Made in Northern Germany: Tchibo – From coffee mail order company to trading giant (AT)

Coffee delivered by the postman to the customer’s home, and at a lower price than the competition in the shop – that was Max Herz’s idea. And it went down well with the customers. When he opened the first branches in 1955, they were also a big hit. Speciality coffee shops, typically serving coffee at a bar table. Even young people can afford a cup of Goldmocca for 20 pfennigs. Today, the Hamburg coffee roaster and trading giant stands for “luxury light” with its colourful assortment of goods and weekly changing themes. Curiosity and the desire for surprises, but also the promise of “good and cheap” attract shoppers to the branches week after week.

Made in Northern Germany: Salzgitter AG – The Steelmakers from Lower Saxony (AT)

In their shiny silver protective suits, they look like astronauts. They know: One wrong step into the glowing tapping trough could be fatal. Despite all the steel crises, Salzgitter AG has managed to hold its own as Germany’s second-largest steel group. The giant steelworks with its Salzgitter site was founded by Hermann Göring in 1937. The National Socialists planned the war and wanted to become independent of foreign steel. During the war, foreign forced labourers and concentration camp prisoners had to work in the factory. At least 3000 died as a result of the inhumane working conditions 8 million tonnes of pig iron are produced at Salzgitter AG today, around 10000 people work at the Salzgitter, Peine and Ilsenburg sites. The question is how much longer; because the company is under pressure: suppliers from the Far East and Southern Europe are pushing into the German market.

Of love and rage

When Andreas Nakic takes his mother in his arms for the first time at the age of 51, he feels a deep connection with the actual stranger. Until recently, he only knew that his mother had given him up for adoption right after birth. He knew nothing about the fact that she wanted to cancel the adoption shortly afterwards and that she had been looking for him for years. Andreas visits his mother in the USA, where he was born, and together with her sets out on a journey to his roots. He wants answers: Who is to blame for separating him from his mother? Why was he not allowed to grow up with her? A deeply emotional encounter that puts his life on a completely new footing.

Slim Down for Spring

Six volunteers declared war on those pounds and tested Germany’s three most popular diets: the “Almased” diet’s dry powders, the balanced diet recommend by Brigitte, a women’s magazine, and the meat-heavy “Atkins” diet. The volunteers got tips on how to cook delicious and varied meals despite dietary restrictions from star chef Nelson Müller. Medical care and the before and after checks were taken care of by Prof. Daniel König of the University Hospital in Freiburg. After six hard weeks of denial, we have a winner of the Great Diet Test. The winner lost an impressive nine kilograms. Will he be able to keep them off? The diet industry in Europe earns billions every year with our longing for the ideal figure. Publishers, pharmaceutical companies and food manufacturers can count on our business. But what is really behind the countless diets and cures? This documentary examines the myths and excuses about losing weight and shows the best ways to achieve both a good figure and good health.

37° – Lonely top – Superwomen between children and career

Surveys show that more and more well-educated women want to combine a successful career and family, but still fail due to social conditions, prejudices and the understanding of their partners. In the 37° programme, author Ninette Kraunus accompanies three top businesswomen who live the balancing act between children and career. All three agree on one thing: “The image of superwomen who perfectly balance everything – children, career and partnership – is simply not true!

The seed savers

Monocultures threaten the diversity of our food supply. The seed market is highly competitive. Five large corporations, mostly from the chemical industry, dominate production in Europe. In just 100 years, over 75 per cent of our biodiversity has been lost. In all supermarkets in Europe, from North to South, the same fruit and vegetable varieties are on the shelves. Seed companies are increasingly dominating the food market and making a profit from food. It’s a billion-dollar business: they breed varieties that farmers have to buy anew after each harvest. They decide what is on our plates. But farmers, breeders and scientists all over Europe are fighting for the preservation of biodiversity and against the supremacy of the corporations. The seed savers are calling on the EU in Brussels to act.

The Sacred Elephants of Sri Lanka

They are revered like saints. The elephants in Sri Lanka have enjoyed a special position for thousands of years. For Buddhists and Hindus, they are godlike. 4,000 – 5,000 elephants still live on the island in the Indian Ocean, about 180 domesticated in private households or temples. Their existence is nevertheless massively threatened. Sri Lanka is a growing society. Inevitably, there are more and more collisions between humans and animals. Human-elephant conflict is a major issue in the country whose kings once went to war with elephants or made them an exotic gift to friendly rulers. Where elephants can no longer find food in the wild, they raid farmers’ fields. People are killed by elephants, and people kill elephants by which they feel their existence is threatened.

How 3D printing is changing our world

It is a megatrend of the future, renowned economists even expect a new industrial revolution through 3D printing. The technology has been around for 30 years, but until recently the devices were prohibitively expensive industrial monstrosities. Today, printers are neither bigger nor more expensive than a PC. They are undergoing the same evolution that computers once did: From large-scale factories to desktops. Products from 3D printers are already part of everyday life. Thousands of Germans have dental crowns in their mouths that come from printers. Senior citizens wear hearing aids whose outer shell is printed. We are on the road with aeroplanes that contain printed components. But this is just the beginning. The 3 Sat science documentary asks: Where everywhere have 3D printers already left their mark? How are they changing our lives? What problems do they bring with them? The first functional weapon has already been printed, its construction plans are available on the internet. And because it is made entirely of plastic, conventional detectors cannot detect it.

Poker game for german soil

The global trend of speculatively acquiring farmland has long since reached Germany. Corporations, professional investors, and wealthy private investors buy land in the hope of big profits. Since the financial crisis, land is regarded as a crisis-proof investment. Its’ investors are banking on rising prices. The growing demand for food and the promotion of biogas plants also tempts investors. In addition, gigantic factory farms are being built, for our increased meat consumption is also calling yield hunters into the game.

“Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child”

They speak of a loss of trust, a persistent feeling of worthlessness, and are deeply shaken for years afterwards. We accompany three victims on an intense journey to places of their childhood as they recount their experiences and memories. We are with them in the basement where the uncle raised his arm to strike the blow. We see their tears when they speak of the last beating. We are speechless when they remember the repetition of rituals with riding whips, bloody welts and humiliation. A chorus of voices, many people from different generations, remembers and adds to the experiences of Tilman, Helga, and Lutz. All of them have vowed never to beat their own children. They all know that the old saying, one which people still like to repeat, “a spanking never hurt anyone” is not true. The kids of beatings which were normal in German homes and schools for a long time, always hurt. Some gained strength by rebelling against the blows. Others still feel as small and worthless as ever. The experience changed them all. In a documentary, we show the historical dimensions of this tradition of child-raising. In a film for Tag7, we focus on the emotional component.