Die unverbesserliche Barbara (1977)

Barbara was once a successful swimmer who made it onto the East German national team. For love of her husband, she gave up swimming and followed him to the small town of Ergsleben. Her husband, Herbert, worked there as a mathematician and, among other things, designed large computers. Barbara began working as an unskilled worker in the spinning mill of a textile factory, where Herbert’s mother was also employed. His mother helped train Barbara, enabling her to qualify as a skilled worker. Now Barbara is close to qualifying as a master craftswoman, and her supervisor, Ferdinand, supports her in her work. Even when Barbara’s examination project calls for a radical rethink of working and training methods—one that would demand greater effort from all the workers—Ferdinand stands by her. Barbara is an energetic woman with high ambitions. In the past, she even used entirely unconventional means to secure the construction of a swimming pool belonging to the factory, where she could train the town’s children and teenagers and where swimming competitions could even be held. Her manner provokes resistance from men and, at times, incomprehension from women because of her “masculine way.” But she is popular with the young people who are just beginning their training at the factory, because she speaks openly about problems and calls for change. Her marriage to Herbert seems stable: almost a year ago, they adopted a child, Jacki. The trial year is nearly over when Barbara accidentally discovers that Herbert has been cheating on her with his secretary, Eva, for some time. Eva is seven months pregnant by Herbert; the affair began nine months ago. Around that time, Herbert’s working situation also began to deteriorate. His company realized that it did not need a computing center equipped with the latest machines, which Herbert had designed, and sold the equipment to industry. Herbert’s position was eliminated, and he was assigned work for which he was overqualified. He did not confide in Barbara because he believed he could no longer live up to her expectations. The situation is fraught, especially since Barbara is now being closely watched at work. Her new supervisor is Franz, a senior foreman with a latent hostility toward women, who questions her methods and tests her limits. At home, Barbara has no choice but to share the apartment with her husband and Eva, because Eva’s father threw her out after learning about the affair. Barbara and Herbert divorce, and Jacki is awarded to Barbara. Herbert is required to move out, but he puts it off until Barbara has had enough. She herself starts looking for an apartment, but it turns out that Eva’s father has already prepared one for Eva and Herbert. Herbert’s mother, for her part, takes Barbara’s side and gives her renewed strength, though at the cost of suffering a breakdown herself. Barbara is promoted to master craftswoman, and her efforts to introduce a new training plan pay off: it is to be introduced on a trial basis. When a former swimming teammate offers Barbara a job as a swimming instructor in another town, she hesitates. She realizes that he loves her and would leave his family for her, and she turns down the job. She does not want her divorce to cause further discord. Meanwhile, the swimming pool in Ergsleben has been completed. Its lanes are a few centimeters too short, so competitions can never be held there. Nevertheless, Barbara will use it to train the factory’s girls. By the end, she has built a new life with her adopted son. She happily spends her vacation with him on the Baltic Sea coast—alone.