Transcripts For DW Check-in 20240713

A state is still it has to answer the lin at the moment park this is the board of the to the east and west and once ran. In 989 it was transformed into a local day creation and. Today i ride along the former border between east and west berlin on this bike following the line of the berlin wall i would like to see what remains of the history of the division of the Europe Germany and berlin so im starting here in moa park going through the Brandenburg Gate and then all the way to the east side gallery lets go. My 1st stop on the bergen war trail is the memorial site on burma washed ass and. Its the 1st stop for anybody wanting to learn more about the citys division rust colored poles and sections of the wall mark the location of the former border. 2 here a section of the wall has been reconstructed as it was during the division. The viewing platform provides the best view of the border fortifications true dimensions this is how that you peered up to 989 the main inner walls with the death strip in between. Last year over a 1000000 people visited the berlin wall memorial on ben i watched last it includes this documentation center. Historian hung up i got showed me around the permanent exhibition. Display historical objects here that are important because theyre now for an immediate experience especially for visitors who dont know much about it who dont know the details about the berlin wall. On the take and here we see pieces of homemade diving equipment that who bet hired by and used for his escape in 963. The north. Why did the berlin wall even exist why did they put up a wall through a city thats not here and a complex thats a very complicated question but if you want the short answer and have to say that it became clear after the founding of east and west germany in 1949 that 2 different political systems would become a stab. And then theyd have a situation of mass exodus. And there were many people who wanted to escape east germany in the 950 s. And it culminated in the building of the war. It was a consequence of this exodus. Them all about i dont know 5 of these are. And how did the wall stand for so long. Because it was a manifestation of an entire system. East germany was integrated into the system of eastern bloc states and so it was dependent on developments there. As not until the 1980 s. Was the development such that a little bit of opening was possible. One would hope and that of course it was the east german citizens who took the decisive steps towards toppling the wall here. How do you teach such a complex subject to someone who has no connection with berlin who perhaps comes from south america or asia and then learns about the wall here. Yeah we must and i mean for one we do it through the historical site we talk very specifically about what happened on balance so its very clear that the berlin wall split the street into 2 parts and i saw one side of the street belong to east berlin and the other side to west berlin and. Yet had everything that made up the cold war in general was condensed here because ive had it thank you so much my pleasure and thank you. I press on toward the city Center Following the river. Here behind whats now the government quarter the river marked the border between east and west until 1989. But it was guarded just as closely as elsewhere as these white crosses on the banks testified many escape attempts a year ended in death. The Brandenburg Gate stands as a symbol of germanys reunification until the fall of the wall it symbolized the very opposite it was a part of the death strip right by the berlin wall. Do you know what this gate represents. No not really. Do you know where the bergen wall was. Most here thats what its my guess that it was here around here 7 do you know where the wall ran. Back there behind the gates theres a line on the ground. Ive been there and i get so from this where are we now in east or west berlin. Im here. In the west. In the east yes the there with you 7 do you know what the Brandenburg Gate stands for no i just got here just my 1st time here actually did not know. Its a symbol of germanys reunification because so. Exactly oh a very good. One of the obligatory sights in berlin connected with its division and the fall of the wall is obviously checkpoint charlie it can hardly be missed with all the tourists and probably around. These large format photos summarize the most important points about the former Border Crossing where east and west faced off told to toe under high tension. I continue on our quest for traces of germanys division along the berlin wall its fall in 1989 was the 1st big step toward reunification. An impressive relic is the longest section of the berlin wall Still Standing the east side gallery. A few weeks after the fall of the wall 118. 00 artists from 21. 