Week 1: Early Communism and the Ideal of the Worker
Section 1: October 13, 5-8 pm

Trace of Stones, East Germany, 1966. Dir.: Frank Beyer
Presented by Lisabeth Hock

Trace of Stones (Spur der Steine) revolves around three characters. Hannes Balla, played by Manfred Krug, is a talented, yet vulgar construction foreman. He leads a crew of about 20, all of which dress and act in a similarly delinquent fashion, to head a state-funded construction project. "The Party" (the only name it is referred to in the film) sends secretary Werner Horrath, played by Eberhard Esche, to keep on eye on the construction site and get Balla to calm down. Entering the situation is Kati Klee, played by Krystyna Stypulkovska, an ambitious technician who has come to the construction project against the advice of her superiors. What forms is a love triangle set against the personal politics of "The Party" as well as the work the three are supposed to be doing in benefit of the state. While the romance is the main focus of the film, socialist politics, particularly those working against corruption, lie prominently in the background. Arguably the most important DEFA film of the 1960s, Trace of Stones was shelved by East Germany following its 1966 release and banned for 25 years. (Source: Wikipedia)

Dr. Lisabeth Hock is Associate Professor of German in the Department of Classical and Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. Her areas of specialty include 19th-century literature and culture, women writers, intersections of literature and psychiatry, information literacy, and East German literature and film. She has published a monograph on Bettina von Arnim and articles on nineteenth century women writers, women and melancholy, and information literacy. In 2008, she received the WSU President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.