Walled in: The inner German border | DW English

[@charlesdarnay5455]

In 1974, I was 16 years old, and an exchange student to Germany from Massachusetts (America). I spent most of that time around Osnabrück and Göttingen. However, during the summer, I was in a group of American students who were allowed to visit East Germany; supposedly we were one of the first such groups granted this experience. We had three weeks to visit East Berlin, Erfurt, Eisenach, Dresden, Leipzig, and Weimar. It was in effect, an advertisement for the DDR to prove to Westerners how "wunderschön" socialism was, and how "das Volk freut sich sehr" to be living in East Germany. But every visit we made to each city, museum, restaurant, school, summer camp, youth hostel usw was pre-planned, staged, monitored and timed to a minute on a daily pre-printed agenda. We were given a bus, a bus driver, and a young tour guide who spoke English although, for the most part, she spoke to us in German, since that was the point of being an Austauschstudent. . We could not explore any of the cities on our own. We were not supposed to talk to people unless they were a part of our approved agenda, including restaurant servers, museum guides, other guests at the youth hostels, etc. Everything was staged for us, and it was perfectly obvious that they were putting on a show for us. A day or two into this tour, we were advised by our group leader from Osnabrück to not speak to the bus driver, and keep conversations around him to a minimum, and neutral. Somehow it had been determined or suspected that he was an informer. But staying in youth hostels made it nearly impossible to not interact with other guests and in each city we visited, word got around quickly that there was a group of Americans staying at the youth hostel and invariably in the evening there would be a few locals who came to hang around the youth hostel to see "die Amerikaner" and chat with us. Eventually, the conversations would turn hushed and whispered, and they'd want to know if we were willing to trade or sell any products from the West: t-shirts, jeans, cigarettes especially. In Dresden, I was hand-washing my clothes in the sink in a little shed behind the hostel one night, when one local came in, looked around as if he were looking for someone, but I was the only one in there. I am guessing he was probably 18 or 19, a few years older than I was at the time. He hesitated a moment or two, obviously nervous, and then asked quietly "Amerikaner?" 'Ja," I replied. We made small talk for a few minutes, he asked if I liked Dresden, "Ja, schöne Stadt" I said. He had his eyes on one of my t-shirts which I had hung up to dry; it had a college name on it, I don't remember which one. Probably Harvard or Yale. But he kept eyeing that and offered me one of his cigarettes. Finally, he asked if we could exchange addresses, and when I got back to America, could I send him a t-shirt like that and some blue jeans, and he would send me anything I liked from the DDR. Well, I didn't want or need anything from the DDR, but I offered him the t-shirt, still damp drying on a hanger. He said he didn't have anything with him to trade, so I told him he could drop by the hostel the next day and just bring me a book or something unique that I could have as a reminder. My god, I swear he had tears in his eyes when I gave him the t-shirt. "So cool!" he said in English, "Thank you." I'm guessing this was going to be a status symbol for him to show off among his friends. The next day, when we returned from yet another round of planned museums and other Soviet accomplishments and glorious triumphs over the "Faschismus," there was a thin package for me at the youth hostel, wrapped in brown paper. It was a hard copy of "Der Struwwelpeter" - which I was not familiar with at all - and he had signed it "Dieter, Dresden, 1974." I've often wondered what happened to him. There were other small events like that during that three-week trip, always on the sly; everybody in our group had some encounter to talk about. The day we left to go back to the West, our hostess guide took the train with us as far as the last stop before the border. We had gotten to know her well in spite of our bus driver, and she was a lot of fun. And the bus driver was no longer with us. At that last stop before the border, as we were hugging and saying goodbye, we all told her, "Komm mit, komm mit!" But she shook her head with a sad smile, wiped her eyes, and said "Wenn ich nur könnte..." I'll never forget that moment.

[@charlesdarnay5455]

@gunther giesl Thank you, oder soll ich sagen, "Danke." After reading some of the comments here about "the good old days of the DDR," all I could think was, "Really? It didn't seem that way to me." I understand the economic challenges and social adjustments but do people truly think of that as "the good old days?" That nostalgia surprised me. We visited a summer ""Kinderlager" near one of the cities, I don't remember now which one, I am thinking it was near Erfurt, but I'm not certain. Die Kinder waren vielleicht 8-10 Jahre alt. Their camp leader announced us as a "überraschendes, besonderes Besuch" or something to that effect, and told the children to listen and hear our story and then ask questions, but they didn't know anything about us. So when we told them we were from America... mein Gott, "überraschend" is not the correct word. "Ganz erschrocken" is more accurate; die hatten wirklich Angst vor uns, was wir gar nicht erwartet hatten. It took some talking and answering questions and telling stories for them to calm down and relax and see that we were "nur Leute so ähnlich als ihr" but their initial reaction took us all by surprise. The girls asked questions about what it was like to be a girl in America, and the boys asked similar questions about being a boy, did we have televisions, and electricity, and what kind of games and sports do we play, and so on. By the end, we gave each other hugs all around and said goodbye. It was quite an experience.

