Synopsis:
The film portrays a German family and its support for Hitler during the Nazi period. The apolitical mechanic Hans Behnke considers joining the Nazi party to improve his financial standing. When he helps friends print resistance leaflets, his son, who is a member of the Hitler Youth, betrays him and he gets sent to prison. After the war father and son meet again.

Another Staudte (The Murderers Are among Us) classic, Rotation shows the individual’s struggle within a murderous dictatorship. It was censored by Soviet authorities in East Germany because of its pacifist message and footage from Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia (1936).

Rotation was awarded with the Golden Leopard at the 1954 Locarno Film Festival and is ranked by German film critics as one of Germany's 100 most important films.

Press Comments:
"One of the artistically most interesting productions of the early East German cinema. Astonishing in its power and clarity." -- Süddeutsche Zeitung

"This film explains why so many Germans went along with the Nazi political system and enabled its crimes." -- Heinz Kersten, Film Journalist

"A penetrating film of elevated artistic quality. Astonishing in its power and clarity." -- Films in the GDR, Catholic Institute for Media Research "Highly recommended! Rotation is a powerful film not only for its dissection of a family racked by internal strife, but also for its willingness to address the anti-Semitic campaigns that fueled Nazi policies, providing valuable insight into the conflicted German mindset during this tumultuous era." -- Video Librarian

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