The Torgau workhouse to which Stella is sent is the Torgau Juvenile Detention Centre. The Centre, which ran from 1964 to 1989, was for the "re-education" of young people aged 14 to 18. Inmates had committed no crimes, but were deemed to need education so that they could fit in with the norms of socialist life in East Germany.
The hospital from which Barbara came was the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. This is a large teaching hospital, affiliated with both Humboldt University and Freie Universität Berlin. Under the East German Government, it was the most prestigious hospital in East Germany and received large amounts of funding to make it a flagship of health-care.
According to Christian Petzold, Barbara is the first chapter of his trilogy called "Love in Times of Oppressive Systems". The trilogy also includes Phoenix (2014) and Transit (2018).
Filmed in chronological order.
Germany's official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 85th Academy Awards 2013.