[@gernottimm4549]

Thank you for this impressive and sad story.

[@cricketmonday1469]

So very sad. It even hurts today, Sept 2022.

[@kbtcook]

Thanks for your story. The parting with the German guide girl at the last stop brought tears to my eyes. I am sure that the event was probably very memorable to her too.

[@diiii_mond]

This hits dude

[@markpearson7532]

I remember my first visit to Berlin. On the first day I stood on the observation platform overlooking the Brandenburg Gate, and could see the people stood a few hundred metres away on the other side. The following day i was on the other side looking west.I could see the platform I’d stood on the previous day with tourists upon it. Beyond the gate I could see the Victory Column in the distance. A group of Eastern European tourists turned up, They were stood alongside me, and I couldn’t help but think that this was the very edge of their world. They could see the Victory Column, but could never visit it. They could see the rear of the Reichstag building to the right, but could never see the front of it. I bought a city map in the east, and West Berlin was just a featureless grey blank on it, it could easily have been mistaken for a lake.

[@maciejgaik1902]

I have to correct you. It was possible for Easter Europeans to visit West, including West Berlin. The procedure of getting a passport, permissions etc had bee a nightmare but it was possible. My father visited his sister in W.Bln together with my brother many times, me and my mother on the other hand had to stay in Poland during those trips as a warrant for them to come back.

[@angelovalavanis2314]

@@maciejgaik1902 So you were allowed to travel so as long as you left back collateral with those Communist bastards...

[@piercehawke8021]

The Berlin Wall was living proof that Communism was an obscene joke, on the lines of the Antebellum slave plantations before our Civil War in 1860

[@Ocinneade345]

@@maciejgaik1902 no, we must have the most melodramatic reading possible of the situation

[@jagan2]

@@Ocinneade345 which, in fact, was a melodramatic situation

[@muhammadshidqi4916]

Everyone was amazed by the berlin wall... and me, my jaw dropped because this is an educational video.. and it has good graphics. And this was made in 2009.

[@phoenixthebikereagle3384]

I agree with everything you wrote. :) The Berlin Wall is an extinct relic of a distant Communist past. In April 1990, when I was born, there were two Germanys existing WITHOUT the Berlin Wall, and the Soviet Union still existed, but it had a McDonald's.

[@nevizx.9947]

I tought this was made in 2017 xD

[@GoodVideos4]

And, as if it was made at the time. (Of course, never had those graphics then. A combination of past and present.)

[@BlazeMaster]

Right from the source

[@jjhonecker7644]

@uh wot 1961 Erich Honecker and De DDR had wall erected

[@gotham61]

I love how the animators got the tinny sound and smoky exhaust of the Trabant cars just right.

[@Bellasie1]

I thought so, too.

[@pogon4life]

German animators are known for their precision in recreating all details...

[@nlpnt]

@@pogon4life German Foley artists, too.

[@_karla._]

its the sound designers tho.

[@followthesun2115]

The computer rendering of these scenes is simply amazing. Well done!

[@robertmendick3195]

1982 movie: "Night Crossing". The movie is based on a true escape from East Germany to the west. A hot air balloon is secretly constructed. Lots of suspicious "snitch-type" neighbors, co-workers, and bureaucrats. Two families, 8 people total, use it to float across the border at 2am on September 16, 1979. Great movie I watched several times.

[@veiled07]

I’ll check it out

[@richardmelkus7844]

Und, wo sind sie hingeschwebt? In die kapitalistische Hölle!

[@rangers94ism]

THANK YOU! I remember seeing this movie as a kid on HBO but I never got the title and I wanted to see it from the beginning. Now I know what to look for.

[@tomharemza5706]

thank you ill watch it

[@montypython4ever]

there is also a german remake of the movie called baloon, from 2019.

[@chewyduck1355]

A literally jaw dropping video. I had no idea the wall was so complex.

[@CamTroid]

My thoughts at 1:30: "What, that's it? It doesn't seem like it would be that hard for someone to get ove-OH GOD"

[@KingCajete]

CamTroid Lol my thoughts exactly "This is it? This is the famous Berli-- oh shit........."

[@yukifay8072]

CamTroid lets see how good u can escape when someone shootin at u...

[@ulrichlehnhardt4293]

+CamTroid it was nearly impossible to get through alive. why do you think this was easy?

[@machida58]

+Ulrich Lehnhardt What if you trained really hard? Like swimming and kickboxing? You could even make your own obstacle course for practice.

