Shadows of Power (willi Brandt) ­ A film by Oliver Storz, Ziegler Film

He was one of the most important political figures of the 20th century. For his whole life he stood for peace, freedom, and unification of the German people and strived for better understanding among all peoples. The pictures of Willy Brandt falling to his knees before the memorial of the Warsaw Ghetto went around the world. The Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to him in 1971, paid honor to his outstanding deeds and accomplishments.

        For beyond his legacy as a political figure, Willy Brandt inaugurated with his personality and charisma a new political style. Compared often with John F. Kennedy in the USA, Willy Brandt was able to win over large segments of the German population to his causes, while at the same time convincing the great political figures of the day, both at home and abroad, of the importance of his work.

        Willy Brandt reached the pinnacle of his political career as German Chancellor. The pressure of the job was noted shortly after he took office. On the home front the problems increased: the economic boom went into a tailspin, the oil crisis drove energy costs up astronomically, and then Günter Guillaume, the Chancellor’s personal adviser, was revealed a spy (In photo left ­ courtesy Ziegler Film). For years, Guillaume had been handing on the contents of important and secret documents to the GDR Secret Service. To bring down in this devious manner the Chancellor who was furthering the diplomatic recognition of the GDR, this ranks ­ so conceded Markus Wolf, GDR’s top secret service agent, later in a television interview ­ as one of the greatest faux pas incidents in secret service history.

More information: pre-production notes to »Great Germans« series ­ www.ziegler-film.com

­ rh