Films by Daniel Burkholz

Germany 2018, 60 min
by Daniel Burkholz (Daniel Burkholz)

A story about men and women who experienced the Second World War as soldiers of the Wehrmacht or as civilians in Nazi-Germany. Traumatised by the terror of war they became convinced pacifists. During the 50ties, they put up resistance against the building of a new army in West-Germany. But the former Nazi staff was in power again, persecuted all pacifists - among them even Holocaust survivors and former resistance fighters - and sent many of them to prison.

Germany 2014, 54 min
by Daniel Burkholz (Daniel Burkholz), Sybille Fezer

Germany 2013, 58 min
by Daniel Burkholz (Daniel Burkholz), Daniel Burkholz

Soon after the end of World War II, when the Cold War had started, the West German Government planned the building of a new army. This project caused huge protests among the war tired population. The government reacted quickly: Within a few weeks a political criminal law, constructed after the example of the Nazi law, was invented. All citizens, who were against the rearmament or for the reunification of West and East Germany, could be persecuted now as public enemies. The Communist Party of Germany and other opposition organizations were forbidden. About 500,000 men, women and children were affected by political persecution, which often was carried out by police men, public prosecutors and judges, who had been trained during the Nazi time. About 10,000 men and women were punished with imprisonment, partly for a very long time. Finally, the whole political movement was smashed down by this persecution, which is unprecedented in western democracies.