Synopsis
Willy Brandt, who would have been 100 on the 18th December, was one of the greatest German andEuropean political figures. He was a person who was crucial in shaping post second world war history,
firstly as mayor of Berlin during the Cold War, then as foreign minister in a major coalition government,
next as Federal Chancellor of the Bonn Republic and finally as a long-serving SPD leader with a
major international reputation.
For this 100th anniversary, André Schäfer’s film tells the story of the important stations in Willy
Brandt’s political life. The filmmaker allows this charismatic politician to speak for himself in rare and
intimate footage from his years in exile, his time as Mayor of Berlin and his short but formative time as
chancellor. Friends and close companions reminisce about him and together portray a very personal
picture of Brandt. Among them are his son Peter Brandt, his fellow campaigner and close colleague
Egon Bahr, the journalists Gerd Ruge, Gunter Hofmann, Werner Perger and Wibke Bruhns, Wolf-
Dietrich Schilling, Klaus Harpprecht, Albrecht Müller and Harry Walter, the Bonn photographers Josef
Darchinger and Konrad R. Müller, and last but not least 98 year old Elizabeth Fisher-Spanjer, a friend
from his time in exile as a young man.
