The mission of the DEFA-Foundation is to preserve the films of DEFA, the former East German film studios, and oversee their use for the public good as part of Germany’s national cultural heritage. By allocating project funds, scholarships, and awards, the Foundation contributes to the support and sponsorship of German film culture and film art. The Foundation has also gathered oral history documents of contemporary witnesses, Cintec-Archive, the Thomas Grimm Archive of Contemporary Witnesses and interviews with DEFA-artists produced by order of the DEFA-Foundation.