Review of Deutschland 83 Episode 1


The show’s plot takes place in post-World War 2 Germany, 1983, during the Cold War, after the country’s war loss has been divided into 4 zones, each controlled by super powers and Berlin specifically was divided into two zones, East Berlin controlled by communist Russia and West Berlin controlled by the United States. Our protagonist Martin Rauch a 24 year old German soldier living in East Berlin is blackmailed and forced to go undercover as a military soldier in West Berlin and spy on the opposing side of the conflict, by gathering information and sending it back to its allies.
The show was created by the couple and team of American novelist Anna Winger and German TV producer Joerg Winger, who himself did military service in West Germany  during the Cold War. Mrs Winger said that they did deep research with experts from both sides of Germany in order to be able to produce an accurate piece of film. Additionally, Historian Klaas Voss was very important in providing historical information, and interestingly enough, Jonas Nay, who played Martin, said that he received technical assistance from military adviser/NATO expert Steffen Meier. With that said it is safe to say that the show is accurate for the most part in terms of historical information. With a well thought plot and professionally produced transitions and shots, the show takes us on a dramatic journey of Martin risking his life by collecting valuable pieces of documents and sending them back home in East Berlin, in order to keep his dying mother alive and prevent the kick start of World War 3. Another very interesting and unpredictable character of the show is Martin’s Aunt Lenora Rauch, a Cultural Attaché at the East German Embassy in Bonn. She is also the person who convinced the major general of the HVA to recruit her nephew Martin as a spy and put him in ultimate danger.
The acting is ultimately spot on. Jonas Nay especially, manages to evoke emotions and bring to life the character Martin Rauch, especially keeping in mind how hard it is to play the role, due to the character being the protagonist, having all eyes on him and representing the show in general. One of my favourite scenes in terms of acting is where Martin ends up in the supermarket in West Germany and is stunned by the quality, diversity and quantity of food.
I would rate the episode a solid 8/10. As a fan of fantasy series, I am very surprised by how good this historical drama series is. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, is very engaging and at the end of the day is very relevant to the real world. To think that we were on the verge of complete human annihilation due to nuclear war just less than 40 years ago makes you consider how much the world has changed so far.

Comments

  1. media25 January 2019 at 07:25

    Good Stan. Well written , articulate and well structured. It is true that there is a lot of historically accurate detail but does this mask some of the constructed nature of the drama which presents this detail through some of the implausible conventions of the spy thriller and add a light romantic theme at odds with the serious events in the background?

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