Magdeburg

[@Pattern-Recognition]

What an astonishing video about Magdeburg. You demonstrate why it is so important to have outside views. For most Germans, Magdeburg is a tragedy and a shadow of it's former self. To the point where many find to too painful to even visit it. It architecturally stunningly represented many layers of central European and German history. 90% of it is gone as a result of WW2. As a West German, I have been there a few times by now. Drawn there by its historical contribution to enlightenment, science, citizenry, liberalism - and the prototypical German mechanical engineering prowess. And I actually felt that it is better than its reputation - and that not all is lost. But still: Mostly a stark reminder of why Germany will never really recover from the Second World War.

[@annehersey9895]

I find that tragic that some or maybe even most Germans feel that way 80 years later when NO one is alive who had any part in it, just those who were young children and few of them. Being American and having no war on the mainland since our Civil War, we never see anything that reminds us of war except the odd statue or tank in a small town city park. We don’t have daily reminders of where such death and destruction took place. Maybe that’s why you Germans along with the Japanese are SO anti-War today.

[@royale7620]

Same with Dreseden pre WW2 ruined by Allies fire bombings while the city was a hospital zone

[@unclestuka8543]

@@Pattern-Recognition To be honest the UK never fully recovered from WW2, lost a lot of assets, Industry never could compete on world markets. Now it's out of EU. Totally dependent on U.S. Should never have declared war on Germany and kept out it.

[@Game_Hero]

@@unclestuka8543 This is an incredibly naive view, it would have been the target of conquest during WW2 regardless. But you're ok with countries getting conquered, don't you?

[@Game_Hero]

@@royale7620 You like a good whataboutism.

[@alangordon3283]

Stopped off there in 89 not long after the wall had came down. We had been up to Berlin for the weekend in Spandau. We had took a wrong turn and came up outside a Russian camp . We pinched a sign and scooted off sharpish back to Hohne.

[@davidstrohl]

Great video. I traveled alongside Magdeburg every time I drove through the “corridor” between Allied Checkpoints Alpha and Bravo. It wasn’t until the Wall came down that I was finally able to visit the city, just before German reunification in 1990. I liked it then, and this video has shown me how it’s grown since then. It’s a very beautiful city. Thank you for the video!

[@ratatoeskr-melodicdarkambi7741]

That is a great Video. I live in Magdeburg and its nice to see my beloved hometown portraied with such a positive vibe😊

[@fuck4317]

My condolences.

[@cropstar]

The Wife and I are doing an interail trip around Germany next year. Magdeburg has just been added to the list. Thanks for video, very good!

[@stefanfranke5651]

Welcome and have a nice trip!

[@dwightlarson6449]

keep doing more of these.....great videos!!!!

[@liamvdw221]

Ohhh 😮 Machdeborch 😂 ...danke fürs Zeigen 👍🙏

[@ColinH1973]

I have been to Magdeburg a few times and it's a fantastic place. Thanks for the video, and I certainly recognised most of the places. Really nice memories.

[@Veritas419]

It’s still astonishing to see how much reconstruction that was required both postwar and then after reunification.

[@displacedyankee7819]

Looks like a great place to visit

[@ZGryphon]

Thanks for the interesting tour! The architecture of the Technikmuseum makes me intensely nostalgic for the old Machine Tool Laboratory at my former university, where I spent many happy hours working as a tool room attendant for my campus work-study job. They tore it down a few years ago and replaced with a gleaming, modern, corporate-sponsored facility that I'm sure is better in every practical sense, but has neither history nor charm. And so much for progress.

[@SethinBerlin]

I was EXTREMELY disappointed in Magdeburg when I visited last summer. In its defense it was super hot and I was annoyed at having to pay at some of the churches, which just annoys me in general. I only spent a few hours there and got annoyed and went back to Berlin. I have been saying I need to go back and give it another shot. This video has inspired me to maybe go before the year's end. You showed a number of things I didnt see, so thank you for the inspiration!

[@cv990a4]

For me, what would make these more relevant would be a concentration on the history of these cities during the East Germany period. What role did the city play, what East German institutions were there, what events happened there, what buildings/infrastructure was constructed during that period and what survives. Things like that. That would add value to such videos.

[@jimholder6656]

Another interesting and truly brilliant presentation. Vielen Dank from California!

[@valentins7120]

Before the 30-years-war, Magdeburg was the biggest city in the Holy Roman Empire. Before WW2, it was the most densely populated city in Germany, as a result of the constraints for the city's development that the city fortifications posed. The degree of construction as a result of the air raids unfortunately were the highest of any German city.

