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History

Erich Mielke

February 6, 2018

The two-part documentary drama Erich Mielke – Master of Fear looks at Mielke’s life from the zenith of his power 1988/89, to imprisonment and mental decline after the collapse of East Germany.

https://p.dw.com/p/2sBEi
Erich Mielke Archiv 14.09.1980
Image: picture alliance/akg-images

Erich Mielke was one of the most feared figures of communist East Germany. Head of the Ministry of State Security he ran an extensive system of surveillance and repression. Who was he? This docudrama traces Mielke’s life, showing him at the pinnacle of his power and as a broken man in jail.

Bildergalerie Mauerfall
Image: ullstein bild-Succo

The two-part docudrama is an attempt to show Mielke the man behind communist East Germany’s totalitarian apparatus: his motivations, his convictions - and his ultimate political failure. Erich Mielke wielded incredible might. He was a careerist and a political survivor who subordinated his life to the great cause. Reenacted scenes show Mielke as an energetic 83 year old in his workplace, East Germany’s feared Ministry of State Security. There, between 1988 and 1989, he was at the apex of his power. We see how he functioned as a minister, how he battled to maintain intact a totalitarian system ultimately doomed to fail.  

Justiz schließt Akten zum Fall Mielke
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

The second level of the film shows Erich Mielke as a broken man in a Berlin prison. In 1991, while waiting for his trial, he talks to a psychologist and looks back at his life. The acted scenes are bolstered by interviews, archive footage and exclusive peeks into the intelligence dossiers that the CIA and the West German BND kept on Erich Mielke.

Broadcasting Hours: 
Part 1: 

DW (English)

TUE 13.03.2018 – 19:15 UTC
WED 14.03.2018 – 01:15 UTC
WED 14.03.2018 – 15:15 UTC
THU 15.03.2018 – 05:15 UTC
SAT 17.03.2018 – 14:15 UTC
MON 19.03.2018 – 03:15 UTC
FRI 01.04.2018 – 09:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4
Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3 
London UTC +0 | Berlin UTC +1 | Moscow UTC +3

FRI 01.04.2018 – 09:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4
Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3 
London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +3


DW (Deutsch+)

WED 14.03.2018 – 09:15 UTC
SAT 17.03.2018 – 07:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3

 

Part 2: 

DW (English)

TUE 20.03.2018 – 19:15 UTC
WED 21.03.2018 – 01:15 UTC
WED 21.03.2018 – 15:15 UTC
THU 22.03.2018 – 05:15 UTC
SAT 24.03.2018 – 14:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4
Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3 
London UTC +0 | Berlin UTC +1 | Moscow UTC +3

MON 26.03.2018 – 03:15 UTC
FRI 08.04.2018 – 09:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4
Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3 
London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +3


DW (Deutsch+)

WED 21.03.2018 – 09:15 UTC
SAT 24.03.2018 – 07:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3