The Miracle of Bern

Lore & Background

The film can be regarded as a portrait of post-war Germany. With over 6 million cinema visitors, it is one of Germany's best-selling films. Among those attending the première were Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, Peer Steinbrück, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, and Otto Schily, Federal Minister of the Interior. Since November 2014, Hamburg's new musical theatre is home to a successful musical production of the same name.

In Their Own Story

The rain fell hard on Wankdorf Stadium, soaking the white shirts of the German players until they clung to their frames. Helmut Rahn stood near the goal line, breath visible in the cool air, watching the ball skid through the mud. The crowd roared as he sprinted forward, boots churning up grass and water alike. He struck the leather sphere with everything he had left, sending it past the keeper into the net.

Reader's Guide

The plot follows Richard, a coal miner from Essen, who returns after eleven years as a Soviet prisoner of war in Siberia. His wife, two sons, and one daughter have reached a minimum standard of living without him. Richard has severe reintegration problems. His wife runs a small bar, his elder son has become a Communist, his daughter flirts with British soldiers, and his 11-year-old son Matthias admires local football hero Helmut Rahn. Richard gradually softens, and on the night before the final, father and son drive to Bern to see the match. An additional plot is the personal triumph of Helmut Rahn, for whom Matthias becomes a lucky mascot. A third comic relief storyline involves fictional sports reporter Paul Ackermann and his wife. Miraculous events include Richard scoring a goal with an abandoned football, Rahn seeing Matthias on the sideline spurring him to score the winning goal, and for Sepp Herberger, the sudden rain that slows the Hungarians (though German captain Fritz Walter performed better in stormy conditions) and Adolf Dassler's revolutionary screw-in football studs. For all Germans, the win becomes a symbol of the ongoing economic miracle.

Did You Know?

• The film won the Prix du Public UBS at the Locarno International Film Festival 2003.
• It received the Goldene Leinwand award.
• At the Deutscher Filmpreis 2004, it won Best Picture (Silver), German Film of the Year, and German Actor of the Year for Peter Lohmeyer.
• Sönke Wortmann won the Bavarian Film Award 2004 for Best Director, and Johanna Gastdorf won for Best Supporting Actress.