Black Gold

In 1900, the Lambert farming family falls into financial hardship. Twenty-year-old Johanna loses her job as a maid and is forced to leave her home for the city in search of new work. Her childhood sweetheart, Richard Pape, wants to prevent this. He suspects there is oil beneath the Lambert forest and intends to extract it. But a bitter feud hangs over the families, and Richard's father, Wilhelm Pape, harbors dark secrets. When Johanna's father dies under mysterious circumstances and Wilhelm seizes his forest, a dangerous suspicion grows within Johanna – and she risks being crushed in a web of love, greed, and betrayal.

Johanna wants to uncover the truth behind her father's death, but the corrupt police officer Theis is obstructing the investigation. Oil is gushing from the derricks for the first time in the Papes' ill-gotten forest, attracting international attention. British oil trader Tyler Robertson offers Wilhelm Pape a partnership, but Wilhelm refuses and appoints his son Richard as foreman. This is a devastating blow for Johanna, who was cheated out of the forest. Her doubts about Richard's loyalty grow. The desperate farmers organize, but Wilhelm responds with a bloody warning.

The Papes' oil field is expanding rapidly. The workers are starving, and the farmers lack clean water. Richard wants to help and points Johanna to the auction of a lakefront property that could secure their fresh water supply. Johanna mobilizes the farmers and finds a close ally among the workers in Jakub. But a serious accident at work shakes Johanna and the village. Richard confesses to Johanna that he is responsible for her father's death.

Johanna finds a new ally in Tyler in her fight against the powerful Papes. Although she loses the auction of the lakefront property to Wilhelm, it proves costly for him. Elisabeth, Wilhelm's wife, suspects foul play. The voices of the workers and farmers grow louder when a death rocks the village. Johanna openly opposes Wilhelm. The pressure on him mounts. His daughter Luisa plans to escape with the oil drilling engineer Max. Richard learns from Theiss that he is not solely responsible for the death of Johanna's father.

Johanna and Jakub lead the workers in a strike, which Wilhelm brutally suppresses. The pact between Johanna and Tyler Robertson is on the verge of collapse. A robbery and murder puts an end to all their agreements. Johanna has no choice but to destroy Wilhelm using his own methods: she is determined to set Wilhelm's oil drilling facilities ablaze.

This companion documentary delves into the real-life origins of the oil boom in the Lüneburg Heath. Actor Aaron Hilmer from the series "Black Gold" travels to Wietze in search of historical traces. Once a hub of the German oil industry, the town in the Celle district served as the real-world inspiration for the fictional series. In 1858, geologist Georg Hunäus drilled Germany’s first oil well here. By the early 20th century, oil derricks crowded the landscape of Wietze. Through conversations with historians and contemporary witnesses, Aaron Hilmer explores how the oil boom transformed this small village on the heath.