PROGRESS

It was established in 1950 to handle the release of films produced by DEFA, the state-controlled production outfit of communist East Germany.

Since 2019, PROGRESS has been digitizing and making accessible the complete holdings of DEFA as well as a growing number of international collections by other archives which are being made available to the public on a historically curated platform.

PROGRESS took over this role in the early 1950s from Sovexport, a Soviet-controlled company which operated during the period following the Battle of Berlin in 1945 and the Allied Occupation of Germany.

[6] In addition, PROGRESS evaluates film materials from ministries, parties and authorities as well as other collections on behalf of the federal government.

[7] In total, PROGRESS' holdings include 25,000 films and recordings from around the world, from the beginning of the 20th century to the present (as of January 2021).

The Progress programme at the premiere of the film Unzertrennliche Freunde in the Leipzig Cinema Capitol on 12 December 1953.
PROGRESS' logo, 1979–1990