and speaking of german the world famous october fest with at least one big twist this october fest with hundreds of thousands of visitors isn't in germany at all so where is it. 1st off though and summit look at life inside the former east germany a dictatorship that hundreds of people died trying to escape now though almost 30 years after the fall of the berlin wall initiators of a new project called open memory box say it's time to finally start looking at other aspects of east germany too. personal memories were coded in a country that no longer exists. these home movies kept to a side of the former germany that most outsiders never knew private recordings that are now public thanks to documentary filmmakers herskovitz political scientist

lawrence met folds the connected 415 hours of home movie rio's showing what real life looks like for real people under the socialist regime. the resulting website open memory box allows visitors to click keywords in english german french will russian watching clips from the archives of $149.00 east german families. the footage is universal most of these films seem like they could have been filmed most anywhere in europe the people in them are just people living their lives despite the dictatorship. and with me here is alberto herskovitz one of the initiators of that project open memory box welcome to the show thank you. we hear a lot of people from east germany say yes it was a dictatorship but it wasn't all bad is that part of what this project is trying to

show no not really. it's no i would say that we have and this project has not. another go any different than this is private life they did life in east germany something that many many people. didn't know and know very little about ok so it's neither good nor bad necessarily well. we never thought this project to do intend to balance any good or bad in what was a dictatorship in east germany we have course you know that there was a lot of a lot of problems and of injustice a lot of oppression but at the same time people were living in this country and not all who are no more victims or. perpetrators are just as they are only ok so that you're bringing it back to the personal and you have footage from 149 different families in this project were you surprised that so many people were

eager to make their very private images so public you know very much them because someone when we when we 2014 started the project we we thought that we might receive like 2025 or us and that would have been great but no within 10 days some people donated $400.00 to the project what do you think they wanted to make their private their home movies public like this maybe they fed the time has come to to let people know that there was also more than just the the the core political problems that were necessarily. off to the wall during the 30 years or this had to be analyzed and and discussed but maybe the time has come for people to feel. this is footage that shows how we lived and there's also the few i guess that this or this would

disappear now i just want to show one of these films particular. in particular it's called i regret it maybe we can take a look at this you interviewed some of the people who made these movies because they are actually silent films what if the person the mother in this video tell you about her story and why is it called i regretted what she had when she studied to go there has been they were a young young couple. had to make a choice because they didn't find a place for their small boy take her place so she had to make a very tough choice that is to leave her with her mother and they lived separated for quite a while now a lot of people who grew up in west germany look at these videos and they're surprised to see that they look like they could have been filmed in the west what do you make about is that just west german prejudice against east germany well at 1st maybe but not because plenty other reason because maybe people didn't know better but of course when we look at the footage or the these 415 hours

of images they all are about what private life is about it's people going for holy days and speaking of holidays i just just briefly want to show some footage because there's a lot of there's a lot of images of nudism and can you just briefly tell us what is that about where that is all about the people for a reason that maybe nobody really knows where it came from but in east germany going to the beach and having no clothes on was this sort of a folk sport i would say it was like what people did it would be and that was very difficult i was very different from in the west so that was a sort of freedom in a sense that the people in the west maybe didn't have a better herskovitz from open memory box thank you so much for coming on the show this is something that people can find online right if they did they just have to google yes and white and worldwide thanks so much for covering q very much. moving

to the big screen now a new film is debating here in germany that many readers already know well as a novel the german lesson by siegfried lentz is a pivotal work of post-war german literature told from the point of view of a boy coming to grips with his own experiences under the nazis. it's a story about friendship and humanity breaking down. much because one friend 1st and betrays the other. the innocent like to leave and. it's $944.00 somewhere on the german north sea coast. works have been declared degenerate by the nazis. but. that it. was a bit of just one foot. caught in the middle as a young boy who tries to please both of his father figures.

but. if you ask what i think that. the screenplay of this new film version of the german lesson that was written by mother and son and. for me the landscape is one of the protectionists in this story because i actually wanted it to feel like the end of the world or feel like an apocalyptic moonscape so you could ask your so secluded here why do you have to keep on fighting a war that has its battlefields somewhere else whine when it's just you here no one lives there no one's watching you. as in the novel the story is told by the boy 6

years later it's his memories of judy and truths stunning images almost no music. when secret lands created the painter he was inspired by him you know it or not a portrait himself as a victim of the regime but he was actually an anti semite who sympathized with the nazi party. lance knew that nada was involved with the nazis but chose not to include that in his novel that's not just stick freedom the filmmakers agree with the choice. of what's that and shy girl was a conscious decision we didn't want to make a movie about a historical person shooters of course we will be asked questions now and this isn't and cannot. determine lesson as visually stunning and it's a thought provoking tale of collaborations and resistance at times story with

a new relevance today. now most of us probably wouldn't want someone dressing us up as a hot dog and turning us into a race fortunately the contestants here are dioxins not people each year the winner dog race kicks off october fest in cincinnati ohio with hundreds of thousands of visitors it's the biggest art tobar fest in the united states around one in 5 people in the u.s. claim german heritage but. the big moment has arrived the 1st barrow parents being tapped. a total of $120000.00 leagues as a bill will be sold join the 3 day festival many of the beers of produced locally by breweries with german ancestry but the public's clear favorites are authentic beers from germany many specially important just for the festival one small

difference to be here does not come in massive german warming to stein's but from somewhat smaller plastic because. look stupid big attraction. for both germans so it feels like you know it's nice sometimes to try to reflect on your original heritage good heritage that we come from and i love the bairn a lot of them. i'm. just trying to think it's great a mixture of cincinnati culture and also bit of german culture it's always fun. it's back to much about. german culture came to cincinnati 200 years ago the american midwest was a major center of german immigration. but at one time almost 60 percent of the city was of german mouth of. the numerous protestant churches in the area. this time. and some streets have now got back the german names they had

before the 1st world war. sarah how madonna because never been to germany has. yet she is still proud to go and so story. wrote. it all about the culture about the german culture and so thick here in cincinnati is the scene people dressed out in their drained all thank coming out with beers and the band going down the street at all just a great entertainment. since enough to celebrate speech german roots dancing and posturing and lights into the night's. cloakroom. and when you get out from when you get back from a late night dancing and you're hungry for more culture news you can check out our

website that's d w dot com slash culture you can also find us on facebook and twitter 1000 for me and all the team here in berlin thanks for watching see you next time. the food. there striving for reconciliation and the rebuilding of their young nation the people of kosovo a war widow founds a successful company. an artist realizes his dreams and

a journalist fights persistent prejudice. old wounds new perspectives kosovo 20 years after the war. close up 90 minutes on d w. i'm getting close to the drunken use w.p.a. bonus posts explosive device it's about topics that affect us old folks in the chicago climates trying to turn. the focus. only insists shallowest 6 years. thanks to. the others watching a positive train all in the water the poorest of the poorer and poorer countries

started lending education they are demanding good called it is a question for their children because what it wanted also to realize that if they have to have good quality products and good quality consumers they need look quality skilled workforce i'm very confident that in 2050 nor child nor am i going to build a man illiterate that is the fundamental human right that is the divine guide which the nature of the board has given to us and goes through politics legend the way that i had to look good was trudging over that i had the freedom that against nature of the i just want. the ball. the ball.

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