[@EElgar1857]

Excellent video; I always enjoy them! I have been to Magdeburg just once, mostly to hear the organ in the Dom, and I'd love to go back. 😁

[@ccjelley2390]

Magdeburg was a centre of very heavy engineering which industry has since disappeared. The area around the station has since been filled with unexciting, cramped new-builds for the new mass consumers.

[@Todesbananez]

Always delighted to see my hometown

[@mgunther68]

Great video Olaf, and thanks for telling the world about the place where I was born and grew up😀 You even got in my primary school at 1:21 😃 I can promise people that everything looks more green and colourful in the summer! Also there is a large fountain at the Ulrichsplatz with many outdoor cafes and it's a nice place to sit, relax and watch the world go by...

[@hahahaha5444]

Great Video❤❤. I visited Magdeburg in January. During my vistit I rode to Hötensleben and Marienborn as a day trip.

[@AndyNL]

In the 80's when I went to Poland, I passed it via the highway, never entering that city. seems that I didn't miss that much.

[@mnijhoff]

This video makes me love Germany even more!!

[@KomradZX1989]

I can’t wait to visit Germany one day. You have such a beautiful country rich with history and culture. ❤

[@Hansaman58]

Great video! I transited through Magdeburg during two of my four trips to West Berlin in the 1970’s and early 1980’s as a US service member stationed in Wiesbaden. The trips were by the US Army “troop train” which traveled between Frankfurt am Main and West Berlin. It traveled at night so of course we could not see much while traveling. I was however able to sneak a few photos of Soviet tanks on rail cars in Magdeburg.

[@richardstone5813]

I did the same route on the British Military train (71-73). Our journey was in daytime and we were forbidden to take photographs. Watching the machine gun armed female guards, some with dogs, search under the carriages was fascinating whilst we completed the document procedures at Magdeburg hbf.

[@eastgermanyinvestigated]

Thanks to you both for sharing your experiences!

[@overworlder]

oh yay you did magdeburg as suggested 😊 thank you

[@kazazim8396]

Thanks very much for your videos. You do a great job in them.

[@m0llux]

Such a bummer that you werent able to show the Elbauenpark or the Qasserstraßenkreuz, where the Elbe river and the Mittelland shipping canal meet at two different levels. There even is one of the few remaining operational boat lifts still in operation in Germany. If you ever get to visit the city again, I highly recommend giving these a look, too!

[@eastgermanyinvestigated]

Thanks for bringing it up! These 2 locations were on my long list, but unfortunately I didn't make it to go there as well. Definitely will do next time!

[@yousefal-hadhrami7853]

Now there is something new that can be added to the history of this small city

[@GeNTooFReaK]

Small but also important East German city is Boizenburg, my hometown. It had a shipyard which built and exported lots of ships to the Soviet Union and such. But the shipyard closed after reunification, rendering almost half the population of Boizenburg unemployed. But still operating today is the tile factory but of course with much less staff than back then. Being close to the border to West Germany it has a transit checkpoint, which became a restaurant (Checkpoint Harry) after reunification but that sadly closed at the end of last year. It's for sale now. Boizenburg had a great tile artist, Lothar Scholz (1935-2015). A big one (104m²) of his works can be seen on the outside wall of the Rudolf Tarnow school (todays name) in Boizenburg. There are other tile paintings more or less hidden in the city. And another invention from Boizenburg which can be found now & then in East Germany is the "Transportable Raumerweiterungshalle".

[@eastgermanyinvestigated]

Sounds to me Boizenburg is worth a visit.

[@petermcfarlane6749]

Looks like another wonderful German city. Really interesting video.

[@TDeibara]

Kijk uit naar nieuwe programma's. Boeiend kanaal en je merkt dat de professionaliteit ervan toeneemt. Hopelijk volgen nog vele afleveringen.

[@jerrywood4508]

Thank you for a calm, engaging and enlightening nine minutes. It was a refuge from chaos.

[@johnphillips1683]

What a lovely city; great hotel bathroom - must have been like showering in a Mondrian painting (Piet would be proud) 😁

[@theanglianflaneurs5857]

Many thanks. Another really excellent and interesting vlog. Please could you make them a little longer as they're so good and informative. Are you going to Erfurt any time?

