Eldorado KaDeWe

Summary

After World War I, Berlin is a city of two faces. There is political unrest, inflation, a housing shortage, and increasing political radicalization – but also a vibrant nightlife of subcultures, sexual diversity, emancipation, and the search for social utopias. At the centre of all this, like the imaginary land of milk and honey: KaDeWe, Berlin’s internationally famed luxury department store, founded and successfully run by the Jandorfs, a family of Jewish entrepreneurs. In this unique setting, the lives of Hedi, Fritzi, Harry, and Georg become intertwined.

Astonishingly, it is during a robbery at KaDeWe that a magical encounter takes place between Hedi, a saleswoman in the textiles department, and Fritzi, the daughter of KaDeWe owner Adolf Jandorf. It is love at first sight: braving social and family opposition, the two very different young women begin a passionate relationship. At the same time, Fritzi’s older brother Harry, a war veteran, struggles to get his father’s approval as the new junior manager of KaDeWe – and to overcome his own despondency. The current owner of the store is sceptical of Harry’s costly visions and appoints a co-manager, reliable company executive Georg, who has worked his way up at KaDeWe. And Georg, of all people, is the one to play a decisive role in the department store’s fate... But approaching the end of an eventful decade with significant political changes, both the existence of KaDeWe and the four friends’ future is at stake...

Source: 59. Internationale Hofer Filmtage 2025