"Tatort" check How much does a children's home really cost the state?
The new Dresden "Tatort: Siebenschläfer" tells the story of the microcosm of a children's home.
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghans
Pascal (Florian Geisselmann) and Lilly-Marie (Dilara Aylin Ziem) seem to be enjoying the time after their escape from the children's home.
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghans
In the Dresden "Tatort", Leonie Winkler (Cornelia Gröschel) and Peter Michael Schnabel (Martin Brambach) are now investigating in pairs. Karin Gorniak (Karin Hanczeswski) left the format with the last episode in February 2025.
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghans
A 16-year-old girl who lived in a children's home was recovered dead from a lake: Leonie Winkler (Cornelia Gröschel, left), policewoman Antje (Victoria Schulz), Peter Schnabel (Martin Brambach, third from left) and Dr. Himpe (Ron Helbig) inspect the dead Lilly-Marie Reuter (Dilara Aylin Ziem).
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghans
Saskia Rühe (Silvina Buchbauer) is the director of the Siebenschläfer children's home. Erwin Miersch (Elmar Gutmann) works there as a janitor.
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghans
Nobody likes Pascal (Florian Geisselmann). The 17-year-old is a difficult guy. He ran away from the Siebenschläfer home with his girlfriend. Now the girl is dead and he wakes up in a daze by the lake.
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghans
Someone could be in danger, so Leonie Winkler (Cornelia Gröschel) and her colleagues have to intervene quickly.
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghans
Pascal (Florian Geisselmann) has fled to his former governess Birte Friesack (Anna-Katharina Muck), with whom he used to have a close relationship.
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghan
The dead girl was carrying these things: Leonie Winkler (Cornelia Gröschel, left), policewoman Antje (Victoria Schulz) and Peter Schnabel (Martin Brambach) examine Lilly-Marie's bag.
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghans
Now - due to a lack of personnel - even the boss is helping out on site: Peter Schnabel (Martin Brambach, left) investigates a crime scene in Dresden with Leonie Winkler (Cornelia Gröschel) and Dr. Himpe (Ron Helbig).
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghans
The new Dresden "Tatort: Siebenschläfer" tells the story of the microcosm of a children's home.
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghans
Pascal (Florian Geisselmann) and Lilly-Marie (Dilara Aylin Ziem) seem to be enjoying the time after their escape from the children's home.
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghans
In the Dresden "Tatort", Leonie Winkler (Cornelia Gröschel) and Peter Michael Schnabel (Martin Brambach) are now investigating in pairs. Karin Gorniak (Karin Hanczeswski) left the format with the last episode in February 2025.
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghans
A 16-year-old girl who lived in a children's home was recovered dead from a lake: Leonie Winkler (Cornelia Gröschel, left), policewoman Antje (Victoria Schulz), Peter Schnabel (Martin Brambach, third from left) and Dr. Himpe (Ron Helbig) inspect the dead Lilly-Marie Reuter (Dilara Aylin Ziem).
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghans
Saskia Rühe (Silvina Buchbauer) is the director of the Siebenschläfer children's home. Erwin Miersch (Elmar Gutmann) works there as a janitor.
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghans
Nobody likes Pascal (Florian Geisselmann). The 17-year-old is a difficult guy. He ran away from the Siebenschläfer home with his girlfriend. Now the girl is dead and he wakes up in a daze by the lake.
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghans
Someone could be in danger, so Leonie Winkler (Cornelia Gröschel) and her colleagues have to intervene quickly.
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghans
Pascal (Florian Geisselmann) has fled to his former governess Birte Friesack (Anna-Katharina Muck), with whom he used to have a close relationship.
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghan
The dead girl was carrying these things: Leonie Winkler (Cornelia Gröschel, left), policewoman Antje (Victoria Schulz) and Peter Schnabel (Martin Brambach) examine Lilly-Marie's bag.
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghans
Now - due to a lack of personnel - even the boss is helping out on site: Peter Schnabel (Martin Brambach, left) investigates a crime scene in Dresden with Leonie Winkler (Cornelia Gröschel) and Dr. Himpe (Ron Helbig).
Image: MDR/MadeFor Film/Steffen Junghans
The new "Tatort: Siebenschläfer" from Dresden is set in a children's home. Investigators Winkler (Cornelia Gröschel) and Schnabel (Martin Brambach) encounter a system into which a lot of money is pumped. How realistic is the crime thriller?
