The character Martin Rauch is told, "Do not imagine you can live a simple life. You now have three options: Either you are killed, you go to court, or you work in a secret service again."[3]
Anna Winger and Jörg Winger, creators and executive producers said: "When the Berlin Wall came down, Germany reinvented itself for the fourth time in the 20th century. Deutschland 89 goes back to the so-called 'end of history'. Our heroes, spies in the national security apparatus of a country that has collapsed overnight, find themselves at a dramatic crossroads, personally and professionally."[4]
Cast
Main
Jonas Nay as Martin Rauch, a former East German intelligence officer who now works for a state-owned technology company but is forced to return to work as a spy and acts as a double agent.
Sylvester Groth as Walter Schweppenstette, Lenora's former boss and Martin's father who is sent by the HVA to infiltrate the West German banking system.
Corinna Harfouch as Beate, an HVA agent posing as Walter's wife in Frankfurt.
Svenja Jung as Nicole Zangen, teacher of Martin's son Max.
Martin Rauch is forced back into service by threats to send his son, Max, to Moscow. Martin is ordered to courier a new draft travel law to Egon Krenz, the leader of East Germany, and photograph it for the HVA on the way. The draft is radical, recommending the opening of the Berlin Wall. Martin pretends to Krenz that it has been approved by Moscow. The law is announced on television. East German citizens mass at the border and are allowed out by the guards.
2
"November Nights"
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The HVA begin shredding their files. Max is hidden by his teacher Miss Zangen. Walter Schweppenstette, Martin's father, is sent to the West to infiltrate the banking system. The aim is to prevent the East German State Bank being bought by Deutsche Bank, so that the HVA can buy it instead. Martin is abducted by Brigitte Winkelmann of West German intelligence and Hector Valdez of the CIA. He is sent to pose as a sound technician to infiltrate a music group led by Carl and Sabine Baumgarten, who they suspect are planning a terrorist attack. Lenora is broken out of a West German prison by Rose.
3
"Magic"
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Deutsche Bank are seeking to hire East German bankers; Schweppenstette recommends a candidate. Tobias Tischbier informs Markus Fuchs about the social movement "Treuhand", which aims for the public to own shares in all enterprises. Lenora is recruited into a terrorist organisation by Grigore Antonescu, a Romanian. She asks Fuchs for access to a weapons depot. Sabine drugs Martin with magic mushrooms, and he confesses his secret service connections. He is driven home to Nicole's apartment by Carl, where he confesses his love for Nicole. Carl and Sabine return in a tour bus, saying they are taking Martin, Nicole and Max to Frankfurt to play in a concert.
4
"Operation Condor"
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The tour bus drives to Frankfurt. Carl uses a police radio frequency to cause disruption. Lenora supplies a bomb to the Red Army Faction, who use it to kill the head of Deutsche Bank, Alfred Herrhausen. Lenora and Antonescu head to Romania. Carl and Sabine imprison Martin and Nicole, but they escape and kill Carl. Martin and Nicole head to Romania to hide out. Fritz Hartmann of the HVA reinvents himself as an entrepreneur and attempts to sell computers with video cameras.
5
"Timisoara Rebellion"
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Fuchs and Dietrich arrive in Frankfurt, fearful for their position and bringing gold in suitcases. They take up residence in Sorrento, Italy. Lenora and Antonescu arrive in Romania as unrest builds. They go to a safe house in Timisoara. Martin and Nicole also arrive in Timisoara, where Martin kills Antonescu. Lenora calls Beate, who gives her the address of Fuchs in Sorrento.
6
"Quando ti Guardo"
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Martin calls Schweppenstette, who gives him the address of Fuchs. Martin and Nicole arrive in Sorrento. Tina argues with a former Hohenschönhausen Prison worker, Rudi, who attacks Tobias Tischbier as he enters.
7
"Phase Zwei"
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Lenora plans to assassinate the Chancellor of West Germany, Helmut Kohl. Tina recognises Rudi as her interrogator from prison. She traps him in her bedroom and he hangs himself. Martin starts to believe that Nicole is an HVA agent. Valdez and Winkelmann recruit Rose to capture Lenora, in exchange for help to the ANC. Rose supplies a rifle with no firing pin to Lenora, but Lenora exposes the deception. Lenora prepares to shoot Kohl with an alternative rifle, but Rose shoots her in the arm from another rooftop. Martin confronts Lenora but cannot bring himself to kill her. Nicole visits Martin's apartment and finds Annett dead with a note from Sabine promising to eliminate his family. Nicole travels to Beate for help.
8
"The End of History"
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Martin wakes up imprisoned in a CIA safehouse by Hector Valdez, who accuses him of assassinating Herrhausen, planning to assassinate Kohl, and the murder of Annett Schneider in his apartment. Russian agents arrive at Beate's house seeking Max, but Beate convinces them to leave. Ingrid exposes Tobias Tischbier as an HVA agent. Martin escapes from the safehouse only to be ambushed by Valdez. Martin is rescued by Schweppenstette and John Tyler Jr of the CIA, who shoots Valdez, but Tyler says he cannot have any witnesses. Martin's family attend his funeral. Fuchs and Dietrich are assassinated by Fritz and Nina. Martin is alive with Nicole. Brigitte provides them with new identities. The series ends with a montage of new walls being erected in the decades following the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Production
The initial funding grant of €700,000 ($780,000 US dollars) to UFA Fiction to begin production was approved by the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, and announced on 7 February 2019. In September 2019 RTL confirmed that shooting had begun and was expected to be completed in and around Berlin by the end of 2019.[4]
The headquarters of the former Ministry for State Security (MfS) in Normannenstraße in Berlin was used for shots on location and housed sets for the series.[3]
As with Deutschland 86, there was a production partnership with online service Amazon Video, who provided additional funding. The announcement of Amazon's support for Deutschland 89 came before the release of Deutschland 86.[6][7]
Broadcast
Since 25 September 2020, Amazon Prime Video has been streaming the eight new episodes in Germany and Austria.[1] The show began airing in America on Sundance TV on 29 October 2020.[8] The Australian streaming service Stan released the show on 25 September 2020.[9] In the UK the show began airing on More4 from 5 March 2021.[10]
Reception
Upon airing, the show was met with mostly positive reviews from critics. The Guardian gave a positive review of 4 out of 5 stars, praising the direction of Anna and Joerg Winger.[11]IndieWire gave the series a B grade, praising the ambition of the show but directing criticism towards the overall pacing.[12]
