Geschichte einer Straße

Directed by Walter Marten

Deocumentary reports on the old Frankfurter Allee, renamed "Stalinallee" in a festive ceremony on December 21, 1949 to mark the 70th anniversary of Stalin's birth. The moving history of the street and the people who lived there from the 16th century to the unification of the KPD and SPD to form the SED in 1946 are shown. In November 1951, the Central Committee of the SED proposed a national reconstruction program for Berlin, which included above all the expansion of Stalinallee with new housing complexes based on the Russian model for the working class. More than 45,000 volunteers came forward to help with the demolition after their daily work in order to drive the construction forward. After a record construction period, the first residents were able to move into their comparatively luxurious apartments on Stalinallee on January 7, 1953. The comments chosen reflect the zeitgeist of the Cold War, with criticism of West Berlin's politics and way of life being voiced above all.