[@EcclesiastesLiker-py5ts]

Thank you, very informative. For every matter there is a time and procedure, because the troubles of mankind are so abundant.

[@johntamlyn6383]

Many thanks, interesting as always.

[@Buckshot9796]

Wonderful video! The DDR is gone but, in my opinion, it had the best national anthem, 'Auferstanden aus Ruinen ' a title that certainly rang true.

[@prieten49]

Well, Magdeburg has to be the most beautiful German city I have never visited! I hope you don't get any copyright hits for this one. They should pay you for marketing their city to an international audience! It even has a Hundertwasser building. Amazing!

[@PhillipMorton]

gute Arbeit, weiter so

[@spikethompson2000]

excellent video, i was wondering if you could do a video on east germany’s main police force, the volkspolizei, aka the VoPo

[@BrandonSanks]

Great videos on the DDR. Potsdam should be a stop eventually. The capital of Brandenburg home of the Glienicker Bridge the Bridge of spies. It is also where the division of Germany was agreed to in WWII.

[@n.mmitkovich2629]

Good one, Olaf. Any plans for visit ex VEB AWE and VEB AWZ in Eisenach and Zwickau?

[@sakkra83]

Well thanks for the showing of my city. I have some corrections and additions. Please take care and make the "a" in Magdeburg short. The name stems from the Middl-High-German word "megede", which translates to mighty. It has nothing to do with the word "Magd", which translates to maid. (Pronouncing the "a" long identifies you as a dumb "Wessi") And I want to add, that St. Ulrich was nearly built up completely and privately, before they demolished it. The party did not want to have to look at a church in the city center. Also, Magdeburg has two cathedrals and they are neighbours, since Magddeburg has a catholic and a protestant bishop. As a hotel tip, if you don't want to hear the hustle and bustle of the citiy, I suggest the Herrenkrug Park Hotel. It is a little farther out, but reachable by tram.

[@jaapvandenbergh7430]

Baie dankie vir die verduideliking van die uitspraak 😊

[@eastgermanyinvestigated]

Thanks for your valuable comments. Although I was aware of the meaning of the word, I didn't realize that there would be a different explanation as well. So, for that part I fully except my role being a dumb Wessi. Someone below (@onnotombrook557) made a comment of stretching the pronunciation of the 'a'. I assume that this is done as a joke and pronounce it wrong on purpose? I'd be curious if some other locals could share their view on that.

[@rbrouns9569]

Interessante plek.

[@john07973]

Good stuff 👍

[@paulwebbiweb]

This is really good. I just want to know where the all the people have gone!

[@onnotombrook557]

FYI: people from Magdeburg love it when you pull the a in Magdeburg … Maaagdeburg

[@kidmohair8151]

if ever i get to Magdeburg, that hotel is where i shall stay.

[@xypheli]

Do a vid about Jena next, please!!

[@kuukeli]

good video

[@eldebtor6973]

Hitter’s ashes were scattered near Magdeburg near the river elbe.

[@Tuppoo94]

8:38 That guy can hold 2 Trabis in each of his hands!

[@ericdanielski4802]

Nice video.

[@christophersmith551]

Yes. I remember it as my first stop in the GDR in 1973, and during my last visit in 1977, when l was waved off to Leipzig and then Munich by friends. We visited the Dom and there was a huge bone hanging from the ceiling. We never identified it….

[@sabflash]

the stained glass window at the end is stunning, do you know where it is? Thank you

[@eastgermanyinvestigated]

It is in a small side alley of the Leiterstrasse

[@vselenautika]

Jawohl, finally:)

[@SymonS]

haha, you can see my appartment's windows in the video :D

[@EmilePoelman]

Nice video, Olaf! But where have all the people gone? When did you film this?

[@eastgermanyinvestigated]

Good question, it was the Friday morning after a regional holiday, so I guess many people took a day off and were still at home.

[@halitosis75]

Hello Olaf. I ❤ your videos. I'm from Australia 🇦🇺 I have a question regarding east Germany prior to the wall coming down in Nov 1989. Did gay and lesbian people live openly at all in East Germany or was it taboo? Thanks

[@eastgermanyinvestigated]

Thank you. Good question! I haven't looked into this in detail and it would not be correct to summarise the answer in just a few lines under this video, so I included in on the list future videos. What I can tell you so far is that homosexuality was far from openly accepted, but there were some positive developments in the end of the 1980s. State security thought gay and lesbian groups were criminally suspicious, which of course they never could support with evidence.

