The film is projected onto the building. © German Bundestag/H.J. Müller

From 17 September to 3 October 2011, a film on parliamentary history will be screened against a very special backdrop: each evening the Marie-Elisabeth Lüders Building will be transformed into a giant film screen. At approximately 20:00, 20:30, 20:50 and 21:10, a film lasting around 18 minutes entitled "Dem deutschen Volke - Eine parlamentarische Spurensuche. Vom Reichstag zum Bundestag" (To the German People – A journey through parliamentary history from the Reichstag to the Bundestag) will be shown on the huge circular window of the Marie-Elisabeth Lüders Building. Looking across the River Spree from Friedrich-Ebert-Platz or the riverbank next to the Reichstag Building, members of the public will be able to relive important milestones and emotional events in German parliamentary history. Starting at 20:00 hrs, the building's facade will be illuminated, with an atmospheric combination of projected images and sounds setting the mood for the film.

A journey through German parliamentary history

The film takes viewers on a journey through German parliamentary history, beginning at the end of the nineteenth century in the imperial period, taking in how Parliament developed during the Weimar Republic, looking at the darkest era after the National Socialists took power, examining the decades when Germany was divided and concluding with Germany's reunification. The film also looks back on joyous moments in German history, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the achievement of German unity. The Reichstag Building, as a focal point of German parliamentary history, also features prominently in the film, which covers the decision to make Berlin the capital of reunified Germany and the Reichstag Building the seat of its parliament, as well as the reconstruction of the building and the large number of visitors it now attracts. After the last showing of the film, further images and sounds will be projected to round off the evening.

Members of the public are welcome to come along at any time; the film is free of charge.