Home these days because i have the sense that even though i live in berlin people dont see me as german but. Also coming up tonight on this evening 75 years ago nazi germany was preparing to surrender it would mark the beginning of a new era that the coronavirus may be bringing to an end history once again waiting to be written or waiting to be repeated in the hip were seeing a shift to the rights in germany poland and many other European Countries the resurgence of nationalism and the new radicalization it smouldering everyone. Into our viewers on p. B. S. In the United States and all around the world welcome we begin the day with all that could be lost if we allow the pandemic to win. Consider our money and our jobs in february unemployment in the United States was at an historic low of just 3. 5 percent practically everyone wanting to work had work tonight one in 5 americans is without a job in the span of just 2 months the shutdown to stop the coronavirus has also shut down the engine of the Worlds Largest economy unemployment now at 20 percent almost on par with the Great Depression and this is not just an american story europe is also in an unprecedented recession but the virus is claiming much more its also claiming that which makes us humane across the globe reports of races of discrimination and violence have increased almost in sync with new infections tonight the disturbing diagnosis what the virus is doing to our eyes and what we now see when we look at each other. It all started in early march victoria noticed something that shifted when she rode Public Transportation skeptical glances from passengers others who had moved to different parts of the train. At 1st i thought i was imagining things then i noticed people would look at my face and then sit somewhere else i followed 3 of them just to make sure they didnt simply get off the train and went to other compartments or sat in the bicycle section. Victoria corriveau who is german her parents moved here long before she was born she is used to experiencing discrimination for being a visible minority but once the 1st cases of corona virus appeared here such incidents became more frequent of oberlin is widely seen as a tolerant diversity theres an undercurrent of hatred one man even told her she should spray herself with disinfectant. Ive been keeping a low profile because im afraid of more attacks like that one. And i have to admit when i see a bunch of people outside a bar i cross to the other side of the street to avoid being hassled. Im glad to be working from home these days because i have the sense that even though i live in berlin people dont see me as german and. Victoria tried to talk to her friends about it but they shied away from the subject she doesnt think theyre taking the problem seriously. Then through facebook she made contact with people across the country who were having the same kind of experience since the pandemic began they have reported almost daily occurrences of hostility just because they look asian hi my sister. Whos from china also lives in berlin hes filmed in city. Of racial abuse hes experienced on the subway. And a friend told me you should you should totally report it even though i dont have much hope on the. Police but because i want to at least to show people that i have this evidence and im not going to being silent was caught on a pool of the. City time. Victoria could have do says its been helpful to compare notes with others in the same boat that prompted her to create a website that helps bring people together and offer support. Its important for people to be connected this way in times of social distancing to share their experience so others know whats going on. Racism is nothing new in germany and Victoria Court of new fears it will be around a long time after the pandemic is over but shes determined to make a difference so people like her feel less alone. Over more tonight im joined by professor Alexander White use a sociologist who teaches the history of epidemics at Johns Hopkins university in baltimore professor white its good to have you on the day we just heard in that report that prejudice is a discrimination that theyre enjoying somewhat of a rebirth is that what pandemics do they claim lives and they also take some of our humanity at the same time. I would say thats thats very well put unfortunately the rise of racism and xenophobia can comment when an epidemic is not a new phenomenon historically those who are perceived as others within society and blame for the spread of disease which in turn has been used to justify oppressive policies against marginalized groups it was the same in the 14th century as jews were blamed for spreading plague in europe and burned at the state and a host of racially instead of phobic we motivated quarantines it occurred you know really from that period up until the 20th century in response to be funny playing in other diseases largely blaming marginalized groups for the spread of this disease and its important to note that you know this behavior that were seeing now not only scapegoats people are legion to send for the unfolding pandemic and causes great theres a quote emotional harm but also waters down the message that everyones daily decisions from social distancing to voting you know will shape how quickly this disease spreads you know thats a very good point yesterday i interviewed the founder of one shared world which is a movement thats calling for Global Solutions to our biggest problems but you know i cant help but think that this movement is also a cry for help because the pandemic has shown that the state the governments the institutions that weve known for decades theyve failed us and the pandemic has laid all of that bare what do you say to that. And i think in many ways thats thats right and you know as as we see in the center of this of this pandemic move to the United States were seeing all sorts of ways you know i myself in baltimore are seeing all sorts of ways in which the federal state is not coming through and supporting. The people in ways that that it must and were seeing the way in which pandemics really exacerbate and show that the gaping holes that are produced by social inequality across the board you know theres a lot of Media Attention given to the idea that. Once we have a vaccine then society will be able to return to normality if you study the history of epidemics do we have good reasons to believe that life after coronavirus will will be better. I think its hard to say frankly you know i hope that we after this take seriously the fact that you know existing social inequalities economic political racial inequalities have very very real effect on our health and were seeing that in this pandemic but also theres theres a lot of history suggesting that you know