00 countries gathered to paint this section the pictures are expressions of a new era dawning and hint at the emotions the fears and hopes it inspired. The wall left many visible traces in berlin and not just in the central tourist spots. There are less unknown places that have come back into their own. One such a waste this is quite specs. Until november 1989 it was part of the death strip. The water was gone the basin filled in with rubble and topped with border fortifications. After the fall of the wall the urban green space around being a bit was restored its a good place to end my journey along the berlin wall true. Now were off to ashley in hisn you called furnitures hometown. When i was born and figure was on the edge of the federal republic a few kilometers from the inner german border between tooling in the east and hesson in the west the border separated germany in the whole of europe and the east and west but in 1909 the berlin wall fell and the you know german border was also opened for the last 30 years as she began has again been in the middle of germany. Today i want to take you on a little tour along the border between hassett and well visit places that still bear witness to the Cold War Division of germany and thats victims and well find out what has changed since reunification turning a once heavily fortified that strip and so unattractive tourist destination. My journey takes me south always along the former inner german border to the loon region i go past small towns and villages fields and meadows you dont really associate the landscape with terms like cold war or iron curtain but you can get a 90 of what it used to be like at the Point Alpha Museum that lies directly on the former inner german border. In oxford. Donny show bumi shows me around the. First the different stages of development of the east german border installations from 950 to the old borders stones were replaced by barbed wire. S. K. These were still able to cut through it quite well when there was no patrol nearby but then the exodus to the west became more and more life threatening. There was no its not and i know were in the middle of a minefield that dates back to the 1960 s. When they began building the berlin wall on august 13th 1961 the inner german border was secured through military means and 1. 3 to 1400000 land mines were planted. At the inner german border more than 300 people paid for their escape routes and thats what their lives the east german soldiers used to patrol the border strip past the east border tower only 50 meters away in the west the watch tower of the u. S. Army was located it belonged to the observation post point alpha in the camp directly at the border 40 u. S. Soldiers from the black horse regiment were stationed they had to be ready for action in just 10 minutes. News that coarsely meant to fly the black horse regiment was a very strong you have to deal with its own combat helicopters armored infantry and artillery im lucky and on the move the assumption was that if war broke out the soviets would advance and this would be one of the 1st sights of a 3rd world war and couldnt because i thought. Were only allowed to drive up to this red line in the camp anything else would have been considered a provocation and possibly triggered the war there in the museum is visited by School Classes veterans from the usa and many others interested in germanys peaceful reunification. My next stop is far one of the oldest towns in tooling and. It was 1st mentioned as early as 814. 00. Almost as old the bridge over the valley. Begins on the other side and has been close enough to touch but in cold war times in accessible. Tells me that it was directly in the restricted area the bridge was impassable. Dance the bridge was a very important part of our local reason its from the holy roman empire. It was on the via reg from lights to frankfurt. For we liked it very much and we were able to cross it until 1952. My aunt lived in the house on the border and then that ended here. There were more and more fences built 1st a wire mesh fence and then a watch tower was built on the bridge and then everything was closed off. There was nothing around this cause it was like a no mans land. How did people try to escape through the data through yes of course. Very often my brother escaped in 1062 that he was a student and try back and he and his friends played jazz and that got them into trouble. So they swam across august 1900 to know. Why and. Did they succeed they made it yes and no member of 989 the border opened what was that like your family was reunited so was germany euphoria must have been immense i suppose thats the best of us its the. Best thing to have happened to us at the end of the 20th century. Its a feeling that you dont experience very often common in the us. Today the bridge again connects and philips top its called the bridge of unity. Castle in your eyes enough as a symbol of german unity it too was only a few kilometers away from the interim border there are hundreds of castles in germany why is the vast books so important to germany. I have an appointment with to find out. How to become of. That stuff into it. Hes been guiding visitors through the book for many years 500 years ago protestan reformer Martin Luther translated the bible into german here and told them there were countless dialects only in the bible created the basis for a common german language. He tortured her to the language the german speak today was born in this room created by Martin Luther smaller to which was good to stood here 200 years later he said only through time did we become one people one nation did we find a common language. d another milestone in the history of germany took place in the book. In 1700 students and fraternities from the many small states and principalities gathered in this chamber. They demanded a common german nation with Civil Democratic basic rights. Under law for the year in a fraternity invited people to the vote book festival the other and their colors are black red and gold the black here in the middle. The red purple back then the gold modest briefly recognizable as the edge of the flag and as oak leaves in the middle. Of the flag becomes the symbol of german democracy a black red gold flag fluttered far book castle for the 1st time. For 30 years the voc book has been the castle of a unifying germany again they still remembers the 1st months after the opening of the border west germans were finally free to visit the east without passports and visas and for many books castle was one of the 1st destinations. More than 700000. 