The soviet zone. Since 1945, the German Federal republic has granted political acsylum to more than nine millin refugees, expellees and displaced persons. But since the soviets instigated the scorched earth policy which slammed shut the borders between the east and the west, the only escape left is through berlin itself. Weary, frightened, and always after dark, these hunted people are poring into the city on an average of 20,000 a month. Th the desperately overburdened city broadcasts an appeal to the people in the soviet zone with these words do not leave unless new direst need. The zone must not be deprived of honest, freethinking germans. We beg you, stay on the soil of your homeland. And still they come. A new nation is growing rapidly within berlin, a nation of the homeless. Here, by law, all refugees register and ask to be granted sanctuary. Of the 2,000 refugee camps in the German Federal republic, over 70 are in berlin and new ones are continually being added. These are the acceptance camps where each refugee must live and wait until his case is reviewed while his fate is being decided. This is the camp called tum nepal templehof, a bombed out factory providing shelter, such as it is, during this period of waiting. The faces you see, the voices you hear, the interviews you will witness are the faces and voices and stories of these refugees themselves. Everyday familiar people, they are from every walk of life, people like you and me. The things that happened to them could happen to us here but for grace of god. Here a person loses his name and becomes a number. It is better to become nameless than risk the safety of someone who has been left behind. A blanket, a tin plate and a cup. These become a persons total earthly belongings. Because of the desperate lack of housing facilities, families have to be separated. Wait here, you have to sleep in the womans ward. The men from the women. And this, in a strange place so far from home, is frightening and very lonely. Maria had a pretty little house in saxony, a little house of her own. The men are able to carry their own beds to their sleeping quarters. It isnt difficult. A straw pallet to lay on the floor isnt very heavy. There is loneliness here, too. A man who has been married for 40 years is awkward with a needle. Hes writing a letter to his wife denouncing her as a communist, telling her he hates her, not to think of him again. He hope this is will protect her when the Police Question her about his escape and he hopes she will understand just how much he really loves her. Theyre home sick, too, and dream of school and friends. But if theyre allowed to stay in the west, they wont grow up to be beaten into a hopeless cripple as this man was. His crime . He was arrested as a saboteur because he had no coal to heat his restaurant for a red army party celebrating lenins birthday. There is one hot meal a day. Berlin feeds in this one camp more than 4,000 refugees in the two hours between 6 00 and 8 00 each night. Its not much of a meal. But there will be no frightening knock on the door to disrupt their supper and perhaps their lives. And for, they give thanks. Values change in times of deep trouble. A simple thing like children unafraid to sing the hymns of their homeland becomes a big and wonderful thing. Now, listen, all of you are from the russian zone, you have lost everything, your home and your parents and your clothes, all your little friends, your beds and tables and your pictures, all the things you like, and your toys, your books, your dolls and your trains. Maybe you had a little kitten and you miss all that, yes . But one thing you have not lost you know what i mean . Our good lord. And you can never lose him if you really love him. Hes always with you, even if you dont see him. He watches over you and you need not worry. A mans mind emerges and thinks again when hes allowed to read an uncensored newspaper without fear of arrest. Their playground is a strip of rubble behind barbed wire. But the west berlin policeman is a boys friend and protector instead of a uniform threat to run and hide from. Theres never a moments privacy, but a boy and his wife can comfort themselves with the shining dream that their baby will be born in a free land, a farmers wife can speak out loud against oppression and godlessness. And, in the bad moments of loneliness and despair, a woman can seek and receive comfort from a priest of her own faith. We got away alive, isnt it so . Imagine at that time more than a Million People had been killed in 45 and 46. Yes, i know. And the Catholic Church lost more than onethird of all clergymen. Then, where did you go then . Saxony, we lived there for six years. In saxony. And you liked it . Or well, we hadnt much of a choice. Later we built a little house all by ourselves, two rooms and a small kitchen. And then only three weeks ago, one day destroyed all our plans and hopes for the future. We ran by a Birthday Party and there were some other people, too. They were very nice, but then the men started to talk politics. We