IMAGINING A SOCIALIST GERMANY: THE ROLE OF CINEMA IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE EAST GERMAN NATIONAL IDENTITY

DEFA, the company responsible for film distribution and production in the Eastern part of Germany, was founded in 1946, three years before the GDR. This shows the central place of cinema in the GDR, which seeks to build a socialist German identity in the ruins of post-war and fascism while asserting itself against the neighboring FDR. The DEFA's cinema first served the official socialist ideology by proposing historical productions depicting communist heroes fighting against fascism. Whether the film directors agree with this ideology or not, their films also illustrate the flaws that characterize East German identity until the fall of the wall in 1989.