Candid Chat: "Ku'damm 56" - 3Sat Reveals the Emotional Powerhouse of All Three Episodes
Scandalous Liaisons and Chaotic Tunes: 3Sat airing the whole trilogy of 'Ku'damm 56' - Exploring Intimacy and Music: Broadcasting the Trilogy "Ku'damm 56" in Full on 3Sat
Penned by Carsten Heidböhmer* Approx. Reading Time: 2 Mins
They say, "Kick your hero when they're down, then kick them some more." In the 2016 eye-opener trilogy "Ku'damm 56," this principle was taken to the extreme. The narrative starts with our young heroine Monika Schöllack (Sonja Gerhardt) hitting rock bottom—expelled from her housekeeping school for so-called "immoral behavior." Desperate to escape the shame, she attempts to throw herself in front of a subway train—but fate has other plans. As her life spirals further into despair, her mother declares her a waste, a snobbish industrialist's son violates her, and the blame is laid on her.
In 1956 post-war Germany, a woman's main role is to be an obedient housewife. That's the plan Caterina Schöllack (Claudia Michelsen) has for her daughter Monika: housekeeping school, then marriage. Since the housekeeping school part failed, marriage seems elusive too. Sonja Gerhardt portrays Monika as a 1950s version of Lisa Plenske—with thick glasses, dowdy clothes, and a timid demeanor, she skillfully conceals her sex appeal until her passion for rock 'n' roll—a rebel force she instinctively perceives as a means to defy the Adenauer era's stifling atmosphere—reveals itself.
"Ku'damm 56" - A Time Travel Adventure
Monika's sisters, too, face pain: Helga (Maria Ehrich) yearns to be an excellent housewife and wife to her husband, Wolfgang von Boost (August Wittgenstein), but their connection remains cold. For Wolfgang, men are his attraction. Eva Schöllack (Emilia Schüle), a nurse, dreams of the establishment's chief physician, Dr. Jürgen Fassbender (Heino Ferch), proposing. However, a patient's husband comes between them.
"Ku'damm 56" showcases the experiences of the Schöllack sisters and their mother in a broad, vivid sketch, transporting viewers to the 1950s. Writer Annette Hess, creator of the highly-acclaimed ARD series "Weissensee," delves into a multitude of themes—National Socialism, repression, the German-German division, Jewish firms' expropriation, soldiers' fate, women's role, men's weakness, and rock 'n' roll's liberating power. Rather than an academic lecture, these themes are encapsulated within personal relationships.
A Rainbow of Love Triangles Instead of a Single Triangle
Given the sheer volume of historical topics and moods, the narrative's beauty lies in weaving these complexities into engaging relationship stories—a refined variation of the classic "woman-between-two-men" pattern seen in countless Teamworx event movies like "Dresden" or "The Bridge."
"Ku'damm 56" masterfully tackles its massive subject matter and delivers an entertaining tale with just the right mix of plot-smoothing and character improbabilities. At times, the visual style may seem a bit polished, overly vintage-retro, or slightly excessive—too bright, too shiny, too meticulously coiffed.
Despite its minor flaws, "Ku'damm 56" remains a worthwhile piece of television that widens horizons and explores historical periods beyond the dark years of Hitler's regime.
"Ku'damm 56" originally premiered in 2016. 3Sat will re-air the three episodes on Friday, June 13, starting at 8:15 PM, one after the other.
- Ku'damm
- Sonja Gerhardt
- Claudia Michelsen
- Emilia Schüle
I'm not sure I'm ready for the emotional powerhouse that is the trilogy "Ku'damm 56", especially with its deep dive into themes like women's roles, men's weakness, and the liberating power of rock 'n' roll in the context of 1950s Germany. This riveting series can be found in the movies-and-tv category of entertainment.
