Erich Mielke – Meister der Angst (2015)

Jens Becker and Maarten van der Duin’s dramatized documentary seeks to make visible the man Erich Mielke behind the totalitarian apparatus of the GDR’s State Security service. It tells what motivated Mielke, what he believed in, what power he wielded, how the Mielke system worked, and how he ultimately failed. The film shows Erich Mielke at the height of his power in 1989 and in a state of complete resignation in prison in 1991. In dramatized scenes, Mielke is shown as a vigorous 83-year-old man at his workplace, the Ministry for State Security. The film shows how he acts as a minister, how he tries to save the GDR, and how he finally capitulates. On a second dramatized level, Mielke is depicted as a broken man in Moabit Prison, where—physically and mentally aged by years—he awaits his trial. In a conversation with a psychologist, he reflects on his life. Interviews, together with archival material and exclusive insights into the BND and BStU files on Mielke, round out the 90-minute documentary. Those interviewed include Roland Jahn, Federal Commissioner for the Records of the State Security Service of the former GDR; Mielke’s lawyers Stefan König and Hubert Dreyling; retired KGB General Nikolai Leonov; historian Nikita Petrov; and Wolfgang Fixson, head of Moabit Prison. The role of Erich Mielke is played by Berlin actor Kaspar Eichel.