PORTFOLIO

On August 26, 1978, the media in the GDR revealed information that had been kept absolutely secret up to that point: for the first time ever, a German citizen was en route through outer space! The cosmonaut, a native of Saxony, had orbited the Earth 125 times in a Soviet space station, landing eight days later in the steppes of Kazakhstan. For Jähn, it was a small step into the Soyuz capsule; for the citizens of the GDR, however, a minor miracle. Upon his return, he was greeted as a folk hero. Born to working-class parents in the Saxon portion of the Vogtland region, Jähn was a fighter pilot for the National People’s Army, a member of the East German Communist Party and the Volkskammer (People’s Parliament), and a cosmonaut with the German-Soviet Soyuz mission. Could anyone be more GDR? All of a sudden, thanks to him, his little country was right at the top – in outer space, in fact. Jähn and Russia: a very special relationship. He had a perfect command of the Russian language, and had spent major segments of his life there: military academy, cosmonaut training, his flight into orbit, and not least of all, large portions of his family life. But Sigmund Jähn was never a sophisticated charmer – no more than he was a political zealot. He always remained amicable and unassuming, but also the slightly mischievous boy next door. The film goes in search of clues about his life. In Vogtland, in Russia, and in Strausberg (Brandenburg), his home in late years. We encounter associates and companions. Just a few months before his death, we were able to accompany him with the film camera. The result was footage whose impact is very special indeed.