Bloss Eine Nummer
Details
Country
Germany
Language
German
Current Stage
In Development
Produced by
OURLIGHTSWITCH
Partners
Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen
Crew
Director
Louisa Weichmann
Producer(s)
Bart Christiaanse
Director of Photography
Nico Uris
1st AC/ Camera B
Nicolás Pablo Gombinsky
2nd AC/ Camera C
Teresa Tubert
Camera D
Philip Seifert
Gaffer
Tomás Selemín Roca
Sound Mixer
Georgii Malykh
Still Photography & BTS
Elisa Blanco
Production Assistant
Camille Dufau
Storyline
In the early 1950s, a young man named Arno Drefke was imprisoned in the “U Boot” wing of the Stasi prison in Berlin Hohenschönhausen. He spent months in isolation and under psychological pressure and became one of many political prisoners silenced under the SED dictatorship. Today, Arno is the last living survivor of that underground cell block.
Bloss Eine Nummer follows Arno as he revisits his memories of imprisonment and the life that followed. His testimony is interwoven with rare archival material and carefully staged reconstructions that help make the spaces and routines of detention visible again. The film offers a focused look at how repression was experienced on an individual level and how it can shape a person’s life and family over time.
By preserving Arno’s voice, the film documents a unique historical witness and speaks to younger audiences about the risks of authoritarianism and the importance of protecting democratic freedoms.
Why this film now
This testimony cannot be postponed. Arno is the last living witness of the “U Boat” wing, and this is also his final chance to speak openly about its impact, not only as history, but as lived consequence for him and his family.At the same time, the film speaks directly to the present. Bloss Eine Nummer is not only about the past. It is about the mechanisms of dehumanization that reappear wherever democratic values weaken. Surveillance, intimidation, isolation, and the slow normalization of fear.
Photo Gallery
