Risen from Ruins: Berlin, Generations, and Identity in Herrmann Zschoche’s Insel der Schwäne

In GDR culture generally, and in DEFA films in particular, buildings, construction sites, and ruins play a substantial role. This article examines the significance of issues of space and architecture in Herrmann Zschoche’s film Insel der Schwäne [Swan Island] (1983), and puts them in context with generational conflicts – another prevalent topic in GDR culture – as well as questions of identity. This approach reveals that Insel der Schwäne, far from simply fossilizing the city/countryside dichotomy, stages East Berlin as a heterogeneous, enjoyable, progressive socialist universe still in the making. The capital of the GDR emerges as a space in which the teenager Stefan can assert himself – both in the complex space of Marzahn that is challenging because love develops just as readily as conflicts, and vis-à-vis his father, a construction worker of the first GDR generation who emblematically showcases the opportunities as well as the sacrifices implied in building socialism. Unlike later DEFA films, Insel der Schwäne still embraces utopian yearnings for a better, socialist future, and carefully calls for continued efforts to build a socialist state that allows for heterogeneity in its cities as well as among its socialist citizens of all generations.