[@ulrichlehnhardt4293]

machida58 I do not think that good training would have helped a lot. When a well trained man hits a mine, he is blown up just like the untrained version. Every section was permanently observed - and they used the weapon. If there had not been any guards , nor mines and electric fences you could have climbed it of course... but you cannot escape bullets. Some were lucky though. In 1988 three young guys climbed over it and swam through a river although a patrouille boat nearly shot them.

[@tech9803]

This was the cold reality of divided Germany when I was growing up. Never imagined the wall would come down.

[@marinazagrai1623]

In case you want to see the wall coming down, I highly recommend a song by Jesus Jones called "Right Here, Right Now" which contains a film with the wall coming down and the party that ensued. Also on KZbin.

[@pogosmama1]

I’m American but was crying tears of pure joy when the wall came down and it still makes me cry. A unified, democratic Germany is how it should be. It’s hard to believe the armament of the was was so diabolical.

[@davidvanderven]

Nothing says utopia like the entire nation being a giant prison...

[@tightywhitey9779]

David Vander Ven the communist way!

[@noahhughes2501]

@@tightywhitey9779 idk the British Empire literally did that,not really an ideology thing

[@tightywhitey9779]

Noah Hughes No way to compare East Germany to Britain. If you do believe there is not difference, you need to stop watching leftist mediums on KZbin

[@piercehawke8021]

@Awawawa CM Moot point. Most of Europe's former colonies basically ran their 'masters' off shortly after WW II. The cold reality was it simply wasn't worth the $$ to keep said colonies under control; the few colonies/territories left today tend to be rather affluent. British Virgin Islands, Caymans, Martinique, French Guyana, Seychelles, St Pierre and Miquillon(sp) which are essentially surrounded by Canada, Sint Maartin, Aruba, etc.

[@piercehawke8021]

@Awawawa CM And you deleted the post to which I was referring to.

[@Akademee]

Geez, this thing just kept getting progressively worse and worse. Automatic shotguns? What!?

[@sheriff0017]

+Akademee They took them down. Birds were landing on the firing wire, winds were setting them off, and West German kids were intentionally setting them off with rocks.

[@Maddinhpws]

They were really cheap to produce. It would use scrap metal from industrial production. Even though the ones I knew were more like hanging mines every 20 meters.

[@GoodVideos4]

I saw in a video that they were planning even more advanced, sophisticated gadgetry, a next generation, but then the wall came down.

[@L4nc3_4_l0t]

I remember a story of a father and son trying to flee from east germany at a point with an american military post on the western side... the father got shot by those guns and stuck in the barbed wire fence... The americans could do nothing to save the man as he was still on the eastern side and moving there = starting WW3! so all they could do was watch him scream and slowly die for days until the east german soldiers finally got orders to remove his corpse (the were not allowed to remove him alive!). The son did make it to the west though.

[@Orvieta]

@@L4nc3_4_l0t That would have been Peter Fechter, shot dead in August 62.

[@daddybeagleaz907]

Very well done! I was in my 20s when the Wall came down, it's hard to believe that people could actually do this to each other no matter what the excuse.

[@magicbulletdancers]

Very much appreciated this video, am reminded how blessed I am that I don't live in the US

[@ottovonostrovo1486]

My parents are Germans my mom is from the Ruhr and my father was born in Posen/West Preußen displaced after WW1 and raised in Pommern to parents born in Ost Preußen. In the early 70's I lived for a year in West Germany and visited Berlin where at one of the border crossings (might have been "checkpoint charlie??") I saw an older woman on the east side waving at a younger woman with child on the west side, both women were crying. I bet most Germans are thankful for unification!

[@Hannodb1961]

Hard as it is to believe, some East Germans who failed to adapt to a free market environment actually miss East Germany.

[@fn0rd-f5o]

@@Hannodb1961 a lot of the younger people have never experienced it and are in denial. "Ossies" also have a different way of thinking, they have been subjugated for a long time. They couldn't even trust their friends and family. I have seen it firsthand. I lived about 20 minutes from the Eisfeld crossing in the 1980s.

[@marionhollis4817]

East Germans always waved at westerners that came through on the transit route to Berlin. Standing on overpasses, if they weren't afraid to get caught. I am German (west) and visited many times friends in West Berlin. My parents were in their teens when their families fled during the building of the wall and iron curtain. It was a sad, sad time!! Many who tried to escape were shot during their attempt. No such thing as human rights etc. When the wall fell I was in Kenya on vacation. There were 82nd airbornes in our hotel who got the news over their radio. We could NOT believe it. It was just too unthinkable!! The news were confirmed next day by a new batch of Swiss tourist arriving. Our Berlin friends had not known anything but the wall around them and huge hassle traveling across the east to visit us in the west. They couldn't imagine what it would be like coming home from that vacation.

