©NDR/Marc Brasse
Unsere Geschichte - Der Elbtunnel. Pionierwerk und Staufalle
- Trude, Mike und der Neue Elbtunnel - Hubertus Meyer-Burckhardt über das Nadelöhr des Nordens (Working title)
Documentary (Series) | 2023 | NDR [de] | Docu-Drama | Germany
Main data
| Director | Ulf Thomas, Torsten Wacker |
|---|---|
| Written by | Ulf Thomas |
| Production | Jumpmedientv GmbH |
Shooting data
| Filming regions | Germany - Hamburg, Germany - Lower Saxony |
|---|
Project data
Brief synopsis
June 1968 - construction of the new Elbe Tunnel begins in Hamburg. It is one of the most spectacular construction projects of the century in Northern Europe.
Until then, traffic flowed along Europe's north-south axis via the Elbe bridges. Stress for road and city. Then came the tunnel miracle. In the 1970s, it was the longest underwater road tunnel in the world. From the mid-1990s, a then state-of-the-art tunnel boring machine with a diameter of 14.2 meters burrowed its way deep under the Elbe.
The docu-drama tells the exciting story of the XXL construction. Natural forces were overcome, opponents and supporters were at loggerheads, people and houses gave way to the construction project - and returned after completion, just like the traffic jams. The Elbe Tunnel became a structure that never had the chance to fulfill all the expectations placed in it.
Hubertus Meyer-Burckhardt presents people and their stories whose lives were changed by the tunnel. Historians comment on and evaluate the events from the early 1950s until the inauguration of the fourth tunnel tube. The head of the tunnel control center provides insights into the underground world of the tunnel. And Mike Krüger ..: He worked as a concrete builder and architecture student on the Elbe tunnel construction site back then and talks about his experiences ...and how he surprisingly became a successful entertainer. Exclusively for the film, he has rewritten his hit "Bodo mit dem Bagger" (Bodo with the Excavator) to fit the Elbe Tunnel story and sings the new song directly in front of the closed tunnel portal.
The docudrama shows partly unpublished photo and archive footage. Scenes from the play take us back to the world of the 50s and 60s. They tell of the disputes over the large-scale project and of a family tragedy surrounding the construction of the Elbe Tunnel.
Peter Lohmeyer as Hamburg's Chief Building Director Otto Sill and Nico König as Mayor Max Brau- er bring the era to life. Alexander Klaws plays the father of the family that had to make way for the tunnel.
Until then, traffic flowed along Europe's north-south axis via the Elbe bridges. Stress for road and city. Then came the tunnel miracle. In the 1970s, it was the longest underwater road tunnel in the world. From the mid-1990s, a then state-of-the-art tunnel boring machine with a diameter of 14.2 meters burrowed its way deep under the Elbe.
The docu-drama tells the exciting story of the XXL construction. Natural forces were overcome, opponents and supporters were at loggerheads, people and houses gave way to the construction project - and returned after completion, just like the traffic jams. The Elbe Tunnel became a structure that never had the chance to fulfill all the expectations placed in it.
Hubertus Meyer-Burckhardt presents people and their stories whose lives were changed by the tunnel. Historians comment on and evaluate the events from the early 1950s until the inauguration of the fourth tunnel tube. The head of the tunnel control center provides insights into the underground world of the tunnel. And Mike Krüger ..: He worked as a concrete builder and architecture student on the Elbe tunnel construction site back then and talks about his experiences ...and how he surprisingly became a successful entertainer. Exclusively for the film, he has rewritten his hit "Bodo mit dem Bagger" (Bodo with the Excavator) to fit the Elbe Tunnel story and sings the new song directly in front of the closed tunnel portal.
The docudrama shows partly unpublished photo and archive footage. Scenes from the play take us back to the world of the 50s and 60s. They tell of the disputes over the large-scale project and of a family tragedy surrounding the construction of the Elbe Tunnel.
Peter Lohmeyer as Hamburg's Chief Building Director Otto Sill and Nico König as Mayor Max Brau- er bring the era to life. Alexander Klaws plays the father of the family that had to make way for the tunnel.