after a pandemic episode things kind of go back to the way they were before and we dont necessarily learn the lessons we we need to learn from these sort of events i hope its a moment for us to embrace our shared humanity and bring some humanity back to the planet and what about the generation coming of age i was thinking this evening preparing for this talk with you weve got Climate Change weve got coded 19 the young people today who are becoming adults. And they find anything other than crises to divide themselves. I mean that its an interesting question you ask you know were finishing up our semester at Johns Hopkins and i have some brilliant students who are all suggesting you know theyre not asking questions about how this will change their lives but theyre asking really whats next and what we have to do to make sure this doesnt happen again i think weve seen waves and waves of crises for her generation z. But foundationally theres also you know a significant motivation to make sure we dont repeat the mistakes the past and i hope that thats the message that gets carried through after this. You know you are a professor you deal with the leaders of the future what is this pandemic doing to the generation that will be in power or mid century when for example Climate Change will be full blown yeah i mean i think it is causing a great deal of anxiety certainly amongst them and theyre mourning what theyve lost their theyre losing you know the time to to be out and about when when theyre young and i think this is this is a very disappointing but i also think theres a move to understand these crises you know as you mentioned Climate Change as a make a list of framework to approach problems like the cohen 1010 eyck not just in terms of an acute medical issue but also in the group broader context of geopolitics Climate Change and a host of other issues let me close by speaking to the historian in year 75 years ago tomorrow was when nazi germany surrendered that was the beginning of what we know is our times and the pandemic could be the finale of our times do you agree with that. I think much like much like the holocaust and world war 2 in general there were you know the the moment after that war was a time to look back and see what sort of practices got us to such a barbaric in our frank situation and similarly when we look at it even even as were currently undergoing the pandemic i think its an important time for us to take a very sobering look at the policies and practices that got us to such a devastating situation and hopefully you know find new International Cooperation and coordination so that we can prevent this in the future because we only really with with Major International collaboration that we can alter and then thats Going Forward the us what weve been hearing since since the pandemic began professor Alexander Wang to Johns Hopkins university in baltimore professor white its fascinating talking with you thank you very much and come back and talk with us again thanks so much take care through. China is reporting almost no new cases of covert 19 and the government is pushing for full readmission of the economy but help confident are people that they can safely return to what they used to know was normal we visited one family in beijing to see how theyre weighing the risks a bit of normality for 8 year old mona and his parents as restrictions in china have largely been east people slowly return to the pretty epidemic routines playgrounds and streets fill up shops have reopened even as official propaganda constantly reminds people to stay vigilant despond reminds the residents be responsible. Yeah. You know on the surface the epidemics influence on our lives is weakening. But i have the feeling that this isnt over yet it still affects our lives our movements. Ive just bought an electric scooter so i wont have to use public transport anymore this young queen manages an art gallery husbanding house young is an artist even before the epidemic took hold he used to work from home while momo spent his days in school and so young we came home for dinner but for the last 3 months the 3 of them had been confined to their apartment. There was a lot of friction between the 2 of us in the beginning but after a short while we became a lot friendlier with each other. Thats gone quite well youre. Just what your. Schools are still closed most classes are taught online homework is handed in on a chat up. But most mother is back at work with no more than a handful of daily new cases reported nationwide the government is pushing for businesses to return to normal. What youre the most shallow. I feel the situation is under control now i feel safe. And that has a lot to do with the governments response. I feel that in such an extreme situation chinas system is able to respond better than those of western countries but young is more skeptical. Of confidence has been shaken during the last few months. Well. I try not to watch the news too often so i worry less and if i have to i prefer to rely on people i know friends who work in the media and whom i trust as well as people in chat groups who i feel are reliable thats how i try to stay up to date. I avoid state media. Says. She does not want to elaborate further she feels censorship is too sensitive to discuss in public the family is now figuring out how to deal with the uncertainties that lie ahead. Tomorrow is the 75th anniversary of nazi germanys surrender victory in europe day the moment when the 2nd world war came to an end here in europe if you could go back in time to this day 75 years ago you would find berlin like much of europe in ash in ruins the contrast is stark but i dare say the empty streets of berlin in the walk down of 2020 seem almost haunted by what went before in 1945 in a moment well discuss how the pandemic of the present impacts how we remember the past but 1st a look into berlins past with technology thats taking the city into the future. All you need is a smartphone to get a glimpse of the lin in may 945 and compare the scenes of destruction to what it looks like today thanks to the virtual exhibition to berlin and beyond. And the adjacent square. Today alex on the plats is a lively downtown shopping area back then it was an ensemble of charred ruins. The creators of the online exhibition and the effort that goes with it say nowadays its more important than ever not to forget the horrors of the nazi era and the 2nd world war. Were seeing a shift to the rights in germany poland and many other European Countries a resurgence of nationalism and the new radicalization its smoldering everywhere. The exhibition which runs until september features people who experienced the war firsthand. As the bombs fell we sort childrens bodies shattered it severed hands. Cut off the next