Deutschstunde

The German Lesson

Film adaptation of the classic novel of the same name by Siegfried Lenz, which deals with the Nazi era and of coming to terms with the most recent history in post-war Germany. The story focuses on Siggi Jepsen, who is considered difficult to educate and who is housed in a reformatory where he fails to adapt as well. Condemned to individual custody because he did not comply with the request to write an essay on the subject of "The joys of duty", Siggi instead begins to write about his experiences during the war years. He tells how he was worn down by the tensions between his father, a village policeman loyal to the Nazi regime who ensured law and order in the name of the authorities, and his godfather - a youth friend of his father's - the artist Max Nansen, who was banned from working by the Nazis. Both men try to win Siggi over to their respective positions and thus trigger a massive conflict of conscience in the boy.