The 1990s: Films as a Source

09/23/2026, 6:00 PM–9:00 PM

Contemporary History Forum Leipzig

As part of the International Conference “The 1990s. Anatomy of a Caesura”, which is organized by the Research Center for Transformation History at the University of Leipzig, the documentary “Stolz und Eigensinn” (2025) by Gerd Kroske is shown. The film portrays women who worked in various industrial professions during GDR times and had to fight against strong resistance after 1990 in order to keep their jobs. An unusual archive find serves as the basis for this: In a film from the 1990s, the women commented on their experiences. “Prod and Stubby” uses the historical recordings of that time to relate the phase of transformation to today’s world of women by questioning the protagonists again after 30 years.

>Following the film screening, an audience discussion will take place with Annika Haupts (Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin) and Andreas Kötzing about the relevance of documentary films from the 1990s as a source for transformation research.

Admission is free.

In cooperation with the University of Leipzig – Historical Seminar/Research Center Transformation History and the Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarianism Research e. V. at the TU Dresden