The Forst Zinna Rail Disaster | East Germany - 1988

[@martinsczepan3387]

Thank you for this documentary which sheds some light into this special episode from German history. I can still remember this. I was in my late teens at the time in East Germany. People were outraged, because everybody knew, how the russian army handled safety protocols. Or actually didn't handle - because the weren't any... Accidents involving russian military were frequent although often covered up... This time it was different. First of all the accident was to large to sweep it under the rug, second - as you pointed out - the deterioration of the relations between the east german and soviet government but also the fact that with Gobachevs 'Glasnost'-policy the Soviet side was much more open about what actually happend. Some months later my military service (in the east german army) started and I had my own tank night driving experience. The depiction of what the driver and the instructor actually saw is pretty much spot on - or at least very similar to what I experienced when having some tank driving lessons. Driving an old T-55 tank during the night exercise only using a poor night vision system was terryfying. I was solely relying on the commands of the instructor in the turret ("left..., right, accelerate, brake, shift..." ) to find my way. At one point the instructor dropped the intercom cable connector (which should have been firmly attached to a button of his jacket but wasn't) into the depth of the turret. Until he found it on the bottom of the fighting compartment, it was driving totally blind for me. Fortunately there were no major obstacles around (just some minor trees )...

[@juliane__]

My father can tell similar stories from his army time. Incompetence was like the leading theme of the "commanders". From not getting electrocuted to death only by luck of some wild boar hitting the fence a minute earlier to ripping off parts in the engine compartment of vehicles because they just didn't know what it was for and snipping around cigarettes in the mechanics shop. I'm glad that this episode of state lies finally backfired at Honecker and it's entourage. There shuld be a memorial these days, because some tend to forget, what DDR really meant to the people or even themselves back then. Like Linke politicians who have no answers when confronted with DDR leaders guilt. It should be on the opposite side of the 1917 memorial to emphazise the to sides of the coin of "communism".

[@jibberism9910]

Thanks for sharing this little treasure anecdote!

[@milesbrown8016]

Well done 👍🏻

[@peterbrown6224]

Wow, Andy, thank you. The former DDR is full of intriguing nuances you don't see in the West, and more mysteries for you to uncover.

[@davidlegard9814]

I am amazed how such a minor and forgotten incident can be made so interesting and woven so well into the tapestry of history. Great work, Andy.

[@nicowrathz2243]

Not sure how you call it "minor incident" but yeah

[@grindelston5968]

That Mark Felton shade lol

[@AndyMcloone]

😁

[@paulcodling6609]

I loved it too 🤣

[@N_Wheeler]

7:05 tribute to Doctor Mark Felton, an international treasure!

[@PhilipFry.]

​@@N_Wheeler mark Felton is a moron, he literally just reads out Wikipedia articles

[@-r-495]

Thank you. I have vivid memories of the night train heading south following that route, we stopped in Leipzig and Dresden later that night. Those woods with that very fine sandy soil have a beautiful scent in August. The end stunned me - no stone, no cross, nothing? Thank you for bringing that to attention.

[@matgeezer2094]

I travelled thru East Germany in about 1991 - 92 , not long after the wall came down. All the watch towers along the autobahn were standing. It felt oppressive. Berlin was a very strange city - 1 block would be modern, neon, capitalist, walk 200 metres and you have stepped back in time about 70 years. It was a very strange feeling

[@benfoot4212]

Yup, I too was there 1990-1994. The former East felt very gray

[@MaartenvanHeek]

Funny, then, how people like Honecker (according to this story) wanted to go back to previous Soviet times with more control, when everything around them seems to indicate that more control isn't working out in the long term...

[@jirislavicek9954]

​@@MaartenvanHeekThat's a mindset typical for communists, Germans and today's EU. If the policy doesn't work, it must be ramped up. It's a real diagnosis.

[@ericrawson7669]

RIP all those who passed away as a result of this incident,but let’s not forget all those people who’s lives were irreparably changed on that terrible day. Thanks for telling the story so respectfully and sensitively.

[@speckgens]

..it’s a shame that there isn’t any memorial at this place. But it surely has its reasons.

[@haraldhantke8409]

Thoroughly researched,full of details and narrated in a very thrilling way. Many new insights even for a German citizen. Well done, Thank you!

[@Pudel_Happy]

Fascinating! I was stationed in Berlin at the time and rode my mountain bike on inactive Soviet tank training grounds after the wall came down. Please, more content like this.

