infuriate the protesters. Kurt manages to convince the majority of the class to hold a moment of silence for the victims in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

before class starts. This upsets their teacher, and student Erik tells him it is an act of protest. After once again meeting at Edgar's, the class takes a vote and decides to lie about what happened, and to say it was a moment of mourning for footballer Puskás. Kessler, a zealous school superintendent, begins to look into the incident. Fritz Lange, the minister for national education in the GDR, arrives at the school and classifies the incident as

counter-revolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...

and asks the class to point to the instigator. The entire class stays silent, and as punishment they are all prohibited from graduating. Under pressure, Erik confesses the entire story about Edgar and listening to RIAS. Edgar is then arrested, with Paul witnessing the arrest. Theo's father tries to reason with Lange, but he is not taken seriously due to his involvement with the

East German uprising of 1953 The East German uprising of 1953 (german: Volksaufstand vom 17. Juni 1953 ) was an uprising that occurred in East Germany from 16 to 17 June 1953. It began with a strike action by construction workers in East Berlin on 16 June against w ...

. The next day, Kessler interrogates every member of the class. To up the pressure on Erik, she tells Erik that his father, whom he reveres as a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

hero, was actually a Nazi collaborator who was then hanged by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

. Erik cannot deal with this, gives up Kurt, and shoots his

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

instructor. After threatening his mother, he is overpowered by three of his classmates. He then confesses to having given up Kurt. That evening, Kessler tries to convince Kurt to put the blame on Erik. Kurt refuses and flees to West Berlin. The next day, Kessler asks every class member to confirm that Kurt was indeed the instigator of the moment of silence, to which the class refuses. Following their refusal they are all expelled, and within a few days they collectively flee to West Berlin.

Cast

References

External links

* * 2018 drama films German drama films Films set in schools Cold War films Films critical of communism Films set in 1956 Films set in East Germany 2010s German-language films 2010s German films Films produced by Thomas Kufus {{2010s-Germany-film-stub