The film talks about the rise and fall of the two most influential protagonists in GDR-politics. In succession, over long stretches even together, Ulbricht and Honecker determined the course of the GDR, of course without ever getting out of being a satellite state to the big brother in Moscow. The film looks for the caesura and crucial points in the power game between Ulbricht and Honecker.

• Pro Vobis - Gesellschaft für Film und Fernsehen
• MDR
• Walter Ulbricht
• Erich Honecker
• Wolfgang Leonhard
• Fritz Schenk
• Alexander Bogomolow
• Gerhard Schürer
• Wolfgang Seiffert
• Hans Modrow