[@Wn9618]

It's a deep tragedy how scarred by modernist dystopian monstrosities it is, but grateful for what little of its impressive history remains

[@annehersey9895]

There’s no people and hardly any cars! Is this Sunday or a holiday?

[@mgunther68]

I believe this was a Friday morning after a public holiday. Guess everyone was taking the day off and stayed in bed…

[@prieten49]

Okay, it's been a month since the last video. I'm getting withdrawal symptoms.

[@languageservices8723]

It dates back to (not from) the 17th century. Magdeburg is on (not at) the Elbe.

[@EuroScot2023]

The day you demonstrate that your German is superior to our host's English, I will accept your public criticism. I understand that you possibly work for a language organisation but you should tone down your comments. The minor departures from colloquial English in no way detracted from the quality of communication, which is, after all, the primary purpose of language. The differences of usage which often show up when someone is operating in a language which is not their native one can and in this instance, I feel, do only add to the authenticity of the narrative.

[@Hectico2257]

Mandatory meme comment #1 for the algorithm

[@dereknolan1246]

Where are the people?

[@m0llux]

Cue every single person of Magdeburg converging in the comments. Hello! 👋

[@mgunther68]

Hi👋 Magdeburg native here living in Ireland😊

[@Tetraden-a]

The A in Magdeburg is spoken short. That's about the first thing everyone learns about Magdeburg. If you get this wrong, nobody will believe the rest.

[@eS._Te]

didn´t aged that well

[@unclestuka8543]

Now look what's happened 😢. Wouldn't have been possible if it was still DDR.

[@fuck4317]

That wall should have stayed up, considering all the 7th century activities happening in Germany.

[@languageservices8723]

Protests: the o is long, not short. The syllable “pro” rhymes with “no”.

[@Roman-Pregolin]

No mention of 'Magdeburg Rights'?

[@KalterKrieger]

Für die professionellen Videos hast du definitiv zu wenig Abos. Da geht sicher noch was!

[@seytanuakbar3022]

What a contrast to West Germany - no graffitti, no rubish, no POCs. I bet people regret 1989.

[@stefanfranke5651]

What a dumb comment. There's tons of grafitti in Magdeburg and east german cities in general, the rubbish is just more evenly distributed compared to W-Germany and we have also many POC, but they often have a hard time because of ignorant people like you.

[@pascalgotlib1781]

Magdebourg etait plus belle à l'epoque de la DDR

[@dieterdodel835]

Machdeburch

[@unclestuka8543]

DDR should never have been absorbed by FDR, but remained a separate neutral country like Sweden was. Disband the Stasi, allow free travel.

[@kavorkaa]

And they would have gone bankrupt in a month!

[@WhiteHartDane]

Considering how the DDR was "born", this would've been wrong on so many levels. Also, I think the citizens of the DDR badly wanted to re-unite with the BRD. The protests were a clear proof of that.

[@gregorypaulbox3035]

East Germany was asset stripped by the greedy West. In principle, if West Germany decided to call in their loans, the GDR would have enough liquidity to restructure its debts. Now we have open borders, third world colonisers and your home gets raided by the new 'Gestapo' when you call a politician an 'idiot'.

[@LolTollhurst]

In Sweden we got to vote. When East Germany got to vote they chose unification. Denying people their wishes is not open for debate if you want to be like Sweden.

[@stefanfranke5651]

That's easy to say in hindsight. In late 1989 and 1990 the majority of protesters wished a swift reunication and establishing of West German living- and consume standards. Had the GDR remained a separate entity under international law and a special economic zone but with free travel, the exodus of east germans would have been even worse than it already was in the 90ies.

[@simonallchin7436]

I see nothing interesting about this place , full of uninspiring, bland modern architecture !

[@simonstergaard]

why did you not tell us who destroyed the city..which country... eh

[@andys109]

I remember in my childhood times in 1980s SovietTV once a month showed us - kids: “Mach mit, Mach’s nach, Mach’s besser” (DDR) with Adi! (Adolph Gerhard). We loved Adi!

[@ОлВер-т7л]

"А мне ночами снится Магдебург, и рёв моторов, и армады танков" ( Слова песни)

[@Todesbananez]

Hey, would you be so kind to tell me what this song is about?

[@ОлВер-т7л]

@Todesbananez After World War II, Magdeburg had a large tank garrison of Soviet troops. The young man remembers his army service in this city," I dream of Magdeburg at night, the roar of tank engines and huge numbers of tanks"