10 December 2004 - 13 February 2005

Shortly after the German reunification, Ilse Werner visited her "old home" Babelsberg again – the place where, 66 years ago, an career unequalled in Germany started: she excelled as actress, singer, artistic whistler, talkmaster, radio and TV host, director and author. Ilse Werner had stayed loyal to Babelsberg – the place of her first big successes – and even considered moving there.
She had sent the records of her multi-faceted artistic career in advance: Ilse Werner entrusted her private collection to Filmmuseum Potsdam on 10 December 2004. Selected exhibits were shown in a small exhibition. Together with many of her friends and colleagues, we would like to thank the great entertainer. She conquered audiences as the "youthful type" in her Ufa films. There was nothing about her that seemed artificial, exaggerated or fake. Even in so-called costume films, she remained the down-to-earth person that audiences loved and felt familiar with.
She lived in the here and now and faced the future, both in her film roles and in real life. Her motto was: "Nothing but sorrow and joy all day long." Ilse Werner wasn′t a person living in the past. She liked to remember, yet without glorifying the "good ol′ times" or wallowing in memories and anecdotes.