JohannisthalSynchron GmbH

JohannisthalSynchron was a production company for the dubbing of films and series based in Berlin-Johannisthal. It was one of only two dubbing studios in the GDR, the other being Fernsehen der DDR Studio für Synchronisation, which was owned and operated by DFF, or Fernsehen der DDR (GDR television), respectively.

On January 20, 1920, Johannisthaler Filmanstalten GmbH (Jofa) was founded in a former Albatros Flugzeugwerke factory building. Tobis took over the studios in 1933.

Shortly after the end of the war, on June 6, 1945, the dubbing of Soviet films for German cinemas began in Johannisthal, as most of the technical equipment was still in working order. The dubbed version of Ivan the Terrible was directed by Wolfgang Staudte and had its German premiere in August 1945. After DEFA was founded in 1946, it set up its own dubbing department in the Tobis studios. The studios were transferred to DEFA in 1952 as part of the nationalization process. The central production facility for the production of German-language versions of foreign films in the GDR was established in Johannisthal. From 1955, the company operated as the DEFA Studio für Synchronisation (DEFA Studio for Dubbing), which was directly subordinate to the Main Administration for Film in the Ministry of Culture. From 1952 to 1989, over 7000 feature films and series were dubbed. Further studios of the company were located in Weimar and Leipzig.

From July 1, 1990, DEFA Studio für Synchronisation was under the care of the, which reorganized the company into DEFA Synchron GmbH. On July 1, 1992, the company was taken over by the Kirch Group and renamed JohannisthalSynchron GmbH. In the following years, mainly dubbed versions of television series and films were produced for the parent company Kirch.

Following the collapse of the Kirch Group, JohannisthalSynchron ceased operations on December 31, 2004 as part of an orderly business closure. Since then, its business activities have been limited to the management of the real estate it owns.

Films

 * The Little Wolf
 * Thumbelina
 * The Wild Child

Series

 * The Boy
 * You just wait!
 * Üzenet a jövőből – A Mézga család különös kalandjai

Former clients

 * KirchMedia
 * MDR
 * ARD
 * ZDF
 * KiKa
 * Discovery
 * ProSieben
 * Sat.1
 * Janus
 * Tobis StudioCanal