[@marionhollis4817]

I can testify of that and that they didn't have a clue about free enterprise. I worked with an insurance company and we trained easterners after the curtain fell. They could never think for themselves and worked like in slow motion. I immigrated to the US in 1995 and it hadn't gotten any better by that time.

[@pepperpattynaise]

I can only imagine the pain those people went through, first being separated from their loved ones and living in misery for all that time, and then after all the years of communism, being thrown into capitalism again with no tools or knowledge to catch up, feeling helpless to the point of missing East Germany. Its just sad.

[@markpearson7532]

I visited Berlin a couple of times in the 1980s when the wall was still standing. On one occasion I took the underground from the American to the French sector under the centre of East Berlin, passing through the dimly lit closed ghost stations on the way. I emerged in Bernauer Strasse and walked alongside the wall towards an observation platform. It was late at night and dark, except for the glaringly bright death strip, and there was nobody else around. I stood on the platform looking over the wall, taking photographs of the guards in the watchtower photographing me. It was a very eerie experience.

[@traumachicken]

This is how to use computer graphics

[@markdp1983]

Agreed. Fabulous doco.. Now 10 years old!

[@nikokolajjj3884]

@@markdp1983 why do you reply on a 7 year old comment lol

[@Kabutoes]

They always talk about the Berlin Wall but never the inner German Border

[@brixmis7]

Well done, I served there in the 80's Brit sector.

[@ericp1470]

My dad served in Germany in the 80s and had the pleasure of pissing on this wall while it was still in action

[@frankbarone4248]

If your dad pissed against the (Berlin) wall,I'm sure your dad doesn't or didn't live in the East...

[@harrisonkarn2078]

Frank Barone he didn’t live in the east for long

[@neckarsulme]

awsome vid, as a veteran of the cold war '82-84, I was always fascinated with East Germany. My ex girlfriend even stole an East German flag for me when she went to visit relatives over there!

[@Porsche996driver]

Would be nice to see Korean united. DDR was bad but NK is completely nuts.

[@extremiztic]

GDR*

[@extremiztic]

@Lucky Joestar Aaah ok, danke dir! :)

[@hikosun606]

They are DDR and DPRK

[@GoodVideos4]

Saying DDR wasn't that bad, yet thousands of them fled south and then west in 1989, before 9 November, abandoning their homes, their jobs, their cars, and most of their possessions. If they had waited a few months then BRD would have come to them. So, it must have been that bad.

[@GoodVideos4]

Though, there are quite a number of former DDR people who'd like a return of the DDR, with the wall.

[@hughmungus1767]

I visited Berlin twice, one in 1983 when the Wall still stood and then again in 1991 when it was gone. The removal of the Wall is one of the most positive things I've ever seen. In 1983, I was especially moved by all the crosses that marked where East Germans had been killed trying to flee to the West. A great many of them simply said "Unbekannt" (Unknown) because no one even knew the name of the person who died. (I assume that the East Germans recovered the bodies and chose not to disclose the identities of the would-be escapees.) By 1991, "Unbekannts" were far fewer and I can only assume that someone had gotten into the relevant East German files and identified most of the fallen. Those crosses were a poignant reminder that some people valued freedom enough to risk their lives. Too many of us in democratic countries won't even bother to vote if it is simply raining, let alone stand for freedom at the risk of our lives.

[@William_sJazzLoft]

Fascinating! I wasn't aware that there was a wall between East and West Germany as well. The Berlin Wall was what got much attention

[@flopunkt3665]

The wall set an end to the Cuba Crisis, that's correct, but it was wrong to build nevertheless.

[@Tsukuyomi28]

Much of it still exists in more oit of the way places.

[@juanfran579]

It wasn't a wall. It was a fence but again on both sides with a large stretch of the same border Installations.

[@sheriff0017]

Walls in some places, fences in most places.

[@Rodisflawless]

One of the most interesting videos I've seen on KZbin. Thank you.

[@ferdinandtugano]

Just wowed when I saw the date this video uploaded! Their expertise in 3d animation is way advanced!

[@Kosmas.9284]

2009 was just the other day

[@davidrasch3082]

I saw part of this wall while stationed in FRG. No laughing matter. Our guards told us at night sometimes their guards would fall asleep and their searchlights were pointing up in the sky.

[@smophie6260]

Thanks for your experience. Quite daunting

[@BruceDanton-xw6eg]

Well if they were tired they would do o guess too

[@BruceDanton-xw6eg]

​@smophie6260 yes so too.

[@johnbarnes5237]

A remarkable film. I visited East Berlin twice, once when East Germany was still a going concern -- though under considerable pressure from Gorbachev to reform -- in November 1988. The other in December 1989, a few weeks after the Wall came down. I'm glad the filmmakers went to the trouble of documenting this bizarre chapter in modern European historian where a government sought to wall its people in.

