Status and Terrain

When first viewing Zustand und Gelande we might be under the impression it belongs to a wellknown tradition of historical documentaries Long shots extremely slow allround views steady panning the image patiently describes a series of urban sites and landscapes of the former German Democratic Republic Saxony and Thuringia Through highly elaborate arrangements of archives from different sources police reports survivors testimonies administrative correspondence and more an o screen voice establishes what these places set the stage for in March 1933 the Nazi concentration system and an elimination regime of all political opposition Especially noteworthy in this film is the extremely attentive channelling towards still unknown times and geographies of the horror Hitler inflicted on the first victims people with sympathies for communism activists trade unionists sociodemocratic journalists and so on