They wanted to unhinge the republic and turn Germany back into the "Reich" in its old borders and structures. The "Patriotische Union" around Prinz Reuss planned a civil war in Germany and sought to depose the federal government using paramilitary force. They were exposed in December 2022. This was followed by one of the largest anti-terror operations in the history of the Federal Republic with 5,000 police officers, raids and numerous arrests. But the suspected terrorist group seems more like an aged ideological cult made up of elderly pensioners and weirdos. Are these men really that dangerous? This investigative documentary tells the almost unbelievable story of the alleged terrorist cell, follows the traces of the members, reconstructs the meetings of the inner circle in the year before the unmasking and how the group secretly forged absurd plans, expanded their network and recruited military personnel and policemen, all of that in order to presumably seize power in Germany.

Schattenreich - Die Umsturzpläne der Reichsbürger

The market regulates everything! Diligence and work create prosperity! Capitalism needs growth! What is the truth behind the great principles of capitalism? And how do they work in Eastern Germany - a region that has been a capitalist test laboratory for around 30 years? It is symbolic of various places in the world that are going through similar processes. Renowned economic experts answer questions. How does a large-scale settlement of a global corporation like DHL take place and what must politics make possible for this? What happens when investors pour around a billion euros into one of the largest real estate projects in Europe in the Baltic Sea resort of Binz (Prora) on the Island of Rügen and no place is created that is worth living in? And how are the people in places like Zeitz, which capitalism has obviously forgotten? The film takes you through various stations, through the strongholds of Eastern German capitalism and the places where capitalism has not yet arrived.