The Berlin Wall - Lessons Learned - Enhanced Version

A short video by Carsten Cumbrowski about the history of the Berlin Wall that physically and spiritually separated an entire city and its people for 28 years; caused hundreds of deaths and inflicted pain in millions of Germans of two generations.

This is an updated and enhanced version of my Berlin Wall video.

It is over 2 minutes longer and several new video snippets were added.
Some (only a few) of the still images were removed and some of the video footage was re-edited and cut.

This version of the vido consists of 21 individual video and audio sources, 54 individual images and 470 words of text for caption, labels and informational messages blended in and out throughout the whole video.

Background music by X-Ray Dog (a few seconds of song "The Journey" used for the intro), John F. & die Gropiuslerchen: "Berlin, Berlin (...Dein Herz Kennt Keine Mauern)" from 1987 and Die Skeptiker: "Berlin" from 1995. Idea, concept, script and editing by Carsten Cumbrowski.

Copyleft 2008. Feel free to copy, distribute and share this video with friends, family or strangers.

Cheers!
Carsten Cumbrowski
http://www.cumbrowski.com/
http://www.cumbrowski.de/
http://www.roysac.com/

Fast Facts
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International Press-Conference in East-Berlin on 15 June 1961
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A journalist from the West German newspaper "Frankfurter Rundschau" asked the question, if the creation of a "Free East Berlin" means that a border will be erected at the Brandenburg Gate.
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The East German Head of State "Walter Ulbricht" responded to this question with the following...
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"I understand your question like that there are people in West Germany who wish that we mobilize the construction workers of the capital of the GDR to erect a wall, yes?

I am not aware of such intention, but that the construction workers of the capital are mainly busy with the construction of homes and that the available man power is used entirely
Nobody has the intention to build a wall."
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During the night of 12-13 August 1961, a barbed-wire entanglement was hastily constructed through the heart of Berlin.

Just two days before the barrier was erected 1,500 refugees had moved to West Berlin.
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Watchtowers punctuated the city limits and the temporary barbed-wire constructions were soon replaced with concrete.

Within a year the Wall was seven and half miles long and fences stretched the remaining 91.7 miles around the city.
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Border Guards had the order to shoot anybody who attempted to cross the border and ignored the guards order to stop.
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Over 200 people who tried it died.
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The wire fence and small brick wall segments were replaced in 1965 with a concrete wall.
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Between 1975 and 1980 the final and most sophisticated version of the concrete wall was built.

It was made up of 12ft tall and 4ft wide reinforced concrete segments and the top lined with smooth pipe made of concrete to make it harder to climb.
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The wall fell on November, 9th 1989 without a single shot being fired or anybody getting injured.
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The first segments of the wall were demolished within the first few weeks.
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Within a few years only very little remains of the Wall were left and had to be preserved be declaring them a historic monument that is not to be demolished.
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The largest remaining segment of the Wall is the "East Side Gallery" near the Oberbaumbruecke along the Spree River.
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Another segment can be found north of Bernauer Strasse.

The third and last segment still in existence is located at the location of the former Gestapo head quarters between "Checkpoint Charlie" and "Potsdamer Platz".