advice about the grammy in 2nd and overall leader john erin burnett in 30. this is news from berlin i'm michael local i'll be back with more news at the top of the hour coming up next the dot still 9491 year to germany it's straight to. it's all happening cultural fit perfectly. sure linked to news from africa to the world your link to exceptional stories and discussions continue in low country to have you suffocating program life from fun to meet from the lives of easy to our web site digital comes to africa join us on facebook at t.w.

because. germany for years after the end of the 2nd world war balanced between devastation and new beginnings and of course facing some dramatic changes in poland is a good band playing and. the fish in. it is a good. come. a little. league. player. league. player. to play a legend not. believe. i.

to say. that. they. believe that i. am the old germany was gone in this small town of lloyd store for on the run like everywhere else it was all about just getting through every day life. i think was going to cause a dent there wasn't much discussion if we passed a piano standing in the street we'd ask where should you go. and then we'd pick it up and carry it off of that off. time shots was in the catholic youth organization. and charging the via the main thing was to do something to act sports seminars and studying weren't enough we realised we wanted to have

a say in things as well. the parish priest encouraged younger generations to look to the future and take things into their own hands. had already had political experience bad experience like millions of other young men he had been a member of the hitler youth he is the the main issue for me and for my generation was not the nazis but what can we eat do we have a roof over our heads. how can we get through this day those were our priorities and were for our politicians as well. and therefore british in fact. at the beginning of 949 another former hitler youth returned to germany by train from a prisoner of war camp in the soviet union he's kept his head inspired his new world few hands models had lost his home and. and his family had been torn apart

but he had a burning desire it's either. i wanted to make amends and those who knew i had spent my imprisonment in the soviet union and the region around moscow where the front lines were. if. i saw a scorched earth open pretty easy hard shelled trees in the forest so that homes could be rebuilt i was like you bought. more trucks brother lived in hamburg but he went straight to the soviet sector of palin where he wanted to help build a new society. the 3 of you if i understood all of that this must not be allowed to happen again with lead in forces moved out experienced war and out experienced fascism and that this is not life you've even conceptually speaking i wanted a new germany the 1st though i had no idea about how it could or should be oh you

know it all skip like pretty spring in munich the giant statue of a very overlooks the light field of the check raising visa in the background the following kisha in the foreground at the fest visa which again lives up to its festive name this spring. munich had been the capital of the nazi movement still a jewish lawyer and his daughter decided to move back to their old house on the to resume visa in munich. fritz neulander had escaped the holocaust a lot i had survived by hiding in the countryside. it's not for me to speak it was incredibly important for me to know that i definitely wouldn't be staying in munich one day and i didn't want to go back there because i didn't want to meet the people who had done this to us and i couldn't imagine that with me over the head to 1st encounter and beat up my view of munich. here the streets here are bustling with

life and there are still the ruins but the streets and squares are clear and reconstruction work is going on everywhere resources permitting at least. heidelberg had been largely spared by the war center of the old town was the university which stood ready to greet its large student population one of them was going to do and he had served in the war and joined the student council. the so i believe he was just this was a life like you can't imagine i would so forget about heating even in winter but we toughened up live on army with soldiers and so that through. the situation was diaf many students had so little money for food housing and books that the university was facing closure. dhamma guns on issues like this so we went on strike against closing the university

any on home done i know and then we set up the students help students initiative of the vote. in fact everyone got involved. and you refer me to go of the modulation up to students to keep their free tables to fight you chicken which were these special places where students could eat for free as far as i know they showed so much solidarity it was incredible. the highlight was a demonstration on the main streets of the u.s. garrison commander brought up his tanks but the students didn't allow themselves to be cowed. smiles are not overly generous this open mindedness almost a joy that something like this worked does what that was the type of democracy we loved and fought for the win for the villains under she a tough. only in the spring of 949 germany was

