On August 13th, 1961 - the night that the Berlin Wall goes up - three people must make a decision that will change their lives forever.

After the second World War, Dresden has a lot of reconstructing to do. To get the cigarette factory he once worked for running again, Kalle has to travel to Wittenberg - the only place where carbide can be found. Once there, Kalle find himself in the unfortunate situation of having to hitchhike his way back to Dresden, transporting seven heavy barrels of carbide. However, his inventiveness and optimistic attitude help transform the grueling task into an adventurous, entertaining, and funny journey.

The story of the steel melter Martin Hoff, whose factory delegates him to a drama school, corresponds to the real life of the actor Manfred Krug. Like his (film) hero, Krug works as a steel melter, does artwork, sings and acts, and is sent to drama school. Like his hero, who behaves anarchically and conspicuously, Krug is soon expelled from school.

The famous actor Ralf Horricht is a pain in his current director's butt while shooting a comedy about the army. So Horricht believes it a joke, when he receives an induction-order as reserve-officer... but the captain tries his best to make him realize this is no laughing matter.

Günter and Gudrun Piesold are very busy with their careers as a TV comedian and an actress, so Grandma takes care of household chores and childcare. But when Grandma remarries, the Piesolds are faced with chaos at home and a burning question: Who will take care of the household?

This film takes place during the Seven Years' War. The Prussian Major von Tellheim has become engaged to the Saxon noblewoman Minna von Barnhelm. After the war, the King - in an unwarranted move - deprives the major of his honor. Von Tellheim becomes impoverished and, filled with shame, breaks off his relationship to Minna. An innkeeper in Berlin, who is a police informer, makes the Major move to a shabby little attic because he cannot pay his debt. In the meantime, Minna has also arrived at the inn. She and her lady's maid Franziska are questioned and spied on by the nosy innkeeper. Minna has followed her beloved Tellheim and she now cunningly manages to elicit a new declaration of love from him...

One year has passed since Max and Wanda got their divorce. Max has come to the realization that he wants his ex-wife back - no matter what the cost! So he concocts a sneaky plan: he asks Wanda to hide him from the police, who are apparently looking for him. At first, Wanda rejects all his attempts to restart their relationship. But she is soon unable to resist Max's convincing promises and even throws her lover out of the house. But then she discovers Max's lie.

A high-rise building in the center of Berlin in the GDR on July 11, 1982. The final match of the soccer World Cup is being broadcast on television. Five episodes revolve around this event: Soccer fanatic Kneutzsch is torn between the exciting match and the rather irritated woman by the unexpected visit of a lady to whom he has written a marriage announcement ... Dr. Kobermann - on painkillers - has mistaken the bathroom door for the corridor door and locked herself out. Her husband is sitting in front of the TV with headphones on and doesn't hear her ringing, so she seeks refuge in her nightgown with a neighbor, a flautist. After his ex-love Carmen leaves him and wants to return home, the exiled Andrés follows the game - in the knowledge that his father, thousands of kilometers away, is also watching...

Rome at the time of the persecution of Christians: Androclus, a poor tailor, frees a lion in the forest from terrible pain caused by a thorn in his paw. The two meet again by chance when the devout Christian is about to be thrown to wild animals in the arena. The lion spares him with gratitude, but the real danger for Androklus comes from another direction.

Carolin lives in the East and works in a West Berlin bar. After the building of the wall she tries to persuade Georg, a soldier of the border regiment, to let her cross over. He falls in love with her and defends her against a West German pimp with a punch to the jaw.