[@robertbrodie5183]

4 /502 swift strike👍

[@aston-martin-internationalist]

Yet another fascinating snippet of DDR history Andy, thank you so much. Wonderfully researched and presented. I wasn't aware of this disaster - so really appreciate the video.

[@colderwar]

Driving using night vision takes a lot of getting used to. The lack of depth perception makes it very claustrophobic amongst other things, which won't be helping a nervous driver. Also the type of night vision is important - I've got direct experience of Soviet military gear, and it's very different to the western equipment of the same era. Their intensifier tubes were good and the optics were good ( they should be, after WW-2 the Soviets dismantled an entire Zeiss factory and transported it back to Russia, together with all the skilled workers ) What you never know until you look through the thing though, is if it was assembled correctly and collimated properly.The same type of unit could be excellent, or terrible depending on how the factory put it together.

[@hypergolic8468]

Interesting point easily overlooked. Which I guess with the Soviet planned economy ment if it was a unit produced in the final period of the month, it was not going to be the best! Still they'd hit the production target, even if it worked poorly as it left the factory.

[@jeffkardosjr.3825]

​@@hypergolic8468 The Soviets pursued night vision well before entering Germany and for example had some BT tanks equipped with it.

[@simplyme5324]

Analog technology. Works for centuries if properly adjusted and cleaned from time to time.

[@davea8346]

This is extremely well done. The research, layout and presentation is superb. It's clear that you want to present the facts and aren't creating sensationalized content that plagues most of youtube.

[@SiVlog1989]

Speaking of accidents that came to light after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Interflug Flight 450, scheduled to run between Berlin Schönefeld and Burgas, Bulgaria in 1972. Shortly after takeoff, the Ilyushin Il-62 that formed the flight experienced an electrical fire at the rear of the passenger cabin. Declaring an emergency, the crew turned round to head back to East Berlin, however, they never made it. The plane crashed not far from the town of Königs Wusterhausen, killing all 156 people onboard. It remains the deadliest aircrash on German Soil/airspace

[@zachjones6944]

Wow! Thank you! The story of the Forst Zinna Rail Disaster deserves to be remembered.

[@t3chn0m0]

I honestly love your channel. The effort you put into your videos is astounding. I say thank you, for providing such high quality content.

[@AndyMcloone]

Wow, thank you!

[@Robslondon]

Excellent documentary Andy. Have you considered making a video about the ‘ghost stations’ which were cut off on the Berlin U-Bahn during the Berlin Wall days? I think you’d make a brilliant job of it. Keep up the great work.

[@sutok]

Another terrible tragedy caused by lack if information on exactly how a system works. If the 'instructor' had understood the function of the emergency stop better its highly likely this would have been avoided though in that case how much longer would reunification have taken. Great video. Thanks for making it.

[@bertjilk3456]

Very interesting. Keep it up and you'll be well on your way to becoming the "Dr. Mark Felton" of cold war and soviet intrigues.

[@AndyMcloone]

😁

[@milesbrown8016]

Melancholic but very interesting video….👍🏻

[@sonicuniverse5106]

This is just a 30 Minute train ride from my door step. I have been in exactly this area for hiking and exploring the historic and very large former military site just eight weeks ago not knowing of what happened there in 1988. It is an impreviely vast area that would take many weeks to explore in its intirety and still one would not know the history of it because one would be all alone in that impressively vast and deserted area that is a great big nature reserve nowadays. One would need a knowledgable guide to get a full understanding and background or several a good historic documentaries as this one to get an idea of what was happening there during the 20th century. Very impressive details you have come up with here in this video. I also went there for nordic and cross country skiing tours and orientiering in recent years during cold, snowy and inaccessible conditions. It is the perfect site to do that. It is a very large area with plenty of forests, fields, sand and dunes packed with old ruhinous military buildings and bunkers ranking from the pre war era to suviet and cold war times. It is really impressive and makes you feel small once you start making your way in. Good job. Keep it going. Thank you.

[@2evanhaines]

Thank you for making this - a tragic tale but I am glad it has been properly recorded for history

[@Frankfurtdabezzzt]

The whole Luckenwalde - Jüterbog area is a gold mine for finding cold war lost places. The area is littered with abandoned Soviet and east German barracks and training grounds. Highly recommended if you're into that sort of stuff.

[@murphaph]

And the Historisch-Technisches Museum - Versuchsstelle Kummersdorf is worth a visit too. Arguably the birthplace of space travel.

