Gerhard Münch

Report on the forming of the new residential area Thälmannpark, beginning with the still working gasworks, up to inauguration of the monument of Thälmann.

Becoming old - the autumn of man's life is the same the world over, wherever he lives. But the way one spends old age is different everywhere, and distinguishes one society from another. How do senior citizens live in the GDR - what are pensioners lives like? Are they alone, forgotten or do they live with others? What is done in this country for the older generation, the generation which built up the country and which can now sit back?

The enjoyment of life between the construction site and the caravans is not as cultured, as the officially ordered leisure time was supposed to be.

At the Eisenhüttenkombinat Ost an der Oder, a new blast furnace is being moved to replace a burnt-out one. 2000 tons have to be moved 18 meters: Three times we hear it in the commentary. Master Klaus is now in command. His orders are to be obeyed at all costs. Men at work: tense faces, examining hands, the sound of screeching winds and steel cables stretched to breaking point. Everything is going well, and it is a new best performance: The downtime of the plant has been reduced from 80 to 40 days, the commentary says.

Five cameramen of the DEFA travel with the trawler ROS 206 to its fishing grounds in the Arctic Ocean. The journey to the grounds takes 5,5 days. Day and night the nets are thrown out and pulled aboard again when they are full. After three weeks of hard work the trawler returns to its home port. Here the fish are loaded into refrigerator cars, and the sailors enjoy some days of wll-earned rest.