to become aware that freedom and autonomy are not a given fire but instead they must be cherished and protected to shots and to show . that ripple was part of the documentary tightrope act entered dresden as coming up in just a minute i'm told me a lot but that's all from me thanks for your company. thanks again. welcome to the but is the game here for d.w.i. traffic lights to talk about something. let's just saw the coverage. 3 more. subtle we have played her let's have a look at some of the most likely look so you don't want to miss. this. week's t w i. mostly

begins in the meeting will be held tomorrow between east german premier hans maggio and west german chancellor helmut kohl no nothing when the chancellor arrives at 9 15 in the morning east german television will be broadcasting live from charleston oh playing up in the days after tourist and i knew that reunification was going to happen. one way or another i could see it was what the people wanted to. put into it you could see their faces and their range of expressions people cheering but also people weeping it was deeply moving. cyclone saw himself as the victor that's for sure wall. i am going to stock up on to it was no stronger way of expressing the will of the people than saying we belong together we're going to the place. yes we will

not abandon our compatriots in the german democratic republic. ah that's that was what the people wanted to hear they believed the chancellor they saw him as someone who gotten a lot done so he get this done to my guy and your future peace must spring from german soil that is the goal of our unity and i was probably a contribution both energy german unity but also to peace and suffering or i think once and i say that emotionally it was one of the most moving days of his life. no one who was in dresden on the 19th of december 1989 will ever forget that day

dramatic as it may sound it marked a turning point in german history i'm peatling book back then i was a reporter in dresden with a camera man you can hack we were reporting for west german t.v. from what was still communist east germany we'd had it over the day the balun wall fell and witnessed the system collapse the people we met were euphoric about the newfound freedom but also anxious it was bookish should only be coming was extraordinary was how we'd show up with a camera and a microphone interviewing all these people and they take us to where they lived and show us thinks it's cool it was an openness that we hadn't expected to top of it we assumed that they were all being spied on if you have the mothership would suit you . they didn't trust their own media sure that's true but with this we also know that they weren't worried about us because we came from the west in fact they often approached us 1st so it's a little more of

a little bit. we spend 6 months travelling. around east germany a lot has changed since then and so have waiters and. colored grief that was a reception with your highness wow amazing as usual. lot slimmer boardman's. about fair enough. it was a special time we had to make up a lot as we went along. with longer which would be fine i think we were the only t.v. team travelling around in a trap easy to see. me others had flashy vulgar moves and looking boy also move on their way or in a truly that almost believe they'd come over from berlin just for a day we were there all the time but we didn't have our own car it was it for us helmut cole's visit to dresden was one of the highlights of that transitional

period after the fall of the war jurgen and i are going back to the city to talk to others who were also that. 30 years on what exactly made the 19th of december significant. and what was going on behind the scenes in december 89. it was very quiet on the plane with everyone was preoccupied with it thoughts or we didn't know what was going to happen the atmosphere was very tense not mala am on. that whole warned us that we had to do everything in our power to avoid a volatile atmosphere expose even. in place under order. the mood of euphoria and apprehension wasn't limited to palin the berlin wall had fallen on the 9th of november and after months of protests the east german

government would step down across eastern europe the communist regime. seems. people were celebrating but the future of most germans was uncertain. after the wall fell everyone was on the phone to one another all the time whether it was mitterrand margaret thatcher president bush or president gorbachev. person push but bottom line was always keep calm. don't let anything get out of hand don't let things get chaotic. the whole process had to be kept under control and supporters will soon to clintonia. 3 weeks after the fall of the wall helmut kohl unveiled a 10 point plan for german unity including economic aid for east germany an easing

of travel restrictions and free elections then joint government committees european and german unity as a common process and redefined as no one knows today what a real unified germany will look like but i am confident that unification will happen if that's what the german people want to see. i. can't his plan top secret until the very last minute sharing it neither with his own coalition partners nor his international allies other than the americans it was shown it in german just before it was published the british and the french were worried that bone was forging ahead with the plan without consulting them. out or it was far too fast decided many many other people that are always very talking loudly about that but i think the reasons for the acceleration were. first that the idea of unification

was legitimized in close to 10 points speech it was accepted as the go. all of germany west germany in this development. of president gorbachev reacted very negatively to the 10 point plan speech. when the west german foreign minister hans de twist kensho was in moscow gorbachev said very clearly that he opposed it he started to include that it was a dictate he couldn't accept it's important to see what if you look at the plan there was no timeframe it was basically just an attempt to create a road map not against the others but with them. if kohl had 1st gone around trying to shore up support for what he had in mind both on the domestic and the international stage nothing would have ever happened nothing i think it was very brave of him to shoulder the responsibility by himself. on the 11th of

