Die Stunde Null [German version with guests]

Germany 1977 | Directed by Edgar Reitz

In the immediate aftermath of World War II, as American forces withdraw from a village near Leipzig and the Red Army advances, a group of residents face an uncertain future. Among them is Joschi, a young drifter caught between his attraction to American culture and the desperation of a war-torn country. When he falls in love with Isa, together they embark on a dangerous search for rumored Nazi treasures, only to find themselves trapped between retreating Americans and approaching Russians—refugees in their own devastated land.

Edgar Reitz's Die Stunde Null captures this pivotal moment with extraordinary precision. Through striking cinematography and atmospheric intensity, the film illuminates the moral chaos and human vulnerability of 1945's final days. Rather than grand historical narratives, Reitz focuses on individuals caught by chance in history's upheaval—their small acts of love and survival amid the wreckage.

The Grimme Prize jury praised the film in 1978: "With images of striking precision and aesthetic intensity, Reitz uses a small group of people thrown together by chance to illuminate the upheaval of that moment with rare atmospheric power; more vividly than many of the period's far more abundant documentaries."

This screening is part of the Berlin plant. Stunde Null exhibition project, conceived by Neuer Berliner Kunstverein in cooperation with Babylon.

Venue: Babylon Berlin, Rosa-Luxemburg-Str. 30, 10178 Berlin
Admission: Free

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