generation our style we could let that happen and the generation that did let it happen had no sense of guilt they did not acknowledge their responsibility. Should see. Photos taken in berlin at the very end of the war and europe that arent many people left who lived through the horrors of the nazi regime the 2nd world war can tell us about now that makes preserving historical memory in the digital realm all the mall and the cut i used to fight the war showed how terrible conflict can be and that we should never wish for anything like it again but in order to fight with one there are still so many conflicts nowadays its important to point out the value of peace through spend even if and when ive just i think its germanys responsibility to make sure such mistakes a never made again because of the corona pandemic all major events to mock the 75th anniversary of the end of what but to have been canceled digital commemorative projects go at least some way to offset their absence. Well on this eve of the 75th anniversary of nazi germany surrender im joined by arent. He is a history professor at the Free University here in berlin professor its good to have you back on the day you know we just heard in that report there will be no commemorations tomorrow because of the pandemic berlin is still in somewhat of paralysis mode from the walk down to the past weeks what has all of this done to this very important to the verse 3 in your opinion. I think ben domenech has reminded at least of the elderly germans of the end of the war my parents are about 90 years and they talk theyve talked a lot of all the end of the war because its seems to be similar at least at 1st glance i mean. Its a state of emergency its its a profound transformation of public life so at least at 1st glance i mean there are similarities and of course its sad because we cannot read commemorate the end of the. War. The collapse of the nazi dictatorship which had been which was a major turning point in european history and would history then of course it would have been nice to have least some of the surviving contemporaries. Which suffered at the time you say it is because of the pandemic before the pandemic if i had asked you to compare the 50th and 75th anniversary and how germanys commemorations have changed what would you have told. I think we now have a 3rd generation. Many of those who witnessed the of ends of april or may not 45. Dollars the r. T. C. All there will die very soon. So 25 years ago we had a lot of contemporary still in a lot of eyewitnesses. To us now we have of course the problem to convey the meaning of end of the war of the dictatorship to a new generation to the 3rd and even 4th generation which. Will of course which does not know a lot about this they grandfathers usually have seized. So we need a new means to. Convey to the meaning. Of this profound transformation of this profound braccia of the 8th and 9th of may to them. Which is a challenge you know you and i spoke earlier this year old the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the auschwitz death camp and you told me that that was the last major anniversary that will include eyewitnesses to to that dark chapter of history and we were in the same situation with the anniversary tomorrow so what what is the solution then how do we preserve the memory and the history for the next generation that will only know it as history and not as a memory. I think we have to take up you know contemporary experiences in our present day you know we do have wars we still have. Them and of course we can relate the experience of the victims of war so present day was. To the 2nd world war and we can relate the experience of the victims of dictatorships to the experience of the victims of the nazi dictators. And the perpetrators of all was at the same time and this is for me the. The dial m. Or we have to relate present day events to this to the end of the war and the collapse of the dictatorship at the same time we have to tell people well i mean quick and elegies certainly not advisable the pasta was different to some extent so. Conveying the the message of the past was different but at the same time to some extent at least similar to present day you beds this is really i mean this is a its very hard to strike this down yet you touched on something i think is is fascinating and we have got about one minute left for me ask you do you think that we tend to almost fetishizing this history of the 2nd world war because it is seemed like the world then was good versus evil it was everything was black and white do we simplify the history of this era too much. By this history although if you look at more recent historical studies i mean the gray shades have come out and every emerged i mean for instance the insult you know that you cannot clearly buy perpetrators from victims of course in some consolations we have clearly visible perpetrators and victims but at the same times of cause. Im afraid just became victims victims at least a tie ins became perpetrators so i mean the gray shades and the if you like the differences be going beyond black and white without giving up of course our norms professor barker its always fascinating talking with you we appreciate your time and your insights tonight on the eve of this 75th anniversary thank you youre most like im about. Well the day is almost done but the conversation continues online youll find us on twitter either d. W. News you can follow me a brit golf t. V. Dont forget to use the hash tag the day tonight is the last line of this year when you will have the chance to see that right there a super moon l a moon that is at its closest possible distance to the earth when it is full of super moved and if its cloudy where you are weve got you covered right here with images of the super moon and remember whatever happens between now and then tomorrow is another day well see the full. The survivor the nazis persecution and the holocaust or non jewish friends in berlin. She remain very close to her rescuers all her life the German Resistance Memorial Center in berlin commemorates these unsung few moments and the courageous engagement for the man. Up. Next on d w. So. The market. Top of the morning world. Is made made in germany. In 60 minutes on g. W. Europe and the end of world war 2. Our 08945 brought an end to the destruction suffering and death. And it marked a new beginning of european cooperation. D. W. M. Celebrates the 75th anniversary of the end of the 2nd world war in europe today d w i subscribe to b. W. Books or something more in the world than a book we may be back after 5 point. 3 books. Hello and welcome to focus on europe the corona crisis is still taking its toll on lives and businesses across the continent the Tourism Industry has been especially hard