Self-Service – A Case from Berlin's Criminal History

Zeughauskino - German Historical Museum

© Zeughauskino – Zwei Männer betrachten eine Taschenlampe

Eberhard Fechner’s first film explores the dreams and survival strategies of “ordinary people” and draws on real-life events: the break-in by three young men at a Berlin department store. The screenplay is largely based on conversations with the burglars, and the film was shot on location at the actual sites. While they are cracking open the safe, they use their forced overnight stay to help themselves to goods from various departments and enjoy a level of prosperity they have never known before for a few hours. With a documentary-like sense of realism and the Berlin dialect, the film paints a precise portrait of the milieu.

BRD/NDR 1967, Dir. & Screenplay: Eberhard Fechner, Digital SD, German with German subtitles, 91 min
Introduction: Jan Gympel (film and television historian)

This event is a collaboration with the German Historical Museum and will also take place there at the Zeughauskino.Translated with DeepL

Next date:

• Date Sunday, 11/October/2026 16:00
• Venue Deutsche Kinemathek
• Address Mauerstraße 79, 10117 Berlin-Kreisfreie Stadt Berlin