The term “marriage of convenience” is usually associated with the “marriage certificate in exchange for money” in order to enable another person to have the right to reside; Love is not involved or it comes unexpectedly. Many GDR citizens also benefited from such fictitious marriages, as they were able to leave their socialist homeland before the fall of communism by marrying partners from the West. Under the guise of family reunification, this option was the only bottleneck if one did not want to risk the life-threatening jump over the wall or resort to often dubious escape help organizations.

Director: Cornelia Klauß, Gunter Hanfgarn
Camera: Martin Baer
Editing: Ulrich Sackenreuter
Sound: Tanja Schotola
Editorial staff: Hannelore Schäfer
Production: Gunter Hanfgarn
Station: NDR