In German classrooms, it is not hard work alone that determines educational success, often it is the home environment. A documentary look at a society in which equal opportunities remain a promise.

INVISIBLE HERITAGE – ON EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES IN GERMANY follows children and young people from their family backgrounds to their entry into the world of work. In hardly any other industrialized country is the link between social background and educational success as pronounced as in Germany. Despite a shortage of skilled workers, many doors remain closed to young people from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. It is clear that hard work does not necessarily pay off – at least not when starting conditions and environment are disadvantageous. The concept of basic inheritance is discussed as a possible alternative to the unequal distribution of opportunities.

The documentary by the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg was made in 2023 and directed by Anna Stuhlmann, Daniel Grootz, Eva-Maria Schauer, and Leah Striegel. With a clear style and without artificial dramatization, it shows how subtle social inequality can be and what consequences it can have for an entire generation.