a divided country split into a state and west you could feel that especially on the alba. gets right on track not 2 hours on sunday afternoons the authorities on both sides of the border would turn a blind eye to the law they were happy reunion to see the families catching up and even interest on tea parties and i think that. they are in 1945 the 4 victorious powers divided germany into occupation zones the american british and french in the west and the soviets in the east and right in the middle of the soviet zone equally split into 2 you see if i did it was. the kind of creative $949.00 was the treats onesie a song it became the unofficial anthem of the stream western zones which had begun working closely together. yet the winners had never managed to agree on

a common policy strong germany now the western powers will put in a trip so new zealand's on course to their own separate western german state egypt . the soviet occupation forces had been blockading whisper lynn since the summer of 1948 after the dog was introduced against moscow's express will whisper lynn had become a frontline city in the cold war. your brain got it to people of the world the good people in america in england in france look at this city such. as. the aerial resupply of west berlin became a political p.r. success for americans and britons both here and in west germany the airlift lay the emotional foundation for a turn to war. the west. be identified as air traffic from

west germany to berlin steadily increases police and the eastern sector are increasingly restricting road traffic within the city i take it set up low blocks on a sector borders and spam it's a known for us if when i came back in 1949 and saw the exchange rates it was absolutely clear this is no west was stronger than this and wanted to use the exchange rate to show off its strengths and the soviets couldn't keep up my view it's good they were the losers which is why they piled on the pressure with. the new indian talk. hands dr who was already a member of the east german communist youth organization f.t. j. now officially joined. the socialist unity party. the trying to mechanic was sent to a locomotive factory in the berlin suburb of henning still there he was supposed to

find recruits for the new system but traces of war and the nazi era was still to be found everywhere. so i became a mechanic again. in this case at a plant in henning's don't know who felt even in 1949 there were engines waiting for repair there which still had to keep the wheels rolling for the war banners in creek i'm told average of those 1000000 part of the workforce were west berliners my name is of god not he's and some the lads in the factory began calling me the russian was because every wanted know to sound like he always argues i'm a bad mouth the russians these on their side getting your snow they've been tied to the horse and. it was a tough position to be in but hands madrasa didn't back down. he's been the hero and. i'm also a germ no like you or stem from you have

a different idea of the world to mind but one thing is clear we're all germans d.d.'s the north 1st new post war locomotives leave the heading start land it's a promising start to the new year your 1st of our 2 year plans with honest. reconstruction was the most important issue in both eastern and western germany rebuilding houses and roads of the economy and maybe even the state perhaps of 2 states. politicians in both east and west would busy trying to build support for their different solutions young people one else supposed to play an active role in political life the politics and parties had gotten a bad image under the nazi regime and people would loath to have anything to do with them anymore. there can't be a worse climate than the anti party climate post world war 2 and yes going

initiative i don't know how many 1000000 members of the nazi party have. their war i don't know how many members an organization is affiliated with the nazis there was one in every family there were then suddenly everything was wrong and ordered everything was criticized and rightly so i was asked many times how i could join a party again. since the ocean of 940 s. politicians from the state parliaments in western germany had been meeting at the pedagogical academy in bonn drawing up a democratic constitution for the new western state at the behest of the occupying power as. the swallow plus it was like well those on top of the establishment and now the new establishment are at it again want to say we've had enough of the establishment separation meant to mention and even get into the sea of people they don't care very much at all they had been defeated and he had no strength left and

they didn't care about this or that law the us they know he says because it's they in this case it's. public view $61.00 men and 4 women in the parliamentary council were discussing the future. but chairman konrad adenauer also wanted to take the pinions of young people into account. the climate at heidelberg university had calmed down then one day a postman turned up in the office of the general student committee. must see a notice today come i can still see the telegram from conrad daughter nahla inviting me to attend the meetings of the parliamentary council as a guest was the tides and name accommodation o'neil's are provided by us but please bring bedlinen would be deployed to russia meet playing. by then going to do a woman was working regularly as an assistant to the parliamentary council in bonn

which gave him direct access to high level politics. as shyness one morning i was walking along go to spend go on laying on my way to the plenary session when out an hour drew up in his mercedes know i'll meet him at cedars for why it was raining and he pulled up next to me rolled down the window and said i take it you're going to find a recession it's a come on i'll give you a lift. otherwise you'll get wet and so on my arrived he told the driver this young man here if you see him again give him a lift in the name meet. the common goal of the delegates was to build a functioning democracy for which the parties were working closely together. the social democrats most important men carlos schmidt had even been sent from gutenberg to bone in place of a cd delicate. 8

