Germany and  drew great anticipation, opposition within the Ministry of Culture  (Ministerium für Kultur) grew shortly before its planned release.  Posters and other advertisements were removed without further ado,  and the conservative newspaper Neues Deutschland was the only one  allowed to publish a review. The films premiere (the show was sold  out and Frank Bayer and the main cast were present) was disrupted by  audience members shouting denounciations during the screening. The  same was true for most of the screenings in Berlin and other cities.  It is believed that these protests were secretly organized by the  Ministry of Culture, as they resulted in the film disappearing from  theaters within three days. "Spur der Steine" was classified as  hostile to the party (the SED) and to East