Two important statesmen meet to give the history of their two countries a decisive turn. For centuries, Germany and France have tried to dominate each other and shed a lot of blood on the battlefields in the process – this is to come to an end. Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle attempt the impossible. The documentary accompanying the film ‘One Day in September’ about Adenauer’s legendary first visit with de Gaulle reflects on the background to this meeting. A meeting only 13 years after World War II, the worst conflict their countries had ever experienced, in order to finally establish peace. But the conditions are very unfavourable. Mistrust and resentment accompany the two men on their journey. Hitler has left behind long shadows and suffering that will not be forgotten. In the 1950s, France is in a deep crisis and Germany wants to return to the world stage as an independent state.

The two meet for the first time on 14 September 1958 in de Gaulle’s country house in Lorraine. They meet in a friendly manner, but as strangers. But these strangers soon become friends. The German politician and the French general. The documentary shows symbolic figures of the historic turning point. Their shared moments and gestures have left a lasting impression and breathed a new spirit into the neighbourhood between the two peoples.

WRITER & DIRECTOR: Roland May     CAMERA: Leo Adass     EDITOR: Volker Gehrke     SOUND: tba     MUSIC: tba     NARRATOR: tba    COMMISSIONING EDITOR: Annette von der Heyde (ZDF)