kind of financial part time there was no interparty political hostility apart from with the communist party. cos there was always a rush on reiman who was at that time the communist party's faction leader made inflammatory speech is full of idiot logical jargon where she said we reject you. they were up killing. and so did the occupying powers the british even had max reiman arrested. the unc for the income of his was the fear of communism the fear of the east was already there especially among the many people who had come from the east and had already experienced communism and fled from it and from common this was the florence and. jewish aid organizations had settled in munich smooshed rasa and around them lots of small stalls and shops servicing a large black market. holocaust

survivors from eastern europe who were waiting to travel on to israel or the us sold some of the russians they received in their transit camp. the american occupiers turned a blind eye. so after entering is your dishes leave jewish life was bustling there you could almost say it was a small town there were restaurants and a synagogue so it was like a real jewish village and of course there were many small stalls where they traded with the on and a lot of people not just jews came to buy things they couldn't get elsewhere to come and see through us a call for it was a good thing that the people there could earn a little extra money but it is at the mention could get turned this is a christian 1st at $215.00 can even. be a band. and clan.

and. life in the western zones in 1949 was still tough but people wanted to enjoy themselves again even though the past was still very close everywhere. each major sporting event after a 15 year break and starts the 1st german 6 day race and munich. yesterday stocks were big and hans ruman one of the nazi regime's favorite actors returned to his role as the crafty util man his comedy the secret of the red cat became a hit in western germany. meanwhile a cinemas in the eastern sun we usually showing most serious fish many celebrations of socket successes. society in the soviet zone was being systematically

politicized in the face of some resistance including at the locomotive plant in had in store for. the act of better go in his speech director berger emphasized that the 2 year plan can only become a reality through the work of us all of all the willing forces of our zone are now in the process of building a new better life for themselves through their own planned work. doing on these here the youth organization try a door you're going to made up around 20 percent of the company's staff so and so there too we were the organized part of the youth yet not the majority who could march through the companies singing big let's build it songs they call overview that mushy and on. the back of the parliamentary council in bone the student going to a dorm and was experiencing firsthand how policies a made and not just as a spectator spawn and yvonne and he commands a mid to high exciting thing was the lunches of the monarch fetus was there you heard a lot of things you didn't hear in the official sessions on the corner and no utter

now or came by and sat down at my table and suddenly asked me what was happening with the students or the misplaced why they were so a political but also so engaged in portly do saw an opportunity to go she had 3 and i told him some things and. he said can we talk about this in a little bit more detail with fusion leaving out now invited the student to his home in rwanda or on the other side of the rhine for a good meal and a bottle of wine. and guns are they on track and he said goods and medicine can you write down what you told me and bring it to my office tomorrow if possible him or make a small insurance program that for him the basis of a speech he made shortly afterwards could solve. i'm right about 100 cars shift on the 13th of october 1048 has gone down in history

by the end of the shift henniker had mice 24.4 cubic meters of coal instead of the standard 6.3 cubic meters on the vehicle because. the a c d tried to use the activist movement to boost the economy in the east and turned the mine ahead of cash into a great propaganda hero the old man who kissed off and says we were young activists and we also won it and because of moved by a great efforts to do a good job in my workshop and to forget recognition yes but it wasn't the s.c.d. controlling that it was you putting your back into it so others accepted you and said no he's one of us made the most money they get through. but when it came to politics it was often hard for the young activist and his colleagues to find common ground in these and far in these issues there was always a distance one that was of course anticommunist duty under the community plagued by