[@Fractalfriend]

I also visited twice around this time. East Berlin is something I'll never forget. Just plain eerie.

[@GoodVideos4]

I visited Germany in September and October 1989. It included a train trip from Cologne to Berlin, and a bus tour of East Berlin.

[@plantagenetsurvivor8771]

John Barnes - So bizarre. You almost can’t believe this happened so recent ago

[@whocares4199]

All they did was move the wall to the coast. The eu is a communist empire in the making.

[@whocares4199]

@@richardhall6509 why do you think that. Come on now with your throw away comment......or are you onr of those paid trolls

[@pontifixmax]

In actuality it was west Berlin that was walled in, although of course west Berliners were free to come and go via flights to western Europe or elsewhere in the world. .

[@akosbarati2239]

Not until 1973, until then they could only go the West Germany as West Berlin citizens were de jure in no man's land.

[@sodoffbaldrick3038]

Jason, my grandmother's house ended up in the Russian sector, and my father was heavily courted, then pursued by them, as he had just become a Dr., and in demand. He left Germany and became a US citizen in the 50's. In 1961 he flew in and out of W. Berlin to move his mother out of E. Berlin to Cologne. He said the night he was flying home to the US, as the plane lifted off from West Berlin he could clearly see the two sides of the wall coming together and nearly completed. It was only a few weeks after this trip that the borders were closed to everyone.

[@Bellasie1]

@@sodoffbaldrick3038 Impressive. Thanks for sharing.

[@Ryan-ed1lq]

It's talking about the inner German border, which was not the Berlin wall. It was effectively the iron curtain but it shared the same purpose.

[@SonicVision]

It's 2022 and I am amazed by the spectacular computer animation in this. Got to see some of this IRL in 1981.

[@Veslanjejezivot]

Great computer animation. Thanks for clarifying all the things regarding the wall.

[@brahimabramov3842]

I am from Casa Blanca, Morocco, in 1989, I had the opportunity to be among those who climbed over the wall. I was 18 years old and I went from Padua, Italy. It was an exceptional night.

[@78asasou]

I served in Berlin form 61-64 for a spy agency. A lot was going on. I am proud of my service and grew to love the Berliners.

[@johnconnor2074]

Very good informative animation. I visited East Berlin as a teen on a school field trip in the late 70's. Shocking.

[@jimgritty7064]

What was shocking

[@charlesdarnay5455]

I did the same in 1974. I wrote a long post about our experiences up above. It was indeed shocking. It's hard to believe some of the comments to this video - people thinking they would have wished to live in the East where life was better somehow - but it shows that those who hadn't seen it up close or lived on the other side, don't really understand what The Wall was and what it meant. I wonder if people born after 1989 really get it?

[@charlesdarnay5455]

@@jimgritty7064 It was shocking because it was essentially two prison walls several hundred feet apart, with a deadly obstacle course in the space between those concrete walls. Barbed wire, mines, tank blockades, watch-towers with riflemen on guard, spot-lights every few hundred yards and lit up at night. It was a prison barrier.

[@Realbillball]

Excellent film.

[@cricketmonday1469]

Spectacularly explained. Thank you DW

[@ignorasmus]

Imagine if they had spent all that effort in making DDR a nicer place so that the people didn't want to run away from it in the first place....

[@NicholasKuqali]

If only

[@boardingurban]

“Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in,” JFK

[@deniseproxima2601]

The statue of liberty

[@grzegirz67]

Very well done. An excellent and informative piece of documentary. I've been to Germany several times including 2 separate full weeks in Berlin. This makes me want to visit again.

[@SV-DEDICATED]

Proud to serve there with the US Army's Berlin Brigade. 1983-1986. I use to patrol the Wall in a Gun Jeep. The East German troops in the towers would wave back and dangle their dog tags if you waved at them. I remember when that Church was torn down. The West side had protests when it happened. US Troops were allowed to go into East Berlin. We had to have special orders, be in uniform and be out by midnight. At the time one US dollar equaled 21 East German Marks. We would go over for shopping, a nice meal and hit a pub or two. Major Arthur D. Nicholson (7 June 1947 - 24 March 1985) was a United States Army military intelligence officer shot and killed by a Soviet sentry in East Berlin while engaged in intelligence-gathering activities as part of an authorized Military Liaison Mission which operated under reciprocal U.S. - Soviet authority.

[@jjburkk]

I was in the 287th MP Co from 88-90. Worked at checkpoint Charlie, Bravo and the duty train that ran from Berlin to Franfurt. As well as regular patrol duties in the American sector. We had several conversations with the East German tower guards at night. They would usually try to get us to jump over the wall. They would say it jokingly. I was 17 when I got there. Berlin was an incredible city. I still miss the meals we had in the East, it was amazing how well you could eat for cheap. And the things you could buy. From reading your profile i guess you are retired out now and living the good life in Florida. I hope life is treating you well. Thank you for your service.