[@liv-oi6vg]

as a german i'd never heard about this (most material around the fall of the wall focuses on the relation between the state and its people, leaving the relations to the soviet union aside) and it was very interesting to hear about. thank you. if it's not too much effort i would love more videos about relatively unknown historical events (from anywhere in the world) like this, it is very well produced and a great format, especially with your visiting the site. makes the history feel more real. the reconstructive aspect (trying to illustrate the situation the participants found themselves in) also helped this.

[@bigdmac33]

Again, a fascinating and first rate documentary of one of the least well-known rail disasters of modern times.

[@nicolek4076]

Thank you. This was minutely researched and painstakingly presented. One of the most informative things I've every seen on KZbin.

[@Phexyn]

Before I turn in Dr. Mark Felton … 😂 what a mean and unexpected drive by shooting. Thx for the video. That must have bean a load of work to get all those pictures.

[@Hansaman58]

Outstanding video of a tragic event that most people don’t know about. It happened after my time of service in West Germany with the USAF but I’m familiar with Juterbog and Luckenwalde, as well as the former Soviet garrison and training area. Thank you for your service and for your great videos.

[@Hide.the.Salami]

This was a really well produced video on something I didn't even know happened. Tanks mate.

[@foundryforgepck5912]

Andy I’ve watched several of your videos and they are not only fascinating but the writing, narration and videography is excellent. Thank you and hats off to you.

[@haunter_1845]

You Sir have a great story to tell. The way you get into the back story of what would normally be considered a single topic video is excellent. Your videos have a continuity between them that really helps explain an often misunderstood subject. There aren't too many creators who have both the knowledge and experience to do that.

[@davidwatt7663]

Excellent Documentary thanks I knew nothing of this event . As an ex British Army soldier 5 Royal Anglian Rgt 1989 to 1994 I found this Cold War story really Gripping. Many thank Sir . 🇬🇧🇺🇦

[@pauld7106]

great stuff Andy. Keep up the superlative production of these fascinating topics.

[@AlanM22]

Top class documentary mate this is a channel to watch for the future

[@Underwatergoat1]

A great film Andy. I'd be interested to know a little about your life in the military.

[@azrailfan2717]

Very well produced documentary. It’s better than the ones you find on cable networks 😎

[@darrenb4253]

I watch a lot of short documentaries whilst at my computer eating dinner or just killing time, this wasn't one of them them… I saved this to watch later! I really enjoy your content and wanted to give this documentary the attention it deserved when I could give myself time to appreciate the effort and information you'd complied into a great bit of entertainment! Well done Sir! looking forward to the next one!

[@The_PaleHorseman]

I love these Cold War stories you do! I was stationed in Hohenfels Germany with the US army modern day, im 37, i get a kick about learning about stuff dealing with the Cold War and Europe. Thank you from the states!

[@wombatofludham]

Fascinating film about an event I was unaware of and which seems to have been lost amongst the following events and the collapse of the old East Germany. It's interesting how the East German leadership stoked the public anger in the hope it would re-enforce their view that the USSR were backsliding but seemingly it played out the other way and led indirectly to their own demise. Thank you for producing this.

[@64maxpower]

Why arent more people getting access to your videos getting more views? You put together really informative videos that are easy to watch and respect the past of all your research

[@Canarywharfdebz]

Tragic and thank you for an excellent documentary. I visited the DDR as a teenager in the 80's. It had this melancholic feel about the place.

[@himwo.]

Excellent video, I was born three years-ish before these events and did not know about this at all! I'm glad you enjoy our country and help shed more light on aspects of it that many people do not know about. If you ever need help (I do live in Berlin), let me know!

[@mikemcgrath433]

Thank for this one, I'm former Infantry, spent many years in Cold War Germany during the 80's your video was easy comprehend and made a lot of sence. This was a tragic Trg Ex accident with unfortunate loss of life.

[@CMDRSweeper]

I always wondered about a tank vs train and something at the back of my mind told me that James Bond Goldeneye had to be inspired by something. Clearly it was this rail disaster that inspired using tanks to stop trains, derailing an armored train and later in Jericho with a M1 Abrams vs train as well.

[@christycullen2355]

That's a really interesting tidbit of information, it makes sense now. Goldeneye was my favourite James bond film by far

[@adamstanley4209]

Great video! I visited this spot last year, very fascinating considering how little information exists online for this incident.

[@officialWiso]

Thanks for putting this together. I had not heard of the accident before so it was a great historical piece you have done. Thank you.