. the s.c.d. party headquarters determined life in east and the s.c.d. was doing what stalin the leader of the soviet union decided stalin's most important man in berlin was volatile bridged officially he was only a 2nd dry. politician but he was the one holding the reins. the powers he wanted to control public life and especially the economy of the soviet zone the lot 6 prng fare of 949 was the shop window. yes there's that for the 1st time since the end of the war the technology fair has returned with its former glory but the b.m.w. eisenach stand. there b. and b. the baby m w 2 liter 80 horsepower and a dream in blue and there's a 130 horsepower racer even faster spirits with 3 carburetors. a

delegation from the henning store locomotive works also traveled to this there they were chosen according to political criteria and the other. party leaders were always talking to you can we win him over for him is he talking in our favor or against us. for the past year the city had been trying to counter the increasing alienation between east and west with a major campaign for unity and it just peace the people's congress in berlin admiral palast was to represent all germans in reality the make up of the delegates had been manipulated and with everything in the east demanded stalin remained the decisive figure in the background. do you want to give us our unity give us a just peace. whisper lynn was still under blockade by the soviets and had to be supplied from the air

things began to heat up so out the city. soon moved on this we want to cross to west berlin and sank americans go home we were followed of. and we were convinced. that those following us to the sponsorship because we had some americans go home that they were the ones who wanted to drive a wedge between us and. the us headquarters in frankfurt had long since abandoned the idea of a united germany the western allies wanted a new german state but on their terms politicians had to navigate a tricky path. more let alone after months of negotiations by the parliamentary council in frankfurt complete agreement of the basic law of the future west german constitution has been reached yet jesus guns we get say the amid all this blathering of the military government that was discussed in the official meetings

in veiled terms. with him going for not opening. at the border money should firstly because they didn't want to make it with to clear to the public to avoid increasing the population's opposition to what they're doing is bottom of no clear secondly. it's worth and they didn't want to do the occupying powers any favors by making it such a big issue this will. cause no harm so. the germans will still dependent on their occupiers but the president of the parliamentary council was thinking ahead oddly. i don't know if. it's better if we compromise with them become sovereign and free ourselves from this permanent occupation approval procedure and so far it was to go new exactly what he was doing us he knew that if we didn't go with the west now with the english or french or american and we had no chance at all i do your only chance for germany to come back

again it was with the west is just myth in this other no for me i don't know it was the americans mass and so it was part of american policy. take and i cannot possibly separate post office handles daily incoming mail. many of the letters deal with the question of what the flag of the new german state should look like. here is the design of a 13 year old girl can make you a flag committee is discussing the various proposals was legal the western allies wanted germany to be a federal state to avoid power being concentrated in the center not all delegates like that and there was something else worrying them. many members asked several times whether we were doing the right things with the home because in making a constitution for an federated entity of money we were basically cementing the division of germany for fossil. the name of the document

is the basic law not constitution it was adopted on the 8th of may $949.00 exactly 4 years after the end of the war. it's a complicated document and was only supposed to be provisional only the communists and the various c.s.u. parties voted against it. and the government here on ladies and gentlemen the basic law has been passed with 53 votes in favor and 12 votes against. the relationship between east and west was shifting. my mail and 1049 to 3 minutes before midnight on the border between the british and soviet zones everything is ready for when they lift the blockade. the adoption of the basic law prompted the soviets to lift the blockade on berlin the division of germany now seemed inevitable. otta

now flies to west berlin i think. the parliamentary council is filled with deep gratitude for your struggle. for your suffering for your patience which has now led to victory. west berlin breathed a sigh of relief that the island in the soviet zone can now be supplied by land again crosses began dropping and shops filling up. the basic law was solemnly proclaimed on the 23rd of may $949.00. the parliaments of the federal states all had to give their consent before it could come into force it was so that a father conscious of his responsibility before god and mankind inspired by their

will to preserve his national and state unity. it was preceded by a preamble referring to german unity. the 1st articles to follow with those that guarantee fundamental rights a church song was sung at the ceremony as there was no national anthem at the time . for me the fundamental rights were actually the decisive factor in what the parliamentary council did at that time the go into place to those fundamental rights they were the be all and end all and he called if the fundamental rights of the freedom of the citizen and self-determination that is and freedom of opinion and all that are guaranteed in the us then things can't go wrong again and condiments a few push here. on. the east responded to the founding of the federal republic with a propaganda offensive for german unity and the election of

