The Prussian scion KarlEduard von Schnitzler was one of the most controversial figures in public life in the GDR. At the beginning of his career he was considered one of the most talented journalists in Germany, but at the end of it he was a complete failure. As the head and face of the "Black Channel", he was at the forefront in the battle between the systems, and so Schnitzler's career came to an end with the GDR: his own comrades pulled the most hated man in the GDR off the screen on October 30, 1989 and threw it him out. Betrayed by the party and reviled by the public, the former chief commentator on East German television nevertheless remained true to himself. Until his death in 2001, Schnitzler defended the vanished state just as doggedly as he did the Wall. He moved equally naturally on this side and on the other side of this wall.
He mercilessly exploited the privileges he had won, leading the ambivalent life of a political agitator and at the same time a bohemian with women, bars and fast cars. Finally, his moral failings even made him susceptible to blackmail. The film traces this contradictory biography, illuminates its blind spots, lets Schnitzler's daughter have a say, the actress Barbara Schnitzler, his friend and colleague Heinz Grote and the historian Gunter Holzweißig, who has been dealing with this ambivalent personality for over twenty years.

Last issue of the “Black Channel”:    • Der Schwarze Kanal 30.10.1989  letzt...  

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