[@andypalmer959]

Amazing video bringing this story to life. Thanks for making it with such accurate location detail and sharing. A real tragedy of the time.

[@TheGalacticEmperorOfLabels]

Andy, I'm glad to have found your channel. What a thoroughly researched and well presented video. Blokes like you should be commissioned to make television programmes.

[@paulcodling6609]

Admittedly a grim subject but as you said, thankfully an event without greater loss of life. Your videos are top notch. Thoroughly well on the ground researched & with very good visual depiction of events.

[@glennmorrissey5309]

A great documentary of a terrible accident. Thank you Andy.

[@kosakuito9496]

I really liked your view into this little known piece of German/Russian history. My only issue with it is... blaming/pointing at Lenin at the end. Sure, his Revolution was necessary to set up the Pieces, but there was 70+ years of significant political development including Stalin and a whole World War inbetween.

[@Piotrekwrocpl]

Quality work, I enjoyed it dear Sir! Greetings from PL

[@christianmuller9011]

Danke!

[@AndyMcloone]

Ihre Hilfe ist sehr willkommen. 😊

[@Leicester_Square]

Thank you for telling this very interesting part of history - next time I drive to berlin via train, i will definately remember that documentary and will glance a view out of the window.

[@BigTArmada]

Very interesting videos! I'm glad I found your channel Do you recall the title of the background music you used in a few sections, like 22:40?

[@AndyMcloone]

“Together We Rise” - Phillip Ayers (licensed from Epidemic Music )

[@BigTArmada]

Thank you!@@AndyMcloone

[@Oberkommando]

Superb video. Captivating from start all the way to the end due to your amazing footage

[@timor64]

Thank you so much for this documentary. Such a contrast in the official reaction to the Interflug disaster of 1972 There was no memorial there for a long time, but finally now there is. Maybe one day one will come at Forst Zinna

[@danielmarshall4587]

Smashing video and how lovely to catch the train for the vid. Thank you for this video.

[@zoomer325]

Great videos Andy. I was at Wildenrath 86 to 89 and then Laarbruch late 89 to 92. I remember this incident being reported on the West German news with them showing the East German news version. Visited Wildenrath in 2018, also was taken back by the gymnasium!!! Recently visited Laarbruch with some German friends and stood in my old room in block 13A which is now an airsoft battle sight. 😮. Thanks for posting.

[@mastr-sf1jv]

WOW, the timing for that high speed train couldnt have been better. loved this!

[@tanweekok1]

Thanks for bringing this story to us. Most of us who like history will not know about this, especially the DDR periods.

[@sabflash]

Outstanding video! Very clear, detailed.thanks a lot

[@maribelfarnsworth4565]

Thank you, Andy, for this splendidly researched and sensitively and respectfully narrated presentation.

[@adammorgan6229]

Your videos are really good! They deserve more views.

[@AndrewFranklin-w2r]

Another top drawer video from Andy! Thanks again from Cape Town, South Africa.

[@bubba842]

A truly excellent documentary on an otherwise unheard of incident. Excellent research and presentation. I would have loved to have seen the inside of the Soviet camp, but as you said it might be a little dangerous. Fascinating insight anyway.

[@AndyMcloone]

FYI … digitalcosmonaut.com/adolf-hitler-lager-forst-zinna/

[@bubba842]

Thank you for the link. 👍

[@galinneall]

Wow, that was really interesting and the video was very well done. I'd never hard of this incident before and you did an excellent job of describing it. It was also interesting to hear about the background behind it and the results of it.

[@jirislavicek9954]

Similar accident happend on 23rd of August 1985 in Ralsko - Kuřívody in Czechoslovakia. A tour bus carrying 46 people was ripped in half by a barrel of Soviet T-72 tank that suddenly peaked from the forest, trying to cross public highway without any flagman. Almost by a miracle nobody was killed in this horribly looking accident, although many were seriously wounded. Soviets had large garrison, tankodromes and airport in Ralsko since invasion in 1968 till 1991.

[@ScipioAfricanus809]

Tremendous content, i was conpletely unaware of this tragedy.

[@rabanvonstudnitz771]

A really fascinating documentary, thank you very much. I watched it with great interest, since I lived in East-Berlin from 1986 until 1990 (my father was a West-German diplomat at our Permanent Mission in East-Berlin - not an embassy, since we did not recognize East-Germany as a foreign state). Now, since 2015, my family and I live in Jüterbog so we are very familiar with the train line from Jüterbog via Luckenwalde to Berlin 🙂 It is a shame that no memorial has been set up for those who died on that day. So thank you for bringing this to our attention again.