[@dmac80]

Imagine a mishap at the pub landed you in East German prison (the official one, one the walled off one).

[@TheThOdOr1s]

My God, I stumbled upon this, We often forget how much Germany has been through... Greetings from Greece!

[@MythHunterInvestigat]

Lol!Never thought i'd see a greek person anywhere in comments.Souvlakia kai Gyros FTW though xD

[@MythHunterInvestigat]

Catherine H. muy muy

[@MythHunterInvestigat]

Catherine H. You don't say xD

[@robertovalero8334]

@MrJobofo Do some research.Europe The Last Battle!!!!

[@Elliott_Elliott]

@MrJobofo By the government, not by the people! Have some respect, regular Germans wheter wanted the wars nor the separation between the east and west

[@lugano1999]

This is an incredible re-creation.

[@duskostankovic3971]

Anyone watching 2019.

[@m42037]

Dusko Stankovic Grow up

[@NPC-zo7yo]

2020

[@LisaSmith3663]

February 2020

[@magicbulletdancers]

mid-April 2020 Canada

[@maxine1594]

August 2020 (germany)🤝

[@lmyrski8385]

So sad they did not rebuild the Church as it was after reunification.

[@kentcyclist]

L Myrski more likely to build a mosque 🕌

[@elliotunderhill3617]

They did, I've been inside it a few times on trips to Berlin. Look up the "Chapel of Reconciliation."

[@kentcyclist]

Harold Potsdamer Dresden was hardly painstakingly rebuilt. That’s a complete myth

[@V8_screw_electric_cars]

As a sign of going backwards?

[@liamobrien4767]

Saw this wall in 1976,very grim going right across the countryside,thankfully Germany is 1 again.

[@Mushroombea]

I love the little easter egg where we can see "Björn and Simon were here" on the wall and when we look at who did the animation in the credits, we can see two guys named Björn and Simon :D It made me smile :)

[@davidvandrunen3516]

I wonder what would have happened if they spent that much time, ingenuity, and money on making life good for the people instead.

[@akosbarati2239]

That's not the right question, but I'll allow it since you weren't on our side of the fence. East Germany was the Japan of COMECON, a propaganda state propped up with products from allied countries who supported both East Germany and the USSR financially. So from a certain point life was good, but it wasn't free.

[@RetroAP]

Crazy that 20 million dead after a world war would have an effect on the Soviet economy. Who would've thought?

[@brotpitt]

I grew up in Völpke, GDR. Next to Hötensleben. I can still remember when i was 8 years old and the wall came down.

[@smophie6260]

Could you share your experience with the former ddr?

[@kevinstojda7767]

My uncle lived in Frankenhain/Berkatal. When I visited him in 1989, we went to the Werra River which was the BRD/DDR border. I remember seeing walled in villages along the river with manned guard watchtowers. Only the most trusted DDR citizens could live in these villages. I have video of this. This was after we came back from visiting West Berlin, where I crossed Checkpoint Charlie on 7/1/89.

[@Lvl22Cowboy]

Can you imagine? People were starving and just a couple feet away were the answers to their problems. The saddest part I think would be that maybe, very faintly, the East could hear the West living, not just surviving but actually living, car honks, laughter, faint - almost like an echo, but they'd be reminded how trapped they were. They'd probably think to themselves that maybe if they were just a mile to the right when Germany was liberated, they'd be free.

[@akosbarati2239]

The half mile strip before the Wall was restricted, and before that, only the most trusted could live so not one of them was starving per se but I get the thought.

[@fremejoker]

I always find these myths about the GDR astonishing. chiki briki, you have absolutly not a single idea about the life in East Germany.

[@GoodVideos4]

The border guards would regularly see that.

[@borderlands6606]

The Berlin Wall was not constructed until 1961, sixteen years after the end of WW2. It was built because 3.5 million East Germans defected to the West.

[@dralenvan]

People in the GDR weren't starving. The GDR was actually one of the most succesfull Communist states economy-wise. The biggest problem was the oppressive government.

[@costeeta]

Communism is so great they don’t want anyone to leave

[@BruceDanton-xw6eg]

Indeed and it was not too

[@orion5992]

Awesome graphics! Very Educational!

[@JanPBtest]

Oh no, the US-Mexico border is nowhere near that. Trust me. I travelled to West Berlin many times from the mid-70s and this computer animation is extremely well done, very close to reality. Those rabbits are totally true, I saw them inside the no man's land all the time, it was a bit surreal.

[@drjacquelinequyenthuhaleph3210]

Thank You for this nice time document . My hubby and I just visit on May 2023 . Thank you for recording and sharing this. I really appreciate it and I am thankful.!

