Or thanks very much indeed for joining us here on through the poets are my guests here in the studio are my 2 boys who is an art student focusing on migration and she argues that we in west germany are rediscovering the eastern german identity and we must learn from each also with us is Melanie Stein journalist and psychologist who says reunification shaped us know we as shaping society and a very warm welcome to secure listed radio presenter Vladimir Ballard some who believe that todays united germany is more diverse than ever and we should embrace that so. Thank you for being here folks thank you for those 3 interesting statements id like to begin with you might who i called german reunification in my introduction and the fall of the berlin wall a miracle because thats how it felt to me i was there at the time and i was amazed by what i saw what does it mean for you today. In the 1st place it meant something from the parents after the your ring of station that meant for the contracts terminated my parents back then were contract workers just explain sort of about the vietnamese background and the contract workers in germany. Starting in 1080 i guess because thats when my father 1st came to east germany. Vietnam and east germany back then had a contract. During those socialist union to invite contract workers in or to work for them in companies and stuff like that will get us aboard because many people i think many of our viewers would not know that and are your parents in that community in eastern germany did they celebrate german reunification was it was it a joyous occasion for them for them it was a shock because their contracts would have terminated years later and the ecosystem kind of fell apart they had to start started to be on their own to find ways in order to survive not only the contracts terminated but also the Living Conditions and kind of. Changed in a way ok thats a fascinating introduction to your story will continue on thats a just a little bit shortly melanie 3rd to use of reunification are you some of what is there to celebrate from from your perspective and well i think were just i think there they were unification is one of their biggest historic if she wins of germany of course and i think its not another day you celebrate with your family. And maybe its also because. You know. In the years when when the unification happened or of the year before and it was the people who were fighting for democracy the players. From there peaceful revolution are not really and is a subject of this day here in the stunt you know so much information so well we had so we had the chance to create a new constitution and 3 missed this chance unfortunately no it was more symbolic act in a way and take over and described as the whole story will take over the west taking over the east. Yeah well we had that there were people creating a new constitution they had great ideas like the white to work the white 2. And the pardon and environmental protections things we discussed today. Politicians decided to not do that but decide to decide which for the take over and i think thats the reason why people from the east and west didnt need to i level and this was followed by some problems rio talking about today or the Younger Generations talk about today theres a lot of my you were a young teenager of the time tell us about what your perspective was there in the troops today on the 9th of november 89 was actually more important to me than the 3rd of october 990. The fall of the wall of history have been 15 years of age and my mother came into my room and said this is theres really something historical happening and i want to actually the next day we have been living and lived life at the time and i wanted to go to west but then of course the next day what i did with most of my friends so school was empty its been a friday i remember that and this was just a great time and i will you too to see all these places to meet people and to see all sort of differences from the very beginning when i went to west berlin i suddenly noticed that this is another part of germany i wasnt really prepared for it so. And the 3rd of october i mean you have to remember its just less than a year later the. Then a year this the state of g. D. R. Disease germany actually you know just disappeared from the earth and thats a very very short period. Was talking a baritone perhaps people in the east got a bit got a rule deal you might say from from the west and im just wondering i mean no one can tell exactly what did it because its been a democratic decision has been like elections on the 18th of march in 1901st free election in east germany which was there and people decided people voted and they voted for the conservative movement which was strongly of course also supported by a 100 coal and Us Government and a city you from the west but still the east german people decided themselves you know what happened to their country and it wasnt a takeover they were headed north also with chris i call this sad you will have promised a lot here from of the law to not only after one years later and people lost trust in the government so you absolutely why dont was there decision of the people and you wanted that and was based on promises which were not told is true but its nothing new in politics id say and. Im just im just wondering why too when we when we talk about this sort of the 3 decades of german reunification do you do and you listen to that discussion is continuing up with the because with celebrations again this year as usual do you sort of look at that discussion and think we should be moving on here we should be moving away from that discussion or moving towards. Germanys future as a more diverse and the more precisely that as a more Diverse Society i mean in the 1st place we have to acknowledge that germany itself is already a de verse we have lived experiences that go beyond being eastern or western german and for example my story but also like so many other stories that have been unheard because the story usually have been told from the west german perspective and even german people try to tell more of their stories and i think they are valid to be heard not to mere im just not just going to come back to your sort of what to mystic take on the process because you know we all know the do this to this term this horrid term was used the aussies to sort of almost look down denigrating young people from the east i just want to know would you ever turn to you never ever never you were never called and also you never sort of people were amazed when they realized im from the east actually youre really from he said that you would have believed it so they had their cliches in mind obviously you know even my wife when we had our 1st 2 or 3 dates she thought im from the west shes from the east and it took at least a 3 dates. For her to learn that im actually also from the east and living here adapted very well to the system probably yeah. Well over half of berlin of the heart of german reunification is Potsdamer Platz once it was one of the busiest traffic hubs in the world and it was later wiped from the map but its back so whats the people there say about the coming together of east and west 30 years of them. After reunification plots in the heart of berlin became the biggest building site in europe now its once again a lively bustling district this is