Rote Erde (German for "Red Earth") is a German television film series in 13 parts (total playing time about 15 hours), the 1983 (first season: Red Earth, 9 parts) and 1989 (second season: Red Earth II, 4 parts), all directed by Klaus Emmerich. The camera was led by Joseph Vilsmaier and Theo Bierkens. The title music was composed by Irmin Schmidt. The German premiere was on (ARD) channel at 23 October 1983. The last episode was screened on 4 March 1990.The subject of the series is the story of a fictional family of miners in the Ruhr area over a period of about 70 years between the end of the 19th and the mid 20th century, against the background of the history of the German Empire from the Empire to the Weimar Republic to the end of the Nazi dictatorship .

The shooting took place in the studios and on the grounds of the Bavaria-Film am Geiselgasteig near Munich. The elaborately designed exterior backdrops stood until 1996.

In 1984, Peter Stripp (writer), and Klaus Emmerich, received an honorable mention for the series at the Adolf Grimme Award ceremony