A complete service of Meissen porcelain against a couple of sacks of potatoes, the grueling wait for traumatized returnees, new identities, a lot of power and impotence and the feverish search for iron for steel production … The three-part "Our wonderful years" tells of the novel of the same name by Peter Prange (64) based on a family the history of the economic miracle, which founded the prosperity of the Federal Republic with the introduction of the D-Mark in June 1948 – including dramatic ties of love.
What is it all about?
Germany, June 20, 1948. In Altena, a small town in North Rhine-Westphalia, as everywhere in the country, long lines form in front of the local bank: Today every citizen, poor or rich, old or young, resistance fighters or former Nazi, with the introduction of the new currency the chance for a fresh start. If you line up in front of the exchange point, you get 40 freshly printed D-Marks in your hand – and you can finally decide what you want to do with them.
The manufacturer couple Christel and Eduard Wolf (Katja Riemann and Thomas Sarbacher), their three daughters Ulla, Gundel and Margot (Elisa Schlott, Vanessa Loibl and Anna Maria Mühe) and their friends Jürgen, Benno and Tommy (Ludwig Trepte, Franz Hartwig) and David Schütter) and businessman Walter Böcker (Hans-Jochen Wagner) are there.
Everyone dreams of their future in different ways. Everyone is a blacksmith of their luck – or is it fate that will determine their path in life? A terrible war and the ballast of the past lie behind them. The beginning of a new era lies ahead of them. The friends' different paths of life lead to Düsseldorf, Tübingen and East Berlin. They celebrate success, fight for recognition, fail with their dreams, find or lose great love …
Is it worth turning on the three-piece suit?
If you like the series "Ku'damm" (since 2016, ZDF), you will also like this three-part series. Against the background of social constraints and the many opportunities that suddenly existed, new stories are told again in three parts. That these are just as gripping as in the successful ZDF format is certainly due to the actors, who breathe a lot of personality into their roles.
"Our wonderful years" will be broadcast on March 18, 21 and 25 at 8:15 p.m. on the first.