all that reminds people of where the war once stood. Germany is one country i never accepted east germany im glad its gone it is. I knew the old east germany i was 10 at the time and felt very positive about it what came next was a very tough time for us teenagers and kids because our parents lost everything but looking back id say it was nonetheless a good thing. I think were on the right track i like in my generation at the latest he wont be able to tell whos from the east and whos from the west. Is that really the case. Might who im im surprise you know that sort of an aspiration here to the people in the east in the west shouldnt be different the difference should be apparent what do you say i think we have to acknowledge the differences not only between western and eastern german people but also the variety that that make the society diverse and the way. That we have to learn from those. Identities that we can acknowledge them and feel compassion for them. In some parts it is because for example my generation is speaking up about those past and histories which people dont know about yet and we hope that in the future. People in general not all west and people will understand the history behind existence interesting. To you you founded in addition to the cold we all the east you know rangely young. Who are proud to be germans would have a proud of well they actually poke fun at the media the Current Media or sometimes say well the people from the east are like this and like this and they put them all in one box and this box is not very positive connotative so along side with the rise of right wing populism they were narrow minded and media reports and. This is problematic because the majority i did percenter voted for democratic Democratic Political parties and not shown and so we thought sod ok maybe we have to give them a platform and so people on our platform tell about their story and they many of them for the 1st time publicly. Talk unpopular what they or their family actually experienced as experienced so we want somebody. To be so one very common example is that many people who are from the Younger Generation site where they didnt have parents who had that much time because people of course say were busy to find new jobs 2 thirds of the people in east germany lost their jobs and. Yet it seems they have to become very early. But also i think its give some strange experiences. Transformation is actually a skill we need nowadays and its what do you do you know. Thats really important its a very very important point im actually proud of many years germans what they achieved actually in this 8990 and also in the ninetys in a way that had depth to a totally different system to totally to the political system would we use todays resilience yeah yeah yeah i think they i mean not all of course i mean not all i mean many many many lost lost their jobs and head like a broken biographies and so on of course of course and especially when you talk about minorities by the way for example the vietnamese minority or the cuban minority and so on they had really really problems strong problems so you are no one knows if youre going to say you did a good job yes of course i think. It was a tough time back then and it still is it will always be a tough time even whenever a person migrates nowadays and if they wont ever identify themselves with the german identity for example africa who moved to germany even after the my parents moved here and for them they will always be strangers thats what they are telling themselves and thats what they tell us and the community so. I think its also part partially because they experience the kind of. Story. They experience that that identity is not what being welcomed here and this is both are you being very very cautious yes quite courses cautious because my exist and my identity is in danger in the German Society you know when i go outside why i grew up with new nazis in front of my door were talking about i mean you do back then in the 9th back then in the ones you know specially it was a terrible decade in that respect i think. And thats how theyre still there as you change to school still the same threat the same level of stretch to you to your well being when i was a child i could identify them by wearing black or being skinheads nowadays this kind of disappeared in a way. They kind of. Became the same like everyone else and so its very hard to identify the person who would put in danger. One of the were i was up i was on your science and i was looking at some of the statements that some of the people were making and one of the statements was. We want people in the east. So we want to be seen as an opportunity no such myself looking to be seen as an opportunity what does that mean that it isnt seen as an opportunity that is perhaps even something troubling why is that the case and why is it still the case if its true its all yeah yeah i mean it is like the case that and more people in the east and fought for it the a 50 and we have 2 are foreign fighters alternative for germany poets and write one transcend. The sentiment yes and by the way shouldnt ask why do east germans wrote that way it should why could the a g become not popular in this part of germany rance a bit of a question your answer to that is there is there are many answers one to me in a nutshell well so one quarter of the east german people have left many academics this is one reason we didnt have the movement of the 1968 in east germany and i think the most important thing is we are missing as strong or as this is a Civil Society its not as strong as in rest germany so we really really. Need this but we also need more people like in the media or we need more and more east german perspectives because there is this fact that east german people dont have that must much trust in media and in the government and i think this is not surprising they have so many so much hope and and then there were you know there was devaluation and job loss and of course a loss. Trust and and their perspectives are not seen in the media so we have to change these things and what can we really do ok lets try and keep all of that on board and look to the future a little bit if you really want to get a feel for how dynamic many parts of the form is germany are becoming and then one place that you might go to is the city that gave us a. Light city is booming its among the Fastest Growing cities in germany. Its buzzing with Young Creative people its being called the new berlin its economy has been buoyant. Thats for life you think its like 10 or 15 years ago because theres so much going on around you when youre young you want to make things happen and you like to keep cans leipsic has a very active youthful startup scene a lot of Old Buildings have been renovated and the rents are relatively cheap. Major corporations are also well represented b. M. W. And d. H. L. For example. Despite the enormous effort to catch up in the Eastern States productivity there is still 20 percent lower than in the west and Household Income is still 12 percent lower polls show that 57 percent of germans say the advantages of reunification outweigh the disadvantages 15 percent say the opposite where does the future lie in the east or the west. Ok that question where does the future lie in the east or west well i know its difficult to actually answer that question because