"This volume traces the development of the state-sponsored Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft (DEFA), which was primarily responsible for film production in the former GDR starting in 1946, ceasing to exist in 1992. Although largely ignored outside the former GDR, DEFA produced a number of excellent films and scriptwriters that are examined here for the first time.

This volume analyzes the representation of fascism and anti-fascism in the cinema of the 1940s and 1950s, the conflicts between the state and the film-makers of the 1960s, and the social-political criticism in the 1970s and early 1980s. Other key issues that arise from this comprehensive look at DEFA include its representation of women, the concept of "Heimat," the reception of the classical heritage, and the relation of DEFA cinema to other European film traditions."--BOOK JACKET.