...und deine Liebe auch (1962)

Berlin, August 12, 1961: Ullrich Sittich, called “Ulli” by his friends and “Wellensittich” by his colleagues, works as an electrical fitter at a lightbulb factory in East Berlin. It is the birthday of his late foster mother, who took him in as a child after his parents died in 1945 and raised him alongside her biological son, Klaus. Klaus also lives in Berlin, works as a taxi driver in West Berlin, and regularly plays the numbers lottery. He, too, plans to visit their mother’s grave when Eva, a young postal money-order clerk, knocks at his door. As part of a lottery syndicate, Klaus has won over 100 marks, and on the spur of the moment he invites Eva out for the evening. A little later, at his mother’s grave, he meets Ulli. The two of them go to the meeting place and wait for Eva. Ulli is attracted to her, too, and Eva dances with both brothers. Around midnight, they head, slightly drunk, to Ulli’s apartment. The radio enthusiast wants to contact his friend Alfredo in Cuba, but Alfredo cannot be reached. After Ulli sings Eva a song, the doorbell suddenly rings. Ulli claims that he is needed at work and leaves. In reality, construction of the Berlin Wall has begun, and, like many other workers, Ulli has to report for duty with his factory’s combat group, as a party-group organizer. He suspects the new situation will hit Klaus hard, since he can no longer work in the West. At the same time, Ulli feels relieved, because until now he has tried in vain to set Klaus on the right path. While on duty at the border with West Berlin, Ulli is visited by Alfredo, who has come to Berlin on business. Together, they sing the song “Somos socialistas, pa’lante y pa’lante” (“We are socialists, moving forward and moving forward”) at the Oberbaum Bridge checkpoint. Klaus loses his job, but makes no effort to find another one. One night, he surprises Eva at her apartment and sleeps with her. Eva, who had previously been unsure which of the two men she loved more, now chooses Klaus, impressed by his boldness. Meanwhile, Ulli has decided he wants to be with Eva and breaks up with his girlfriend, Margot. Too late, he realizes that Eva and Klaus are a couple. He tries in vain to forget Eva. Meanwhile, he goes to bat for Klaus and gets him a job as a car mechanic in his factory’s repair shop. Klaus, however, is dissatisfied, and increasingly behaves aggressively toward Eva, with whom he is living. Eventually, he hits her during an argument. She packs her things and moves back in with her former landlady. The decision is especially hard for her because she is pregnant with Klaus’s child, though he knows nothing about it. She wants to tell Ulli about her pregnancy, particularly as the two feel drawn to each other. But on the day they have arranged to talk, he excitedly tells her that he is going to Cuba for six weeks on a business trip to return Alfredo’s visit. She tries in vain to stop him. When he fails to understand, she reacts by rejecting him and leaves. One day, Eva, working as a letter carrier, has to deliver a registered letter to Klaus: he has won 5,000 West German marks in the lottery with his syndicate, and his friends “over there” will hold the money for him. Klaus’s urge to flee to the West grows stronger, especially since the money could help him build a life there. Meanwhile, Eva wants to have the unwanted child aborted and goes to Ilse, a former schoolmate who works as a social worker. She asks Ilse whom she can go to for an abortion, but Ilse refuses to answer. A little later, Klaus turns up at Eva’s and makes it clear that he plans to escape to the West and take her with him. Eva tells him she is pregnant with his child and will not go with him. She throws him out. Some time later, Ulli returns from Cuba. His first stop is Eva’s. That evening, she intends to confess her pregnancy to him, but when she first sees him, she only mentions Klaus’s plans to escape. Ulli goes looking for Klaus, but finds the apartment empty. At night, he finds him in the cemetery near the Berlin border where their mother is buried. The two men fight. When Klaus runs toward the Wall carrying a ladder, Ulli gives him away by shouting loudly. He also rushes after him and tries to pull him down from the ladder. The border guards notice them both and open fire. Ulli is hit in the shoulder and taken to hospital. Klaus is arrested and sentenced to several years in prison. Eva visits Ulli in hospital and finally tells him about her pregnancy. Ulli reacts reservedly, but Eva makes it clear that she and Klaus have no future together. She does visit Klaus in prison, but tells him she will not wait for him. December passes, and New Year’s Eve arrives. Ulli has been discharged from hospital and celebrates New Year’s Eve with his colleagues. Shortly before midnight, he goes to Eva, who is celebrating alone with her landlady. He has realized that he wants to stay with her. The child will grow up under communism, and that is what matters most.