New in cinema - Two to One": On the Value of Money in the Last DDR Summer
It sounds like a fairy tale. A group of friends discovers a million-dollar stash in a mine, smuggles it out, and distributes the money among their neighbors. However, the summer comedy "Two to One" with stars Sandra Hüller, Max Riemelt, and Ronald Zehrfeld is based on a true event. In Halberstadt (Sachsen-Anhalt), millions of worthless Mark notes were buried underground with the introduction of the D-Mark in the DDR in 1990.
One day, director Natja Brunckhorst accidentally heard about this and found it intriguing. "This story is just cinema," says the 57-year-old to the German Press Agency. Hauptdarstellerin Hüller, who was born in Suhl, Thuringia, during the DDR, was also surprised and amused by the hidden money from Halberstadt. "One wonders why they didn't just destroy it? Why store it? Did they think they might need it again?"
Where did the 3000 tons of money go?
The true story goes as follows: In the process of the so-called Economic and Monetary Union on July 1, 1990, the vaults of the former state bank had to be made available for the new currencies. The East German paper money "had to go," explains Lysann Goldbach, head of the archives of the KfW Banking Group, the legal successor of the state bank. "A quick solution was needed."
Burning it was not an option, as the capacity was not available. So, 3000 tons of paper money were secretly and securely transported into the underground stollen at Halberstadt, which had been built by forced laborers during the NS era and later used militarily. A billion-dollar grave for eternity, it seemed. "The money was taken to a modern, highly secure facility that was in military possession," says Goldbach. "Deep in a stollen, enclosed behind a two-meter-thick wall. The money seemed secure."
Originally packaged in plastic
However, in 2001, notes from the supposedly secure vault began appearing on the collector's market. Experts recognized them by the fact that 200- and 500-Mark notes were offered, which had never been in circulation during the DDR but had served only as a currency reserve. In Halberstadt, they were found partly still in their original plastic packaging under ground. The KfW, which was responsible for securing the inventory, knew immediately: It had been stolen.
Only a few days later, guards caught two men from the region leaving the mine with loot. Stones had been removed from the wall surrounding the billion-dollar stash in nearly five meters of height and carelessly replaced. No one knows how long or how much of the now decaying paper money had been stolen. The KfW had the inventory removed and burned.
What could have happened
Brunckhorst turned this into a story, "which could have happened - even if the temporal sequence is not entirely correct, but rather dramaturgically compressed," she says. In "Two to One," childhood friends Maren (Hüller), Robert (Riemelt), and Volker (Zehrfeld) stumble upon the buried millions quite by chance in the summer of 1990 and can hardly believe their luck. With bags full of worthless East German money, they decide to invest in their communal living situation.
It was worthless in reality, as the major currency exchange operation from East to West Mark officially ended on July 1st. In exceptional cases, something could still be exchanged later. In the film, the West German door-to-door salesman (Olli Dittrich), who wants to swap allegedly unnecessary East German goods with the Ossis, still has three days left for the exchange of Ostmarks. Therefore, he takes the expired currency, albeit at a terrible exchange rate. The story then gets underway.
The household community buys and buys, hauls crates full of crystal glasses, cookware, microwaves, and wall hangings into the apartments - and resells them for Westmarks. From this idea, a well-thought-out system develops. Just like in real life, the whole thing comes apart when 200- and 500-Mark bills accidentally enter circulation. But it's not the only twist in this turnaround story.
A Way to Empower Oneself
"Two to One" is, for the most part, a light and entertaining comedy, with the leading actress Hüller particularly shining in her role as the pragmatic and self-confident Maren. Brunckhorst leaves room for subplots, such as the community feeling of neighbors, the uncertainty of many East Germans after the Fall of the Wall, the (lacking) justice in the monetary union, and the value of money itself. The film didn't even need a love triangle between Maren, Robert, and Volker.
Hüller says it was healing in a way to make a time journey back through the film. "The feeling that arose is surprisingly similar to how I grew up," says the 46-year-old. The characters in the film found a beautiful way to write their own story and empower themselves, thinks the actress.
- The movie "Two to One" is set in Berlin, where the actors Sandra Hüller, Max Riemelt, and Ronald Zehrfeld explore a true event from Halberstadt in Saxony-Anhalt.
- The German Press Agency interviewed director Natja Brunckhorst about the comedy, with her expressing her excitement about the interesting story that was just waiting to be shown on cinema screens.
- The discoverers of the buried Deutsche Mark notes were surprised and puzzled, wondering why the money wasn't destroyed or simply given up instead of being hidden away.
- In 1990, the vaults of the former state bank had to be prepared for the introduction of the D-Mark, leading to the decision to store the East German money in the underground stollen in Halberstadt.
- The KfW Banking Group, the legal successor of the state bank, had to secure the inventory of the worthless Mark notes during the Economic and Monetary Union, storing them in a military facility.
- The stollen, built by forced laborers during the NS era, had initially seemed like an ideal location for the safekeeping of the hidden fortune.
- However, in 2001, some of the Mark notes began showing up on the collector's market, leading to the suspicion that theft had occurred and prompting a thorough investigation.
- Two men from the Halberstadt region were eventually caught attempting to steal millions of the decaying notes, but no one could determine the full extent of the loss.
- The theft of the Deutsche Mark notes from the supposedly secure vault shook the KfW Banking Group, leading to the destruction of the remaining inventory to prevent further tampering.
- Bronckhorst's interpretation of the real-life events in "Two to One" serves as a reminder of the transitional period in East Germany and the struggles many people faced during this tumultuous time.