[@MrKingwinston]

Outstanding work, really enjoyed that. Well done and thank you Sir.

[@colinlewiston4491]

This was a very well done production. I must say the footage provided is great.

[@hunty1970]

Andy, that was excellent. Thank you for putting this together.

[@charliezobel511]

What a really great job you’ve done here Andy 👏🏻 I would have been 15 at the time but don’t remember anything about this at all which would be normal for your average teenager growing up in Essex back then apart from the fact my old man was living and working in West Berlin then. He used to call us almost every night so I’m sure he’d have mentioned it and as a bit of Germanophile I honestly am a bit ashamed to finally be aware of this tragedy 35 years later. One of my closest mates lives in Cottbus so I will definitely bring it up and recommend she watches this video next time we chat on What’s App which might be as soon as today. Thank you for an absolutely amazing video geezer!

[@MountainMan7.62x39]

Always a pleasure seeing your work

[@theshowmanuk]

Great documentary, absolutely fascinating story. Thank you.

[@nlpnt]

It's amazing that the tank training course was laid out across an active railroad line in the first place, and more amazing still that trainees weren't prerunning the course in a UAZ.

[@cunningplan9049]

Very good documentary ! I have been to some of these places in the former DDR since they are fascinating to explore. The weird thing is that the locals seem to just want to forget all about them and deny people access to them. Here in Denmark we don´t hide away all the German bunkers from WW2, we make the sites public and turn them into museums to tell the stories. But I understand the situation is different for the Germans. Their occupiers stayed for nearly 50 years...

[@YukariAkiyamaTanks]

Its really lucky that the front cars of the train were empty. Fantastic video! I look forward to more!

[@juanman75]

Thank you Andy for another fantastic video, I've only just discovered your channel and I'm working my way through your playlists. Very well presented and fascinating to watch. 👍

[@AndyMcloone]

Welcome aboard!

[@RMmilitarymiscellany]

A fascinating documentary, very well made, thank you. I look forward to taking a look at your other uploads.

[@nonnadiona2659]

WOW. Absolutely great video. Keep it up 👍🏻

[@tschibasch]

This is brilliant. Thank you so much for posting it!

[@donetski7324]

Very well made documentary, and a great voice for presenting too. Thank you!

[@NotMarkKnopfler]

Wow that was absolutely superb. National TV level documentary. Absolutely brilliant.

[@warlikeplate4407]

Great vid Andy, love your work yet again

[@andrewcox4386]

Luckenwalde hasn't changed much? 🤣🤣🤣 True a lot of the buildings are the same but they have been renovated and repainted. If you had seen Luckenwalde in '94 when I arrived in Berlin then the place was just drab grey/brown and all the buildings massively run down

[@RobSchofield]

Surprisingly moving, well-written and presented.

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

A masterful documentary. Very interesting. Thank you.

[@angelsone-five7912]

Very interesting and well presented. Funny to think of that vast group of barrack buildings standing there empty after all this time.

[@tzenzhongguo]

I Hope you get 100k subs by the end of this year. Unlike Mark Felton you are actually vlogging outside in public and show the historic sites.

[@jezurkajezic8937]

Another interesting cold war story from the great narrator,Mr. Ioone!

[@helloed294]

Great video and great channel. Very interesting.

[@phillthefrontman]

Thanks Andy, another corker👍 Keep them coming!!

[@wildcardbristol]

Surely, JHQ Rhiendahlen must be on your video to do list?🤔

[@simplyme5324]

How do you know so much about these smaller pieces from Cold War History? It is pretty amazing to me. Keep up the great work!

[@Redrooster0007]

Excellent production and presentation about a little unknown story. Thank you very much for this great infomentary. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks Andy for a very interesting vid.

[@300guy]

absolutely fascinating, I hope you have more such content, thank you for the peek behind the Iron Curtain.

[@christycullen2355]

Thank you for this fascinating albeit tragic piece of history, your videos are always put together incredibly well. Subbed 👍

[@jarhead565]

This is excellent work here!

[@pierremainstone-mitchell8290]

Very good doco Andy! I'd never heard of this disaster before so thank you very much for the information. I do feel sorry for the two poor sods who where driving/commanding the tank. It clearly wasn't their fault!

[@BigDuke6ixx]

Another excelled documentary. Thanks very much.