december the ambassadors of the 4 and i powers came together in berlin for the 1st time in 18 years they made it abundantly clear that german reunification could only happen with their approval. this alarmed the west german government they couldn't believe that the allies were discussing germany without their involvement with their minds. get in and i have arrived in dresden it feels strange to be here like a trip back in time 30 years ago traveling to the east was a lot more complicated there were barely any train connections between east and west germany even chancellor cole's plane needed the allies permission. the west german delegation wasn't sure how their visit to dresden would be received by the east german public not by the rest of the world the chancellor was acutely

aware that the trip would be a high wire act with the world watching but then they were met of the at home by hunger. it's of people device. most people didn't want the east german system anymore they wanted reunification and they wanted it as soon as it seemed in reach . the wall fell on the 9th of november because it was brought down from within it wasn't opened up by the east german leadership as is often said what the people wanted him into communism and they wanted reunification and. then stick it on the plane he was unsure of what he would experience when he saw the cheering crowd still on top of the stairs he turned to rudolph minister of the chancellery and said it's a done deal. and the 1st. on the face. of the law says the governor is how close are you coming to markland so

a lot was also at stake behind small talk he's germany's new premier reunification was not on his agenda what he wanted was financial aid for his badly run down country. but is unusually real. the point of the talks was to voice the demands and expectations we had of east germany's democratization. and how it could be tied to economic and financial aid from the west. we didn't know that things would go in a completely different direction that day. the men didn't know one another marco was taken aback to realize that cohen had prepared meticulously for the meeting yet . he became we talked in the car that took us into town meeting nobody talks. of i'm a huge vosh and i was surprised the call had been briefed in detail on my biography photo went down to my childhood in the village of ya's and that's in western

pomerania time in the end of the oslo notes. inform your thoughts on top after he. and i thought to myself. i could have told my own people to prepare is it better for the type. of to try to start started when people were lining the street on the drive into town because we couldn't go very fast we could only crawl along a street in quantity if you could see the people's faces. and the range of expression on their queues east people cheering but also people weeping. to flee through it was deeply moving and. these germans had chosen to hold a meeting and a hotel for foreign visitors contact with the public was to be kept to a minimum. but they hadn't bargained with the crowds who gathered ahead of the meeting between cold. thousands of people

wanted to catch a glimpse of the west german chancellor many were pinning down hopes on. this is a device to which then it's what we want more than anything since we hope that the talks between what growing call will make it happen still. to mention suster what we want is for the barriers that exist to be brought down today and that we can take major steps towards german reunification closer shouldn't get into an issue all that this month's issue i hope that the talks are calm and objective and on the bush to be set aside i think we're 2 very different countries and we can't just be reconciled in a sudden fit of emotion than i would soon and to film can be what we want things to change here we want our lives to improve. you have all of us i want to see immediate steps taken toward german reunification no further delay will. you know can and i were among the crowd. was one of its initial remember there was

a lot of jostling it was almost. impossible to push your way through an ask a question. call gave a few brief interviews which made matters worse. is a crush got worse when he got out of the car i see all the reporters from the west were used to elbowing their way to the front. but the whole situation was insane. it was fulfilled too so i also watched the streets had been parking blanks but it didn't make a difference there was such euphoria which it was people were that in drives in shock they were calling out helmets helmets they moved it musta been very hard for multiples i need to tell you these he was the country's leader but he was completely ignored. then goes to a well i think it was all about the powerful man from the west.

but in fact hans multiple remembers it very differently. too soon and. there was a very mixed reception at the hotel all clues people weren't just there to greet helmets but to greet hans too long i'd worked in dresden for many years they had faith in class as if i had a home advantage in the do i know him for. that was the scene that was the 1st time we saw the germany united fatherland slogan. that it was the message the world was getting in those dang. events and us with this book are not only german saw this image the whole world it is it. it's what. i remember him this i just incredible.

at the press conference the distance between the 2 leaders was immediately obvious . we had to have kind of another i had no reason to foster a special friendship with helmut kohl here it seemed i wasn't boris yeltsin smith go to work later all those stories emerged about gorbachev and meetings held in the sauna we weren't friends not even close. and was a cautious man and this was a very new situation for him for 40 years the soviet union had kept the east german leadership on a short leash 15 these people went used to using their own judgment. even though their positions were poles apart cold trying to keep the mood upbeat. about chancellor kohl you said you wanted to see if you could find common ground and you i believe so but just think human hearts i believe that one to one talks have given

us an opportunity to get to know one another and so it's possible that we will go on to find common ground on the way that can. go the expectation was that model would lay out the political and economic reforms intended to launch. that's not what he did if you read out a speech on improved relations disarmament peace love and understanding as there are a lot or little no one cared to manage. what should have been said was chancellor kohl we need to initiate reforms in east germany these are the priorities and we need your help to. the talks lasted longer than planned both sides agreed to facilitate contact between east and west. but cohn was aware that multiple was not going to support his

