Geheimakten Solvay (1953)

In the border zone at the beginning of the 1950s: Since the division of Germany, five soda factories that once belonged to the Solvay conglomerate have been located on the East German side. To avoid complete expropriation, the company’s leadership moved its headquarters from Bernburg to Frankfurt am Main. The soda works are of considerable importance to the economy of the newly emerging GDR, and the country suffers considerable damage because several Solvay executives have remained in the East to systematically sabotage the company’s socialist operations. One of the former bosses, Director Lütgen, has even managed to establish himself as a trustee at the GDR subsidiary. His campaign of destruction, aimed at undermining East German efforts, is extensive: he deliberately makes bad investments, embezzles urgently needed raw materials, and ensures that some of the production reaches West Berlin by murky routes. Hannes Lorenz, an honest worker and loyal party member who adheres to the party line, is no longer willing to stand by and watch this “arch-capitalist” engage in his destructive activities. For some time, the locksmith has noticed that productivity at the factory is steadily declining despite the workers’ strenuous efforts. The unscrupulous Lütgen then plans to get rid of Lorenz. But his murder attempt fails. With the help of several loyal comrades, Lorenz is now able to put a stop to the subversive activities of the capitalist lackeys and, in the end, even prevent important documents—the “Solvay secret files”—from being transported west. They document the close ties to the former IG Farben conglomerate during the Nazi dictatorship.