Anton der Zauberer (1978)

Anton Grubske is buried. The mourners look back on his life. Even as a teenager, Anton showed a passion for cars and women. When, during the Second World War, the auto mechanic was shot down in the desert and a mirage in the shape of a glass full of beer appeared before his mind’s eye in the middle of the wasteland, the third defining passion of Anton’s life was awakened: his love of alcohol. After the war, Anton returned to his father and found a lucrative source of income in repairing wrecked cars. It became even more lucrative when he specialized in restoring tractors. He also pocketed his tips without paying taxes and deposited them with Sabine, an acquaintance and on-again, off-again lover, since by then he had married the pious Liesel. When the embezzled funds reached astronomical sums, Anton opened an account in West Berlin with Sabine’s help, secretly stashing the money there. Sabine was given power of attorney over the account and was soon able to tell Anton that he was a millionaire in East German marks. Meanwhile, Anton expanded his business practices: instead of selling goods once they were ready, he took advances from large-scale farmers for tractors yet to be delivered—even though he did not yet have the necessary wrecks. Production soon ground to a halt, and one customer, who had been repeatedly fobbed off, finally reported Anton anonymously. Anton was arrested and sentenced to four years in prison. Even in prison, he showed organizational talent and a strong work ethic, and was eventually released as an outstanding activist. In the meantime, a postcard from Sabine in Switzerland had brought him back down to earth: she had taken his money in West Berlin and settled in Switzerland. However, since Anton had repeatedly claimed during his trial, in hopes of a reduced sentence, that he had spent the embezzled money, there was now no way to bring the theft before a court. Anton began working as a spare-parts procurer for Schröder, the manager of a tractor factory, whom he had already worked for while in prison. Since Anton could literally organize anything, he soon received several awards and was even allowed to travel to Budapest, where he resisted an offer to escape to Switzerland. Because he was increasingly plagued by nightmares about all the missing untaxed money—which, as a private citizen in the GDR, he could not possibly spend anyway—he decided to renounce the fortune in writing. The doctors also advised him to give up excessive drinking in the future. Even a large amount of alcohol consumed while he was agitated could mean the end for him. Anton’s resolve was put to the test when Sabine died in a car accident in Switzerland. She had made him the beneficiary of her life insurance policy, meaning he would now receive 200,000 Swiss francs. He decided to give the money to the city. He had Sabine’s last car, a luxuriously equipped Chevrolet Impala and now his inheritance, destroyed in a scrap press. Afterward, he drank heavily and died of heart failure. At his funeral, everyone he had encountered over the years pays their last respects—and indulges in alcohol.