could not believe it, when they came they were going to arrest us and we should leave right away. The men had been invited to the Birthday Party, too, had denounced us. We could not take anything. Not even a bag. He said we wouldnt have time to pack. We left within five minutes. And our daughter, we had sent her away on vacation. We couldnt take her with us. We couldnt wait for her. Is she still there, in the russian zone . Yes, shes still there. I see. You must not worry about her. She will be with you again. Remember how many terrible things have happened, not only there, everywhere. I left in the middle of the night, i was on the road for weeks. Seven hundred of my parishioners, too. We couldnt buy any food. We had to look for it in the houses that were abandoned but we made it after all, and you made it too, didnt you . Theres always a way out, even if we dont see it. In the same kitchen with food is dispensed for the stomach, food is dispensed for the soul. Not much of a church perhaps, but god is there. And man is free to worship as he wishes. The man is free to preach what is in his heart. There are no toys to play with, but small hands are taught how to build something out of nothing. And a child who learns how to build plaything learns how to build a life. This little rabbit is the innocent reason an entire family had to flee. Her Kindergarten Teacher offered a prize to the child that told the best things about the things her parents talked about at home. The little rabbit earned the prize. Jump little rabbit, jump, jump, jump. Poet, scholar, young priest . No, just a boy who didnt believe among other things a baby should be trapped into betraying their parents. Why did you leave the russian zone . I am against terror and oppression. My step father is a member of the columnimmunist party. Communism is something we must fight. All refugees must undergo many different screening processes during the waiting period. My father is in france and my mother worked in the russian zone but she did not earn enough so she put in an application for a leave. Well, some days later they asked her if she wanted relief she had to divorce my father. My mother did not want a sdodive and so we left the russian zone. Before each interview, hours of standing, waiting their turn to explain again and again why they came. You went to school for forestry, why didnt finish it . I was one of the best students but i refused to join the student political society. They were very nice about it, they only wanted me to become a member of the Peoples Police and then i would pass all exams. I knew what it meant, the Peoples Police is a strictly military organization. Why did this young couple ask sanctuary in a free world . I and my wife are employed in a factory. I worked as a technical designer and she worked as a typist. We were sent to russia with 5 of our engineers. They wanted us to make a contract for an indefinite time. I told them i wouldnt sign. Upon my refusal were fired the following morning when we came to the office. They said i was to work in the mines and i know that is soviet forced labor. They gave me three days and when we got home we decided to leave that night. The most important thing was to get out of the russian zone. Are these people politicians or persons who played with politics . Because i didnt belong to the party, and because i had to escape, i was suddenly drafted to work in a big mining company. Since i had been in the army, they wanted me for a special job. They gave me orders to teach the workers how to shoot. I refused because a friend warned me and he said russia would put me under pressure and they would force me to do it. Are they plain ordinary people like you and me . Our fact reproduced among many other things things that were dressing uranium ore. The bo because they couldnt find a reason, they held a mock trial. This trial was based on the phony charge that the bookkeeping of the last five years was erroneous. They wanted the factory and in order to get it legally, the owner had to be sentenced to at least 15 years in prison or hard labor. Obviously i would have been the victim. They had decided my books to be incorrect so they were incorrect. Since i know their methods i prefer not to take any chances. The next morning i left and arrived in berlin within four days. Could the things have happened to them, happen to us . They force every farmer to deliver a certain amount of grain. I fled because i could not deliver enough and the supervisor came and asked me why i wasnt in the barn thrashing. That was when i came back from mowing on monday. I said no, i said. I cannot do any thrashing, the electricity is cut off. And besides i have no fodder. Then i said to the supervisor, isnt it much simpler if you bring a rope along and hang me and all of us or send us to siberia . After that i grabbed his arm and i said you better watch out, maybe you will hang someday, too. He went away and two hours later he comes back and gives me a letter from the police. And also a summons from the district council. It