00 people came in one year they waited in line for hours and. They were thrilled because the book was in super condition because they saw that investments had been made here for decades and a few were just seem to interest to. Do this all the golden cross on the tower and knew they were at home here he holds. Its been 30 years since the fall of the iron curtain and the reopening of the inner german border 3 decades that a flurry the lines between east and west and still we mustnt forget about the past which is why its so important to have places that remind us of how difficult and Different Things is to be around these parts thanks for joining me thats it for this week ill see you next time somewhere in germany. Stopping this check in special is like see this is where the peaceful revolution began on plants 30 years ago. The demonstrations lead to the end of the g. D. R. And to german reunification actually gives took their future into their own hands assuring a new era of investment and construction. 30 years after the peaceful revolution has become a pretty exciting city everything seems possible here so its just the right time for a trip into the citys past and present. St Nicholas Church is the symbol of the 989. 00 peaceful revolution. A church best always been closer to the people than to those who were in power it dates back to the 12th century and was donated by like the citizens. In the 1980 s. This church was the only place where the people of life could speak openly about the conditions in east germany. Open for everybody and thats the motto of st Nicholas Church starting in 1902 people were invited to peace prayers and in fall of 1909 thousands gathered here 1st they took part in discussions and then everybody went out into the streets to demonstrate against the east german regime. An exhibition in the church tells the story of the peace prayers east german citizens called for dialogue but the regime refused to listen anger and frustration grew the peace prayers played a major role. In keeping the people calm. The demonstrators carried their peaceful protest out of the church and into the city. This pillar reminds us that. Before the fall of communism used to be great rundown and many houses were derelict its hard to imagine today. One man who witnessed and accompanied this transformation is. A cancer creature. Before in 1909 especially the inner city area what did they do to people. You can imagine the leipzig of the 1980 s. As a city that had fallen into the depths of despair. After 20 to 30 years of hardly any renovation many of the buildings were in a desolate state and that affected people. All people and had close links to leipsic for many centuries so it was painful for them to see the city center in particular to k. So badly. For a few and then my opinion this per condition of buildings was an important factor in triggering the 1st protests in the autumn of 1909 that eventually led to the peaceful revolution. And. After the fall of communism renovation began throughout the city. Takes me to get to food these are 3 neighboring residential and commercial buildings from the late 19th century. This place is one of the most important ones chronicling the developments of recent years and decades. Brought along a little book that illustrates the transformation of this very same corner building. This one year exactly this is part of what we call the tri fugue him which was heavily damaged during the 2nd world war. Here you see the situation in the early ninetys after the war damage and 40 years of east german real north had been stabilized to make it safe then in the 1990 s. The entire complex was restored. I am now on the way to life and mother to the district. It used to be an Industrial Area a working class neighborhood. The fall of the wall brought the end of Industrial Production here but the factory holds remain. So. There was room for ideas and experiments that attracted artists and creative spirits. The best and most famous example is the cotton Spinning Mill within a short time its taken over as the harvest lights the start see. Lights use a boom town it is the Fastest Growing city in germany with currently almost 600. 00 thousands of habitants. And international and junk city most people are between 20 and 30 years old. Thats also because of the university the new Main Building was inaugurated in 2012. The ensemble includes the polina the University Church its reconstruction closes the room to the cityscape because the east german leadership blew up the Historic Old Church in 1968. The university of lights which is the 2nd Oldest University in germany it was founded in 140. 00 nothing. New and old are combined in a fascinating way to get your 1st city is now a tourist attraction for. The last time from up there from the cloud one bar you get a sensational view of the splits. And its true. I cannot imagine a better news. Like this is a city on the move with a lot of positive energy it was really fun to discover it to trace its past a little bit and of course to dive into the present as well its a really cool city by y. C. Of next time somewhere else in germany. d german voice of. The South African growth. In the Beethoven Fest 29 teams campus project. 2 worlds are united. Are sporting. Its got the sun for a new b. M. W. 8 series also comes as a complete cop out a test drive. Its gotten a a ferrari but was considered a. 9 to 5. You know it hold on one. Leg. 60 minutes. Loosely. Carefully. The soon. To be a good. Discovery. Subscribe to the documentary to. Get it a little. Simpler