Students learned in civics lessons in the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) that their socialist society uniquely guaranteed all individuals the right to work, and that, as good socialists, they had the duty to take on socially meaningful work. Using the example of a video recording of an East German civics lesson and its transcription, this article demonstrates how to use audio-visual sources in historical scholarship on educational research. In this manner, we offer a new source in the evaluation of the East German state's attempt to socialize young East Germans to value work as part of their socialist responsibility to the nation. A combined bibliography and list of sources is included.