i think it lies in both parts but from the east comes definitely a very innovative. Lets say energetic kind of movement but i would say at least for the for the Younger Generation is a good example i think weve seen that in the little film places that you know other places or places like a better smaller place like and. Drazen is another place which is booming potsdam close to oberlin and to actually the former west berlin there are some like urban urban areas which i really like on the good on a good way actually towards towards future and of course on the other hand side you have like a ruler rule areas where its much much more difficult actually where many especially young well educated women left the place and whats left are just rather elder men with less education but this is not true for the city so lets it is a very very good example actually as i grew up there in the eightys and i studied their ninetys i really saw a place which embraced actually this this new time and you know the fall of the wall and everything what came afterwards and so very good very good example actually for my 2 from your perspective what can we learn from the east we can learn from the east that. The well to tell your story is definitely the and we have to. That we. Especially because were talking from west germany from here. That we have to find a way. To find not only ways but also to educate people that the east. As not the dark part of germany is. Like forever because we have to find ways to support them to. Build infrastructure and ecosystems in which they can flourish and also yeah you know. We want to shape the future that was your statements at the top of the show how. Well its one of the tools one of the goals yeah well as i said people who experience transformation themselves or through their parents they have a certain skill they can use now and. Show these people and so for example. That. Has found in association that basic income and research on the we have people who create coworking spaces in the land sky and and so i think this is one big part of the skill of transformation and also i think people in east germany they did not inherit much right so a Country Property was given to the west. Germany i mean for our audience just briefly there. In the western part of germany there have been huge sums of heritance is being passed from one generation to the next the hasnt been the case in eastern germany in very many people view it is simply an object. But its also a chance because i dont take it with the company of my parents i have a choice and my parents will also support me by. Chris they couldnt do what they wanted in the g. D. R. And thats really a great opportunity and i think really many many. Great young people during and very influential things now were having the digital i think absolutely it can be really very engaging flooded with your take yeah well. To be honest as i said from east germans i mean the whole germany can learn from the from the east german story how you can adapt to new to new conditions and to a new situation and to challenges thats what these germans learned and i think they are most of them im still speaking of the rather Younger Generation much more resilient actually to anything what may happen in the future. And i just wonder you know what we have these i said earlier we have these sort of our annual celebrations and sometimes its a case a little bit of sort of going through the motions here in germany talking about you know what was buried then what was that it was a very important juncture in german history and one of the cliches that is often used in that context is that we we all perhaps people in west germany people in east germany have walls in our heads still do you have a wall and you know i wouldnt say so and so so im in i dont i would say for myself i dont have any walls in my head my parents do believe that as i said when when we talk about east and west german you know about we need for case we have to talk about generations this may be another subject for another show but it depends very much on how what you it what you actually experienced yourself and how you how your own life went how your biography was changed so thats really important always to keep in mind were speaking of 30 years after which is a long time its more than a generation its a 100 oaks because its a long time in a short time at the time but it is it is 3 decades yeah but the older generation also passes on some experiences also some negative experiences to the next generations tell. Their story maybe the negative story and reproduce actually all these breaks and bones and everything what may have happened. To trauma yeah. It has on the straw man which is a problem to the next generation so this is what im slightly where reason i hold. Well i have to disagree on some part because the studies shall we say share the same values but if you use german person a person from the west share your values and 45 percent will say no so there is construct east and west i never felt like east german i was. German i felt like an old person or european and i think we really have. Constructs very important point out more perspectives from just tell me in a sentence what is your vision for the future of germany i think what were talking about that acknowledging that. Privilege and understanding how to use that privilege in order to support the nonprofit its ok to the point on the german reunification thanks very much for joining. Us. For. Its considered the economy of the 20th century the most elite of the s. L. Its not just the doors that have made the designs so iconic. Desired a man had Credit Scores of nowadays the most ladies through the best seller in the baseball is called red. The be diminished value. Every 2 seconds a person is forced to flee their homes nearly 71000000 people have been forcibly displaced and the consequences of the disastrous our documentary series displaced depicts traumatic humanitarian crises around the world you know. What a good thing we dont get i didnt go to university to kill people. Or to have my boss come to me and tell me to kill someone and he got mad and if i dont theyll kill me. People feel for their lives and their future so they seek refuge abroad but what will become of the person chris. Stay behind the same point our people my husband went to peru because of the crisis the amount of if he hadnt gone there we would have died of hunger on down the luck to sleep starts october 16th going to the i. Imagine being born theres. Youre a liar to come prove it since. You want to look good no school. You want to be useful but on allowed to go. When youre sick the doctors know when you fall in love they wont mind you dont have children for fear theyll be invisible to. Have no human. When you die theres no proof of who ever existed. And every 10 minutes. Someone this is. 10000000 people in the world the stakes they have no nationality im told made up along the end of that everyone has the right to the everyone has the right to say i warm. This is the double emus line from berlin donald trump is flown to a hospital after contracting the coronavirus the white house maintains the us president is suffering only mild symptoms and will spend the next few days at the walter Great Medical Center as a precautionary measure well bring you the latest from washington. Im anthony how did welcome we begin