New Documentary on junge Welt Sparks Fierce Historical Debate
Sometimes, even before reading an article, a reader can already sense what to expect. Still, it comes as quite a shock just how many basic errors Thomas Blum makes in his piece "A Business You've Got to Be Keen On" about the premiere of the junge Welt film on February 14 at Berlin's Babylon Cinema (neues deutschland, February 17, 2026). We won't delve into matters of taste or subjective assessments here, but we do want to correct a number of factual mistakes.
Blum claims in his article that the jW documentary "begins, as expected, with greetings from Comrade Walter Ulbricht, the 'Great Chairman,' to the newly founded FDJ newspaper in 1947." The facts, however, tell a different story: Junge Welt was not established as an FDJ paper in 1947 (that came later). Moreover, the GDR—and thus a "Great Chairman" of the State Council—did not even exist at that time. Most importantly, the footage in question actually shows the 10th anniversary celebration of the Junge Welt publishing house in December 1961. Nor does the film begin with this sequence, contrary to Blum's assertion.
Blum, who worked as an editor at Jungle World from 2000 onward, then turns to the 1997 split within junge Welt. At the time, some jW editors occupied the newsroom and produced the first issues of Jungle World. His claim that only three editors remained at junge Welt is flatly contradicted by the continued daily production of the newspaper—something three people could hardly have managed alone. The trick? Simply ignore inconvenient staff, such as colleagues from the layout or photo departments. In reality, there was a vote among jW employees, and the result was binding: over 80 percent approved the 10-point plan proposed by then-managing director Dietmar Koschmieder. This outcome stood, even though the Jungle World faction announced on the day of the jointly prepared vote that they would not participate. Blum further states that the majority of the editorial team, "shortly after being expelled, went on to found the left-pluralist weekly Jungle World." But the 1997 conflict did not end in expulsions; instead, every staff member was free to choose whether to continue working at junge Welt or not. The only exception was Klaus Behnken, who was allowed to stay but not in his previous role as editor-in-chief.
Blum is also wrong in claiming that Dietmar Koschmieder "never lived in the GDR." Other speculations of his are equally off the mark. The film's director is by no means a "freshly minted filmmaker" from junge Welt's advertising department: Clara Erhardt is a screenwriter, film producer, and director with several films to her name, as well as a student at the Babelsberg Konrad Wolf Film University (and works part-time at jW). Blum suggests that the sung Internationale and the subsequent chant of "Long live international solidarity!" in the film's closing credits "are likely an audio recording from a demonstration." Again, he is mistaken: the recording comes from the closing session of the 32nd International Rosa Luxemburg Conference on January 10, 2026, organized by the daily newspaper Junge Welt.
He further criticizes the film for not featuring all former colleagues, past editors-in-chief, and others, implying "disfavor," an "Orwellian memory hole," or "retouching." The reality is even more damning: many current jW staff—including editor-in-chief Daniel Bratanovic—do not appear in the film either. But this has nothing to do with Stalinist censorship; rather, it reflects the director's decision to limit the film to 70 minutes and determine who would speak and when.
In closing, we note that the film Dreams and Other Realities will be released on DVD following its premiere. This will give viewers another chance to see the corpus delicti for themselves—and form their own judgment.
Sebastian Carlens is the managing director of 8. Mai Verlag (Junge Welt).
