Directing
Dirk Laabs
Known for
Directing
Credits
10 titles
Dirk Laabs, born in 1973 Hamburg, is a German author specializing in the subject of terrorism, as well as an investigative journalist and filmmaker. He has received awards for the documentaries *Die Fremden im Paradies – Warum Gotteskrieger töten* (Strangers in Paradise – Why Holy Warriors Kill) and *Der Fall Deutsche Bank – Abstieg eines Geldhauses* (The Deutsche Bank Case – Decline of a Financial Institution). Laabs studied philosophy and political science and lived in Israel for two years. He began his career in 1992 as a reporter for the tabloid Hamburger Morgenpost. He worked as a freelancer from 1995 to 1996 for the television programs *DAS!* and *Extra 3*, produced by the broadcaster…
Known for
8.3The war in the Ukraine has changed the way many European countries view Russian politics. Suddenly it became clear how dependent countries had become on Russian gas imports for decades and what Vladimir Putin was up to. However, no country needs more gas than Germany. It was only after Russia's invasion of the Ukraine that the German government realized that Russia had long used gas as a weapon to impose its will on states. The instrument created for this purpose is the natural gas production company GAZPROM. So how did Germany become so dependent on Russian gas? The documentary shows how, over several decades and several changes of government, a broad alliance of politicians and business representatives did everything possible to secure Germany's energy supply with cheap Russian gas, while the Kremlin's foreign policy became increasingly aggressive and the warnings of experts went unheeded.
In the Grip of Gazprom
2023
9.024-hour television documentary about Berlin and its inhabitants, reporting in real time on the everyday lives of more than 50 protagonists from a wide range of professions, social classes, religions and ethnicities.
24 Hours Berlin
2009
5.0Right-wing extremist acts of violence are increasing in Germany. The documentary traces how extremists have developed plans of overthrow and have carried out terrorist plots as well as assaults on Jews or migrants and also how far-right extremists infiltrated security services, which are actually there to protect the population and the state from such attacks. This raises the question of what the German authorities are doing to confront the growing problem and what options they have for action to counter the rising right-wing extremism in Germany. FRONTLINE journalist Evan Williams goes on a journey through Germany, meets the people involved and investigates these burning questions.
Germany’s Neo-Nazis & the Far Right
2021
6.6A documentary about the NSU (National Socialist Underground) terrorist group.
The NSU-Complex
2016
NR"Operation OPEC - Terror Attack in Vienna" - On December 21, 1975, six terrorists including the Germans Gabriele Tiedemann and Hans-Joachim Klein, led by Venezuelan top terrorist Carlos, attack the participants of the OPEC conference in Vienna and take eleven oil ministers and dozens of employees hostage. The action kills three people. The lavishly researched film reveals the background of the spectacular attack and establishes connections. The investigators, former hostages and some of the terrorists involved are heard.
Operation OPEC - Terroranschlag in Wien
2007
No synopsis available yet.
Die Fremden im Paradies
2006
Film credits
Behind the camera
8.3The war in the Ukraine has changed the way many European countries view Russian politics. Suddenly it became clear how dependent countries had become on Russian gas imports for decades and what Vladimir Putin was up to. However, no country needs more gas than Germany. It was only after Russia's invasion of the Ukraine that the German government realized that Russia had long used gas as a weapon to impose its will on states. The instrument created for this purpose is the natural gas production company GAZPROM. So how did Germany become so dependent on Russian gas? The documentary shows how, over several decades and several changes of government, a broad alliance of politicians and business representatives did everything possible to secure Germany's energy supply with cheap Russian gas, while the Kremlin's foreign policy became increasingly aggressive and the warnings of experts went unheeded.
In the Grip of Gazprom
2023
8.3The war in the Ukraine has changed the way many European countries view Russian politics. Suddenly it became clear how dependent countries had become on Russian gas imports for decades and what Vladimir Putin was up to. However, no country needs more gas than Germany. It was only after Russia's invasion of the Ukraine that the German government realized that Russia had long used gas as a weapon to impose its will on states. The instrument created for this purpose is the natural gas production company GAZPROM. So how did Germany become so dependent on Russian gas? The documentary shows how, over several decades and several changes of government, a broad alliance of politicians and business representatives did everything possible to secure Germany's energy supply with cheap Russian gas, while the Kremlin's foreign policy became increasingly aggressive and the warnings of experts went unheeded.
In the Grip of Gazprom
2023
9.024-hour television documentary about Berlin and its inhabitants, reporting in real time on the everyday lives of more than 50 protagonists from a wide range of professions, social classes, religions and ethnicities.
24 Hours Berlin
2009
6.6A documentary about the NSU (National Socialist Underground) terrorist group.
The NSU-Complex
2016
NR"Operation OPEC - Terror Attack in Vienna" - On December 21, 1975, six terrorists including the Germans Gabriele Tiedemann and Hans-Joachim Klein, led by Venezuelan top terrorist Carlos, attack the participants of the OPEC conference in Vienna and take eleven oil ministers and dozens of employees hostage. The action kills three people. The lavishly researched film reveals the background of the spectacular attack and establishes connections. The investigators, former hostages and some of the terrorists involved are heard.
Operation OPEC - Terroranschlag in Wien
2007
NR"Operation OPEC - Terror Attack in Vienna" - On December 21, 1975, six terrorists including the Germans Gabriele Tiedemann and Hans-Joachim Klein, led by Venezuelan top terrorist Carlos, attack the participants of the OPEC conference in Vienna and take eleven oil ministers and dozens of employees hostage. The action kills three people. The lavishly researched film reveals the background of the spectacular attack and establishes connections. The investigators, former hostages and some of the terrorists involved are heard.
Operation OPEC - Terroranschlag in Wien
2007
No synopsis available yet.
Die Fremden im Paradies
2006
10.0In the early summer of 1990, the Treuhandanstalt was founded to privatize the "state-owned" companies of the GDR. In the four years that followed, around 4,000 of these companies were closed and around two and a half million jobs were lost. Until its closure at the end of 1994, the Treuhandanstalt incured debts totaling 256 billion marks - the equivalent of around 150 million marks every day. The Treuhand also allowed itself to be cheated out of many billions of marks. This scandal was never fully investigated. Most of the perpetrators went unpunished or were not even charged.
Goldrausch - Die Geschichte der Treuhand
2012
Far-right terrorism has grown more organized since the late 1900s, with rising casualties worldwide. Through global testimonies from victims, former extremists, and investigators, the documentary WORLD WHITE HATE by Dirk Laabs analyzes the mechanisms of radicalization and discusses possible counter-strategies for democratic societies. Filmmaker Dirk Laabs' research shows that soldiers and veterans pose a particularly great danger - in the USA, France, Germany, Spain and Russia. Former and active soldiers network globally and are potential assassins. Right-wing extremist mercenaries also represent a danger. But how can this hatred be countered? How can right-wing terror be stopped? What can be done to protect democratic society, people and state institutions from right-wing terror?
Soldiers of Hate
2025
