1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
US election 2024Paris OlympicsIsrael-Hamas
Crime

Mafia Colony East Germany

September 30, 2021

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the former East opened up - and the Italian Mafia moved in. In the decades since, they have built up a criminal network in the former East Germany.

https://p.dw.com/p/40Fw4
Stills Dokumentation " Mafia - Kolonie Ostdeutschland"
Image: MDR

This investigative documentary traces their origins back 30 years.

Stills Dokumentation " Mafia - Kolonie Ostdeutschland"
Image: MDR

To uncover the Mafia’s efforts to infiltrate entire East German cities and regions, the filmmakers traveled to the infamous 'Ndrangheta clan's base in Calabria, southern Italy. There, they met police officers and prosecutors, and researched economic databases and land registry offices. They also analyzed thousands of pages of German and Italian investigation documents. 

Stills Dokumentation " Mafia - Kolonie Ostdeutschland"
Image: MDR

In the process, they uncovered a major, still unknown anti-Mafia case against the 'Ndrangheta in East Germany. Almost 20 years ago, investigators eavesdropped on a powerful 'Ndrangheta cell in the East. The secret surveillance provided key insights into the Mafia organization in the German states of Thuringia and Saxony.

Stills Dokumentation " Mafia - Kolonie Ostdeutschland"
Image: MDR

The film describes how difficult it is to investigate the 'Ndrangheta and other Italian Mafia groups. Despite years of cooperation between Italy and Germany, organized crime structures are still active in East Germany today. The criminals have lost none of their power to threaten democracy and social cohesion.

Broadcasting Hours: 

DW English

WED 13.10.2021 – 01:15 UTC
WED 13.10.2021 – 04:15 UTC
WED 13.10.2021 – 18:15 UTC 
THU 14.10.2021 – 09:15 UTC
SAT 16.10.2021 – 02:15 UTC
SUN 17.10.2021 – 08:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3 
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4
London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +3

DW Deutsch+

THU 14.10.2021 – 09:15 UTC
SUN 17.10.2021 – 08:15 UTC 

Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3