ABSTRACT: More than three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification, differing East and West German experiences and memories continue to shape communication within German society. Coming to terms with East German history is therefore not only a historical task, but also a field of intercultural communication within Germany.
The documentary film NO COMMAND! (Hungary, 2020, approx. 72 min., German) adds a Hungarian perspective to this discussion. The film portrays the events of 1989 as part of a shared German-Hungarian and European history. At its centre are two border officers: Árpád Bella at the Hungarian-Austrian border and Harald Jäger at the Berlin Wall. At the decisive moment, both lacked precisely what gives the film its title – a command. They had to act under conditions of uncertainty, without support and without knowing what consequences their decisions would have. At the same time, the film recalls the tragic fate of an East German family whose attempt to escape shortly after the Pan-European Picnic ended in death.
The film invites discussion about the way these events have been represented and remembered through the media and about their significance for the present: How are 1989 and the fall of the Iron Curtain remembered from East German, West German and Hungarian perspectives? Which divisions and differing experiences continue to shape communication within Germany today?
How are these events perceived from a Hungarian perspective? And what contribution can documentary storytelling make to mutual understanding – and where are its limitations?
Since 2020, the film has not only been screened at various cultural institutions in German cities, but has also reached a wide audience in Ukraine and the United States.