[@Moritz19081980]

A friend of mine lives in the Anklamer Str. which is displayed in the beginning of the video. Everytime I visit him I walk across the former wall. I was born in 1980 so I grew up with the wall. But I lived/live in the western part (British Sector). I think it is good that people from all around the world start recognizing what really happened here. I do wonder why this took 20 years. But in Germany we say "Besser spät als nie."

[@multiio1424]

Aside from the great content, the computer animation is top-notch, it almost looks like real-world drone footage. Amazing job, congratulations!

[@nicholasjanosy2214]

If I am not mistaken, the Americans are building a wall between the USA and Mexico.

[@nichmon3221]

Yes, we are, to keep people OUT, not IN.

[@briannabrittany3127]

There won't be a wall around America. That's just hot air from an egomaniac dimwit of a president who also thought he could buy Greenland and put up a casino. He's good for making promises that he has no intention of keeping, but people fell for his B.S. because at least he isn't a politician. He's worse - he's a robber baron who lies and makes promises he can't keep.

[@alanstrong55]

So delighted when the wall came down and those East Germans were allowed to freely pass from either side.

[@andreasvogler1875]

Because there was also a heavily fortified border, with minefields, guardtowers and high fences. But before you got there you had to cross the restricted zone. A 3.1 mile wide area you could only pass with special permits. If you want to know more google "inner german border".

[@olie4721]

i just remember how we had to heat the water for the shower with small wood fire back in the early 90s in our east berlin student flat, then waited for bout 20-30 minutes until the water got warm enough to take a shower. with re unification, i must admit, we were happy though once new electric heaters were installed for the shower a few years later. however berlin is a great city and def worth a visit.

[@Wardropulous]

Wow, absolutely insane.

[@italoman9]

Excellently produced, and historically valuable and necessary. 👍

[@repoman256]

Amazing film. Thank you for this.

[@Maplelust]

feels good to finally understand this wall.

[@e16006]

Wow! Superb animation! Love it.

[@giampersa]

Very realistic video! I was an exchange student in West Germany and I was in Berlin and visited the "east section". Plataforms and border control are in my memory as the angry soldiers looking for refugees among us.

[@classified773]

This is quite interesting and very informative

[@derekthompson6992]

I believe the wall ran straight through people's gardens if you were unlucky enough to be in the way

[@UseFreeSpeech]

5:04 on the wall "Björn and Simmi were here" 10:04 Animation: Simon Häcker and Björn Müller

[@elhatarolodohod2040]

You nailed the Trabant sound!

[@WonkaVator72]

5:04: "Björn and Simmi were here." Looks like the animators -- Simon Hacker and Björn Muller -- gave themselves a shout-out :-).

[@Ohmy1956]

As a USA soldier we used to say that all the Soviets had to do in event of war was post POW signs around the allied sections.

[@zaneossa]

East Berlin be like: HELLO FROM THE OTHER SIDE

[@kraiss8]

+David Ammerman why.....................just why?

[@lenalovessxtn3672]

Thats not funny!

[@WasGuckstDuSo65]

@@lenalovessxtn3672 du bist nicht lustig

[@lenalovessxtn3672]

@@WasGuckstDuSo65 du bist weiblicher als ich

[@WasGuckstDuSo65]

@@lenalovessxtn3672 du bist mehr schwul als ich.

[@jackfitzpatrick8173]

President Kennedy put it well..."democracy has its problems but we've never had to build a wall to keep people in".

[@jeremytreagus5335]

The whole time I was like: "yeah, just do that," *5 minutes later* "OK... never mind"

[@jeremytreagus5335]

hahaha only you emeril...

[@marydwyer1496]

As the wife of an American Army officer who was assigned to Berlin Brigade in 1963, I lived in West Berlin in American military quarters for 3 years. It was an incredible experience to see USSR communistic control of all of East Germany and East Berlin. The East Germans were totally occupied by USSR Communism; all enforced by uniformed soldiers with orders to shoot dissenters. It was an evil dictatorship taking away all human rights.

[@mew19forever]

i cried watching this, i love Germany and it's division with that ugly wall is heartbreaking :'( I am very happy that wall is gone .

[@aymanzaman4you]

mew19forever i still can't believe you would need a bloody German visa to reach another part of German town. Germany to Germany and you would require visa. Lol. So rubbish and ridiculous.

[@dr.walterbennett]

mew19forever no way

[@chepushila1]

Germany deserved every inch of the wall.

[@martinputt6421]

@@chepushila1 Should never have tore it down.

[@ezrathegreatconqueror]

Ayman Zaman they still need a wall to prevent you and your middle eastern thugs to enter and Islamicize Germany

[@AviationNut]

Wow, what an awesome illustration. Great work to the people that created this short documentary. This documentary is way to short, i wish it was at least 45 minutes long, because it's so awesome.

