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Title: The Wall (1962) / Berlin Wall Documentary Film Video
Added: Feb 28, 2009
Author: rosaryfilms
Duration: 9:20
Description:
The Wall (1962) / Berlin Wall Documentary Film Video. Creative Commons license: Public Domain. Government film about the erection of the Berlin Wall. From the holdings of the National Archives.Sponsor: United States Information Agency. The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a physical barrier separating West Berlin from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) (East Germany), including East Berlin. The longer inner German border demarcated the border between East and West Germany. Both borders came to symbolize the Iron Curtain between Western and Eastern Europe and, ultimately, between USA and the Soviet Union. The wall separated East Germany from West Germany for more than a quarter-century, from the day construction began on August 13, 1961 until the Wall was opened on November 9, 1989. During this period, at least 136 people were confirmed killed trying to cross the Wall into West Berlin, according to official figures. However, a prominent victims' group claims that more than 200 people were killed trying to flee from East to West Berlin. The East German government issued shooting orders to border guards dealing with defectors; such orders are not the same as shoot to kill orders which GDR officials denied ever issuing. When the East German government announced on November 9, 1989, after several weeks of civil unrest, that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin, crowds of East Germans climbed onto and crossed the wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, parts of the wall were chipped away by a euphoric public and by souvenir hunters; industrial equipment was later used to remove almost all of the rest of it. The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification, which was formally concluded on October 3, 1990. On Saturday, 12 August 1961, the leaders of the GDR attended a garden party at a government guesthouse in Döllnsee, in a wooded area to the north of East Berlin, at which time Ulbricht signed the order to close the border and erect a wall. At midnight, the police and units of the East German army began to close the border and by Sunday morning, 13 August 1961, the border with West Berlin was closed. East German troops and workers had begun to tear up streets running alongside the border to make them impassable to most vehicles, and to install barbed wire entanglements and fences along the 156 km (97 miles) around the three western sectors and the 43 km (27 miles) which actually divided West and East Berlin. The Soviets were not directly involved. The barrier was built slightly inside East Berlin or East German territory to ensure that it did not encroach on West Berlin at any point, and was later built up into the Wall proper, the first concrete elements and large blocks being put in place on August 15. During the construction of the Wall, NVA and KdA soldiers stood in front of it with orders to shoot anyone who attempted to defect. Additionally, chain fences, walls, minefields, and other obstacles were installed along the length of the inner-German border between East and West Germany. Due to the closure of the East-West sector boundary in Berlin, the vast majority of East Germans could no longer travel or emigrate to West Germany. Many families were split, while East Berliners employed in the West were cut off from their jobs; West Berlin became an isolated enclave in a hostile land. West Berliners demonstrated against the wall, led by their Chancellor Willy Brandt, who strongly criticized the United States for failing to respond. Allied intelligence agencies had hypothesized about a wall to stop the flood of refugees, but the main candidate for its location was around the perimeter of the city.
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Channel: News
Tags: berlin wall west east german germany cold war walls side communist communism russia documentary film video movie ussr usa us united states of america american russian kennedy construction constructed economics world ii nazis nazism hitler post wwii airlift escape attempts reunification gdr border attempt escapees death deaths killed shot orders to shoot stalin
berlin wall west east german germany cold war walls side communist communism russia documentary film video movie ussr usa us united states of america american russian kennedy construction constructed economics world ii nazis nazism hitler post wwii airlift escape attempts reunification gdr border attempt escapees death deaths killed shot orders to shoot stalin
Youtube Comments: 576
elvisrevenge90 Says:
Apr 23, 2012 - Brown Jamie Lee Curtis alert at 1:46!
nayacat Says:
Apr 23, 2012 - Danny Pudi from @NBCcommunity sent me here. His doppelganger is at 1:46, and his mom spotted it. Time traveling exists y'all! ALSO: Law and Order episode this Thurs at 8pm on NBC!
merrychrimbus Says:
Apr 23, 2012 - TROY AND ABED DO TIME TRAAAAVEL
raven50x Says:
Apr 24, 2012 - Danny Pudi at 1:46
adoggez1 Says:
Apr 24, 2012 - cool cool cool
almafuerte430 Says:
Apr 25, 2012 - gut!
Orlabobz Says:
Apr 26, 2012 - Amazing video - thank you.
66gingerly Says:
Apr 27, 2012 - Yeah,and to think people today in America,the land of the Free act as though they want Socialism and Communism.Uplifting Obamas' Ideals.There is a reason why History is in the Past,so we can look back.
Mark Douglass Says:
Apr 28, 2012 - Anyone been to the US-Mexico border? I love how the Americans make this sound so barbaric but are doing the same thing but worse on their borders. This is just another horrific US propaganda piece and anyone that can't see that needs to open their eyes... Officially only 136 people died crossing the Berlin Wall. In 2009 417 deaths were reported from Mexicans trying to cross the US border. The wall and the US border exist for EXACTLY the same reasons... you're all just made to believe otherwise.
frbjoernLA Says:
May 4, 2012 - Thanks!
Redshang064 Says:
May 5, 2012 - @rosaryfilms Thanks for uploading this short documentary item on the Berlin Wall. This item was filmed only a year after the wall went up on August 13, 1961; so it was topical when it was filmed. The Berlin Wall, and the Inner German Border (IGB) that it was a part of, was a very clear indictment of East German and East European Communism. Communism was such a lousy, terrible system, they had to put up a monstrosities like the Berlin Wall and the IGB to keep people in.
rosaryfilms Says:
May 5, 2012 - you are welcome!
PlanetZelka Says:
May 9, 2012 - THIS is communism. Death to it.
Lintflas Says:
May 9, 2012 - Yeah, it was sad, but times changed and today Berlin is the most vibrant and thrilling city in Europe.
RAJOFW1 Says:
May 10, 2012 - 18 want the wall back
raneris Says:
May 15, 2012 - In piena Europa una vergogna.
Khushi Singh Says:
May 15, 2012 - Very good movie!I liked it!Thank you for uploading!
aitchbkay Says:
May 17, 2012 - ITS 2 BAD THE WALL FELL
a10fjet Says:
May 20, 2012 - yo thats it that my rhymewe outta heregive it up give it upwest berlin
TheEchoes71 Says:
May 23, 2012 - Nice documentary !!! Remember Dark period from history (the wall & the war) thx again
Withshortwings Says:
May 24, 2012 - Even a lowly firefly hates the lid of a jar.
KianRaines Says:
May 25, 2012 - I have a piece of the Berlin Wall!!!
violetAyaka Says:
May 28, 2012 - me too! :)
Medalion Says:
Apr 23, 2012 - 1:46 Inspector Spacetime/Abed time travel actually worked :D