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- A dead teenager and a missing teenager keep Dresden detectives Schnabel (Martin Brambach) and Winkler (Cornelia Gröschel) busy in "Tatort: Siebenschläfer".
- In addition to the crime story itself, the film also focuses on the glaring shortage of staff in the social services sector.
- It also addresses the high costs of institutional care for children and young people.
16-year-old Lilly-Marie (Dilara Aylin Ziem) from the eponymous children's home "Siebenschläfer" is rescued dead from a lake. The girl had escaped from the orphanage in the middle of the night.
The search is on for Lilly-Marie's friend and companion, the barely older Pascal (Florian Geisselmann). Did he kill the girl?
"Tatort: Siebenschläfer" is the first Dresden case without Karin Gorniak (Karin Hanczewski), who has left the format. Chief Schnabel comes to the fore as the second investigator alongside Leo Winkler (Cornelia Gröschel).
Will Martin Brambach's role in "Tatort" now become permanently bigger? And are institutionalized children really that expensive for the state?
What was it about?
The Siebenschläfer children's home under the management of Saskia Rühe (Silvina Buchbauer) is working at breaking point. Like so many institutions that look after people, the facility is suffering from an acute shortage of staff.
Nursery teacher Jasmin Hoffmann (Aysha Joy Samuel) has been begged by her boss to work extra shifts. They simply couldn't find any new staff.
The police were in a similar situation - because the chair of the retired detective Karin Gorniak (Karin Hanczewski) remained vacant. Chief Schnabel had to investigate alongside Inspector Winkler at the children's home. There were two departures there.
Of the young runaway couple, 16-year-old Lilly-Marie had been found dead in the lake - and her apparently unpredictable boyfriend had disappeared. A clear case of a relationship crime?
What was it really about?
It is a classic social thriller written for MDR by the screenplay duo Silke Zertz and Frauke Hunfeld ("Lauchhammer - Death in Lusatia"). Its message is more than clear: in this Germany, it is the systemically relevant that groan and falter.
There is a shortage of staff in childcare as well as in the police force. Everywhere where people (are supposed to) look after people, there is a state of emergency.
The thriller allows the head of the youth welfare office (Peter Moltzen) and a child psychiatrist (Hanno Koffler) to have their say. It is astonishing that a relatively large amount of money is pumped into a system that feels more like a state of emergency. And with which everyone involved is dissatisfied.
The thriller cannot really explain where the money gets stuck or whether it is simply not enough. Nor can it explain whether poor pay is the cause of the staff shortage. So where are the causes of conditions like those in the "Siebenschläfer"?
How much does a residential child cost per month?
The figures depend on the intensity of care. For example, whether care is provided around the clock or whether it is a crisis intervention or emergency place.
In Switzerland, costs can range from 600 to over 900 francs per day. Per month (depending on occupancy and capacity utilization), this can add up to 15,000 to 30,000 francs or more.
How much do employees earn in a children's home?
Annual earnings range from 44,000 francs for a childcare worker to positions as a social pedagogue with a salary of 42,000 to 130,000 francs and positions as a home manager, which are remunerated with 84,500 to 176,000 francs.
How and with whom will "Tatort" Dresden continue?
As it currently stands, the show will continue with Martin Brambach as the permanent second investigator. The next case is "Tatort: Nachtschatten" (still without a start date):
A 16-year-old girl is picked up at night with a bloodstained scalpel. She reports that her father has kept her and her sister prisoners in a cellar for the rest of their lives - and her sister is still there.
Saralisa Volm ("Silent stands the forest") is directing, the screenplay is by Viola M. J. Schmidt ("The school of magical animals").
The next but one case, "Tatort: Das, was du zurücklässt" with Martin Brambach and Cornelia Gröschel, is also already in the works. On September 2, filming began on a story with an unusually prominent cast:
Ronald Zehrfeld, Katharina Schüttler and Clemens Schick appear in episodic roles: It's about a woman who is run over by a cab at night - it's Annika Reihmann (Katharina Schüttler), wife, mother and teacher.
The cab driver is found beaten to death shortly afterwards. Thomas Sieben and Viola M. J. Schmidt wrote the screenplay, directed by Alex Eslam. A new, young female investigator is introduced in this film - whether permanently or just as a guest is not yet known. The character's name is Inspector candidate Milla Brandis and she is played by Lilja van der Zwaag (29, "The Vulture - Friend or Foe").