said i had to report to the k commisar asked me if i had said that to the supervisor. Yes, i said i have said that. He says then you are one of those who still hope that the americans come. Get that idea out of your head he says. You are going to deliver one and a half tons next wednesday and you better not keep me waiting. That is what he said. And when i got home, it was 6 00. I said to my wife, what are we going to do now, we have been married for 50 years. For 200 years the land belonged to my family. I was born here and ill kill myself before i give up. No, says my wife. No, we will not do that. We will take our clothes and then leave for west berlin. And that is what weve done. Lights out. The moment of darkness dreaded by everyone. The nights are the worst, always. Its at night when a woman prays and man lies wakeful and thinks. Its at night when a person wonders did i say it right . Will they believe me . Will they let me stay . Will they give me a chance to work and be free . Will i be united with my husband . And our daughter, i couldnt take her with us. We couldnt wait for her. We have been married for 50 years. For 200 years the land belonged to my family. I was born here. Here in the drama packed little room, the evidence is weighed, the judgment is pronounced. Here a three man commission, men elected by the people, has the terrible responsibility of deciding thousands of human destinies. No one is sent back. Those who can prove they fled because of personal danger are or other pressing reasons are granted the right to work and the right to live as individual free people. For the rejected ones, a bare existence in overcrowded permanent camps. Objects of a meager charity. But knowing this, still they come. Out of the darkness up into the light. Plain people and honest, who tried patiently to live under a system that in the end did not allow them to live. People whose only crime was an unshakable belief in the dignity of man. People who held to be true the simple but mighty words of berlins freedom bell. I believe in the sacredness and dignity of an individual. I believe that all men derive the right to freedom equally from god. I pledge to resist aggression and tyranny wherever they appear on earth. But this world under god shall have a new birth of freedom. Heres a look at our primetime schedule on the cspan networks. Starting at 8 00 p. M. Eastern, remarks from new york city mayor bill de blasio on the Political Landscape and the future of the Progressive Movement in the u. S. Cspan 2 its book tv with authors who have written about business and economics. Cspan 3, American History tv with a look at the cold war. Cspans cities tour takes you to springfield, missouri, on january 6th and 7th. While in springfield, were working with media com to explore the history of the birthplace of route 66 in southwestern missouri. On saturday, january 6th at noon eastern on book tv, author jeremy neely talked about the conflict occurring along the kansas missouri border and the struggle over slavery in his book the border between them. John brown having left kansas comes back to the territory and begins a series of raids into western missouri during which his men will liberate enslaved people from missouri and help them escape to freedom. In the course theyof this they kill a number of slave owners. The notoriety of john brown grows as part of this struggle that people locally understand is really the beginning of the civil war. Then sunday january 7th at 2 00 p. M. On American History tv, we visit the nra National Sporting arms museum. Theodore roosevelt was probably our shootingest president. He was a very avid hunter. First thing he did when he left office was organize and go on a very large hunting safari to africa. Now this particular rifle was prepared specifically for roosevelt. It has the president ial seal engraved on the breach, of course roosevelt was famous for the bull moose party. There is a bull moose engraved on the side plate of this gun. Watch cspans city tour of springfield, missouri, january 6th and 7th on American History tv on cspan 3. Working with our cable affiliates as we explore america. This cia film from 1985 details what the agency argued was a vast system of indoctrination in the soviet union, which discouraged individualism and encouraged passive acceptance of kremlin rule from cradle to grave. In 2011, the cias Information Management services declassified over 200 documents relating to intelligence on the soviet union, that the cia provided the reagan administration. Included in the release were video briefings, created by the director of intelligence for policy makers. The soviet communist party has not faced a serious internal threat to its political rule since the 1920s. Yet, after years of forced sacrifices by the population, shortages of food and clothing persist. Housing remains inadequate. Intellectual and artistic expression are stifled. And growing corruption reaches into all levels of society. The soviet people respond with public displays of cynicism. But they almt