[@AKcharger]

Interesting...important to remember this dark chapter

[@tomduggan51]

DW News, Thanks for this video. Superb telling of the Berlin Wall story really brought to life by brilliant graphics.

[@AnikaJarlsdottr]

Very informative, good graphics. Really Glad the damned thing is down.

[@OSSI002]

sehr lehrreich und klasse gemacht..........thank you

[@doloresvargas6450]

No city should be divided.There should only be one Berlin...it makes sense.Tony

[@deniseproxima2601]

Spain was more terrible than all others.

[@encoreunefois1X]

Awesome depiction and animation.

[@TheTrophyHelper]

Take notes U.S/Mexican border.

[@none317]

this is a different scenario. one state is trying to keep the people its boundaries in this case East Germany tried to keep its people behind the walk. The US/Mexican border is way different US is trying to stop illegal immigrants crossing the border the same method can't be applied hence no side on this border is trying to keep people in

[@napasada]

Scientist Albert Einstein What you simply do is enforce a 20 to 30 mile DMZ into Mexico, and eliminate the horrid border towns like Nogales, Tijuana, etc. If a small country like the GDR could afford to make such an intricate system back then, we can do it as well. I am sure that there are some of those former GDR border guards and officials still around that could give us some pointers.

[@KaiXi333]

If only.

[@ExVeritateLibertas]

napasada The US can easily do this and more. The government chooses not to because it is a government of traitors who profit from serving those "chosen people" who desire the destruction of White America.

[@zashazaikov]

LOL

[@naveenplays2700]

Who is watching in 2022 After 12 years of upload...

[@ahtaimo]

what amazing animation!

[@offroad5594]

Amazing CG!!! In 2009 It must have taken weeks to render. Well done!

[@lysol5555]

east germany was a prison!

[@kentcyclist]

lysol5555 we had a fab life there

[@kristerlund8845]

Nice computer animation! This should be made into a game, try to flee DDR without getting caught!

[@TheBandit7613]

"we defeated the wrong enemy" Gen George Patton

[@quas392]

Thank you DW for making this fascinating video. Greetings from England.

[@dwnews]

QuasarBarkas, you're welcome/ fab

[@simonrichard9873]

YOU SHALL NOT PASS!

[@19bootsy68]

Very informative for any pre-teen, teenager or anyone wishing to understand the workings of the Berlin Wall.

[@Maplelust]

and me who happens to be neither of those but never understood until now. lol.

[@pressureworks]

When the wall went up we screamed for it to come down. Now all some clown wants to do is build one. How far we have regressed.

[@jasonolson3133]

True

[@pressureworks]

D. K. In the end each is a Wall based on Hatred.

[@pressureworks]

D. K. Walls are meant to keep people in. Heir Disinfectors Wall is meant to imprison people in Mexico. Each builder of a Wall mistakenly thinks theirs is justified. Herr Disenfectors defective reasoning is this is how to pander to the jGrade A Class 1 Tosser Squad that votes for him. Otherwise he couldn't give 2 Schlitz. Nice to see he was taking money away from the Military and diverting for a monument to his own narcissism.

[@deniseproxima2601]

​@@pressureworks It was the other way. Do you let everyone in your house or ship?

[@ghazalkhazana3262]

In 1984 I traveled inside the east germany and went to west germany, our journey starts at night and we were checked few times at check points which looks formidable, dim lights , nothing around and only farmland without farmers , guards were armed with scary looks. On the west side of the berlin wall things were normal and beside the wall we go to flea market and jump on the ladder to see eastern side where no activity and apt buildings were empty and looks haunted house , glad that unification happened sooner they think it will be, hope people from the east side have better life now

[@DSAK55]

My grandfather died on the Berlin Wall, he fell out the guard tower

[@anamariagutierrez2019]

May I ask was he a Guard or a prissioner?

[@sgsmozart]

This is the best visual demonstration of the wall I have ever seen. I visited East Berlin in 1971 as an American student who had been studying in Athens. I took a student flight from Prague to East Berlin. Before crossing into the western sector, a guard came through the bus checking under all the seats.

[@ivorskalato818]

We need this in Canada on our southern border to keep the Americans out.

[@elton1981]

Your health system would save millions of dollars if you did.

[@Leviathan02464]

we need this wall to keep the liberal/ndp out

[@thepezfeo]

Just run some commercials in the US explaining how truckloads of Mexicans sneak from Canada to the US daily and the Republicans would probably build the wall for you

[@divingA73]

ROFLMAO, well put!!!!

[@minnick.]

That was pretty cringeworthy, Thomas.

[@bertherman6409]

Genius animation

[@EcoNeato]

About how many wall construction crew just simply stepped over to the west for good??

[@carle5538]

An important part of world history and of our lives beautifully explained.