a 3rd people's congress. it turned into a fiasco for the s.c.d. and some heavyweight manipulation was needed before it could claim the necessary 2 thirds of the vote at the beginning of june the party called invited members to attend the f.t. j's youth parliament duty stuff like take the f. d.j. karl marx marching through the streets of leipsic where a total of 200000 young people met for a mass rally. the against the divide as for unity was heard a lot in law too but it was really just a rear guard action there would now be 2 german states the s.c.d. was betting on saving face and showing which gemini was the better one lived. truth over when rich spoke so did hanukkah both of them talking about their find to stop what was happening in the west and those guns and the whole thing going to congress all in leipsic which was called the hall of the rising sun rise over and then zone

. down that was also implying the message the west is going and we will have the rising sun in this one. in lloyd's doff a few kilometers up the rhine from bone the 20 year old apprentice hines shots had become a professional politician. as district secretary of the c.d.u. he organized events and took care of the contributions of the members he had there is why i had a small moped you always had to push started you couldn't kick started. so i drove through the district to see if i could collect my salary. in the end but i also had the advantage that it gave you a chance to get to know people and talk with them the logic and. before long the c.d.u. office had arranged to come off behind shots to use in the bundestag election

campaign and when the announced candidate was too late shots would give the election speech instead. off it was a catholic place of war no meeting on sunday morning after high 90 when we went into the church and then into a hall with 820130 seats backwards. you couldn't see across the room because everyone was smoking group no women but all their kind of. pseudo showed up the boy wants to talk. then i gave my 50 minute speech and then if there still has to be a discussion does anyone else want to say anything that's wrong ok we're all voting for the c.d.u. on sunday 80 percent absent. election time in the young federal republic and it's summer which you would want to make the most of.

at the end of july big things were happening on the cultural scene the good surprise was awarded to thomas mann in front of us. next thing here after an absence of 16 years thomas mann and his wife have returned from america for a visit to germany like. carmen welcome or not but i would have felt my life this smirch defied only paid homage to the genius of girder away from home and avoided germany in the process even if i but the east with separation cast its shadow in 1949 there were 2 good surprises thomas mann received the 2nd one at an elaborate ceremony involved in the least the poet kept his distance and gave the same acceptance speech a 2nd time the speech was lord of the news reel in east germany.

but if i live by the award i will go to prizes to thomas mann with one of frankfurt on my night and one weimar it up to show me the edge of visibility of german culture clear in the most beautiful ways i look thomas mans books were once burned in germany and he remained guarded in both frankfurt and. the papers covered my visit with kindness and ceremony like from a rule book there weren't any abusive letters either as there were in the west only a flood of welcoming graduates or a telegrams from creed unions. youth federation is political and cultural organization. while democratic governments serve west germany have a tough fight against reactionary nationalism and reawaken not susan. in the east it is the bush why desire for freedom in the democratic rule of law and the dissatisfaction with core economic conditions which work against the popularity of

the regime. of course all criticism is banished to the private brand orals for years. in fact national socialist beliefs had not disappeared in munich the nazis cult sites had been demolished but when the newspaper the pseudo talked about the jewish question reactions were frightening. why don't you go to america but they can't usually there either they've had enough of these bloodsuckers. and this image is most anti semitism was never dead. and it was never dead he told. the publication sparked a demonstration of outraged jewish refugees in. the munich riot police quickly waited in the holocaust survivors suddenly felt as if they were facing the nazis again the american military place was only able to calm the situation with difficulty.

meanwhile bone was preparing for the 1st blunder start election nothing to go by sure on these are the sounds that echo all across the pond as it's just one large construction site here with the new bonders house building in the center of this house. working against the clock the pedagogical academy was expanded to become the city of parliament the small town on the rhine officially became the capital of the federal republic of germany faced by west. germany has elected its 1st parliament while the run up to august 14th still saw a fierce propaganda war election day itself was calm and all 3 western zones and. the result the c.d.u. came in 2 points ahead of the s.p.d. with the she won consent a total of 11 parties entered the new bundestag on the 7th of september 1949.

