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.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
 Walter UlbrichtSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 Erich HoneckerSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
| WWolfgang LeonhardSelf | Self |
| FFritz SchenkSelf | Self |
| AAlexander BogomolowSelf | Self |
| GGerhard SchürerSelf | Self |
| WWolfgang SeiffertSelf | Self |
 Hans ModrowSelf | Self |
| WWerner EberleinSelf | Self |
| MMarkus WolfSelf | Self |
| GGisela SchirdewanSelf | Self |
| GGünter SchabowskiSelf | Self |
| EEgon KrenzSelf | Self |
| JJulij KwizinskijSelf | Self |
| MManfred GerlachSelf | Self |
| PPjotr AbrassimowSelf | Self |
| WWolfgang SchwanitzSelf | Self |
 Franz Josef StraußSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 Margot HoneckerSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 Edith BaumannSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 Nikita KhrushchevSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 John F. KennedySelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 Mikhail GorbachevSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 Helmut KohlSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |