In 1945, Ernst Machner returns home from the war in his mid-20s. Tuche would like him to weave for a living, but his comrades persuade him to become a young teacher instead.

Martin′s and his girlfriend′s Kathrin′s childhood comes to an abrupt end in 1920, when their Mecklenburg village is drawn into the events surrounding the Kapp putsch. By accident, Martin discovers a charge of weapons that land owner von Bröder had put away for the reactionary forces, and gives them to the workers in the city. When the village starts to organize a strike against the putsch, soldiers arrive at the village to hold down the residents of the village.

Was it an act of sabotage or willful negligence? The non-party engineer Heinz Solter is suddenly arrested and accused of approving a defective pipeline that caused a half million loss to his company. At first, the case seems clear-cut for the state prosecutor, but when he probes deeper, he discovers that Solter had acted against his better judgment due to the pressure from his career-driven and authoritarian boss.

Berlin in the 1960s. Olaf and Horst are two young metalworkers, who provoke their older colleagues with critiques of the antiquated equipment and lack of materials... not to mention their love of leather jackets and motorbikes. Olaf and Horst begin to be targeted in the house newsletter, and the generational conflict escalates.

High-school senior Peter considers the adults around him to be hypocritical, self-congratulatory, and immersed in the past. He gets suspended for writing an essay that his teachers consider to be a challenge to the state. Just Don't Think I'll Cry became one of twelve films and film projects-almost an entire year's production-that were banned in 1965-1966 due to their alleged anti-socialist aspects. Although scenes and dialogs were altered and the end was reshot twice, officials condemned this title as "particularly harmful." In 1989, cinematographer Ost restored the original version, and this and most of the other banned films were finally screened in January 1990. Belatedly, they were acclaimed as masterpieces of critical realism.

改编文学之作，这改编对象是因敢言而长期被监视的著名东德女作家Christa Wolf。故事设于1950年代末，女主角丽塔毕业在即被派往电车厂工作，了解劳动生活。在那里，她爱上了比她年长十年的化学家。可惜好恋不常，男朋友因事业失意决定投奔西柏林，令丽塔进退两难。禾斯夫用上前卫的意识流手法，以倒叙方式道出丽塔的经历，藉以对共产理念与实行提出大胆的批判，此片亦因此被誉为“第一部呈现东德觉醒的作品”。

"Two neighbors--Paula, a single woman with two children, and Paul, a conservative bureaucrat stuck in a loveless marriage--begin to fall in love. The free-spirited Paula tries to liberate Paul from his complacent life, but it's not until tragedy and heartaches beset them both that he begins to fully appreciate her love. But is it too late?"--Container

刚从师范学院毕业的Karla Blum来到波罗的海沿岸的一个小镇的中学教高三的英语和历史。Karla个子虽小，却志存高远。她不仅敢于挑战传统的教学方式，更鼓励学生要无所顾忌，畅所欲言。甚至对一个因为持不同的政治见解而经常遭到校方批评的男学生Rudi，Karla亦体现了足够的宽容和理解。Karla的特立独行和直言不隐的作风引起镇教委女负责人Janson，教育局督导以及一班奉行犬儒主义的同事的不满，好在有同样具有理想主义的校长Hans Hardt-Hardtloff的支持，她的尝试和探索得以继续。Karla另一个鼓励和支持者是刚认识的男友Kaspar 。Kaspar曾经是名新闻记者，那时候也充满了理想和热情，但残酷的现实令他无比失望，不愿意随波逐流的他选择辞职当一名渔夫。Karla面临的是同Kaspar遇到过的一样的现实。有时候她不得不屈服于各方的压力，做出退让。不过，她很快会重新坚持己见，走自己的道路。一次学生派对后暗恋Karla的Rudi在两人回家途中吻了Karla。此事被一位对Rudi单相思的女同学无意中泄漏。以除去Karla为后快的保守派们等到了千载难逢的机会，Karla被调离。不过，电影的结尾还是给人留下了希望：火车上提着行李的Karla依然是那么自信，给最后一分钟决定随她同行的Kaspar投去了意味深长的微笑。 本片是东德著名剧作家Ulrich Plenzdorf根据一则新闻报道而做的创作，生不逢时地拍摄完成于十一届全会之后，被官方以“宣扬虚无主义，怀疑和敌视社会主义”的理由禁映。1990年，这部东德版的《死亡诗社》终于有机会跟观众见面，并得到了广泛的好评。