the allied military governors were present at the ceremony it was then that the basic law the grand gazettes came into force. this was followed by the election of the federal president and a week later the election of the federal chancellor the young man from lloyd stuart watched it'll happen in that very group region are there were seats outside the pedagogical academy so you could watch what was happening and hear what was going on through loudspeakers. fairlawn for him it because when it came to electing the chancellor both sides were neck and neck would now cd you take the prize. there come on with your version none of us knew so we were curious about the result is. the time that worked. however the lead was rife

a thin and odd now used his casting vote to clinch the election a week later he was sworn in as the 1st chancellor of west germany. by. a very vulnerable in a. children his dogs give him. the following day the new chancellor made his way up to the hotel petersburg on the other side of the rhine this was the residence of the high commissioners the representatives of the western powers the new federal republic was far from sovereign it was still under supervision as was written in the occupation statute. the document was signed by the 3 allies and then handed to the federal chancellor. the 3 allies were to step on the carpet. the chancellor was supposed to stand in front of it an act of symbolic subordination that adenauer didn't care for.

the boehner plan while the parliamentarians debate the high commissioners who created this facade dictate west german politics with this government and bond it contravenes international law and i must not be allowed to speak on behalf of germany was it only carries out the will of the high commissioners. now it was east berlin stern on the 7th of october 1949 the faults rat all peoples council a subcommittee of the people's congress met in the form in ministry building and declared itself a provisional parliament. from other people's chamber has unanimously elected the constitution of the german democratic republic and just as unanimously passed the law on the formation of the provisional government. otoh girls of all became the 1st east german prime minister but the real power was still with moscow's men volatile. the german democratic republic was coming into being in the same hole way

hitler's germany capitulated just for. up to the can we intend to wage a determined struggle against the spirit of fascism and militarism that plunged the people into 2 world wars because. the soviet military governor the great. it's obvious that you know the soviet government has constantly tried to prevent the division of germany which was only deepened by the property run government that you the soviet government recognizes the efforts of the german democratic forces to take the restoration of german unity into their own hands as legitimate the s.c.d. control the new east germany from the very outset common electro lists and a block system turned the other parties into me extras a.c.d. president vilhelm peak was unanimously elected president of the republic he was congratulated by the youngest member of parliament margaret frost later monica.

on the evening of the election. d.j. leader every conoco organized a gigantic march of tens of thousands of young people a short while ago there was still calling for unity now there was celebrating around state. people just a message of general secretary stalin was the most important act of international recognition and culminated in this sentence the foundation of the german democratic peace loving republic is a turning point in the history of europe of all parts i. mean of all the of was if it came to an armed conflict i was aware that my brother was in the west and i was in the east this division went through whole families. there was a feeling i had to know what that was a problem for us but we're the future be like you through. the amazing year 949 came to an end with the germans ensuring unsafe territory as 2

separate states. the success of democracy in the west and an end to the division within just types. today all germans are represented in the same democratically elected parliament and the division is a thing of the past. the bundestag meets in the old reichstag right where the berlin wall once divided the country. 949 s. legacy also contains a message for future generations. of. islam by experienced how this country was lying on the ground and nobody thought that it could ever rise again. you have a lot to thank your ancestors for living in a country today where you can move freely where you have unassailable democracy is equanimity that but you have to defend it you have to cherish your country and be

ready to stand up for it at all times over and. to tell the whole story in a single picture. dress there. in a world flooded with images. of these far photo artists prove that real

life needs no filter. through. a big idea but what's become of it and what will it look like tomorrow. d.w. gets ready for an in-depth look at the european elections the questions that matter . for european voters hopes for the new parliament what challenges lie ahead from way too long because he says they're the people in power have come away with not doing anything to fight the kind of crisis. europe in a much affect the rest of the. expert discussion. is of reports voters 1st championships. as it all. the european elections on

may 26th on g.w. . such. claim. this is g.w. news a live from berlin the results are in from the cannes film festival the palme d'or for best film has gone to south korean director of juno hopes for his comedy parasite we have more on the awards night full of surprises. south africa's swears its president. pledges to battle corruption as he takes office in a lavish inauguration ceremony we hear from our correspondent about the challenges

he faced.