reunification plan. their different. missions on the question were impossible to overlook. just get off on almost as we'll i am working on the premise that we have 2 independent sovereign states and their continued existence is in the interests of european peace. and soda. was cold disagreement his aim was to give the east germans what they wanted reunification but he also had to assure his international allies that germany would not be going it alone. carlos was for you too but also you have to move to everything that changes here will have an effect on the pearl of friends in europe as we are acutely aware. when we consider our own interests we must also consider the interests of others not least the security interests as we know here

in the middle of europe in the middle of germany the interests of many are at stake become the interests of all of our neighbors not. them of course was to become a cold knew he was on very very thin ice and this he expressed at the press conference he said i understand there is unease i can see it i see the impatience but we have to be very careful that we don't destroy what we have just achieved just because we are too impatient. 30 years later there's not much left of that stuffy room and a call to a past president where the press conference took place. the cloquet this looks totally different totally. this is incredible. today the venue is one of the city's top architectural attractions it houses a concert hall the home of the dresden film monic. we were quite near the front.

close to the balustrades dome we've only had one camera we had to make sure we'd be able to get out easily. there was a lot of time pressure. or the one if you were at the back you had a better chance of getting a quote when they left. the stage. but we didn't manage that. the report we shot that day just about made it into the afternoon news room assuming ended up going it's concrete but if the customer 500 of your foot on the door starts you've got just you know i would offer you any visits whom she's going to vote for they did it ok guys it. is these other countries to be defining while the press conference was underway grabbing numbers of east germans gathered in front of the rubble of dresden stalin cassia the church of our lady destroyed in the 2nd while they followed the press conference on the radio. according to the official shantel coma's to lang flowers at the ruins of the church his last

appointment of the day. a day earlier the rumor had begun to spread like wildfire that cole would take the opportunity to give a speech. crowds began to flood into the square. would he or wouldn't he address the people. that was. the speech had been announced by this man cabot wagner he was one of the organizers of the non dutch and every monday demonstrations against the east german leadership that were taking place that all to. revive guns i had fought and won those kinds of our hats and it's been a common hi-z. we want to give the west german chancellor a warm welcome and i know enough known care to share and listen to what he has to say when he lays a wreath at 4 o'clock at the church ruined by how instance our heart

of the. after rain if occasion have a doctor has served as man of dresden for several years. how had he known that cone would give that momentous speech for your target for didn't know and. for days earlier the deputy mayor had approached me and said it was possible that the chancellor would be giving a speech and that he was known to make last minute decisions. so we needed to get ready for action and therefore. no one could get ready for action better than the people who organized the monday demonstrations but then kohl speech simply wasn't mentioned again. to target for going forth for the days went by and there was no mention of the speech. but i had the impression

that his speech could still happen. that's their strong so i grabbed the opportunity at the very last minute at the start of the monday demonstration to announce his appearance. the information spread like lightning everyone wanted to be there you stuck your neck out. in those days we were very full of whole cities outside 200 did you expect the crowds the atmosphere. the whole i had no expectations i just wanted people to be there i thought that the head of coles visit to dresden and phone had rejected a proposal that the chancellor give a speech but the mood in dresden changed everything. wrote in his memoirs that he jotted down ideas that afternoon in his hotel room.

i think you have such as a kid going to see this see him on. today those notes belong to his widow my cat told her i think that was really an extraordinary day for my husband let me just think what happened in the morning there were the people chanting unity unity helmet helmet and as a politician if you don't have an answer for the people if you don't talk to them then i'd say you missed your calling. in fact cohen had prepared for the speech in advance this wash from the mob and for the evening before or dog site has come the chancellor and i sat down together in the chancellery for a brainstorming session if you will. as a warm brainstorming good market for those we came up with a few ideas and he made brief notes few were still in the. room to go. no further that was on a 4 paper with

a felt tip pen and foodstuffs. memoirs he said that he wrote notes in his hotel room that same day. i could. i wouldn't set much store by memoirs. if. it wasn't definitely go. going to happen the idea was to wait and see how things developed there was no fixed script. the excitement was mounting at the tchotchke tens of thousands of people had gathered to see some of who longed for unity alongside others who still believed in the communist regime including public servants. you'll have to work for the 1st time in your life would you say i was going to. not just collect your salary. but you got regular training. you took regular holiday got

a new medal every year we paid for that and we're still paying. the atmosphere is volatile are you worried that the situation could escalate so it's sort of a. church that's no one can predict what will happen i certainly hope it doesn't. have a fear as both among coal supporters and his critics that the opposite side would town nasty. they're left wing extremists and they're everywhere if we can't get rid of them you have to help us. listen here my friend i was in the middle of the crowd and the ones calling for unity with the worse still the eye nice machine and that's one to give peace my job here is just to keep the peace but i almost got a thrashing from a couple of guys that's not ok the punks ran off and those guys ran after them yelling you read pigs it was like being back in the nazi era if that's how they

want to go about unity that's not ok we don't want any kinds of radicals. shot. down there were plenty of people who said be careful with reunification it's not what we want what we want is a democratic east germany but they were in the minority as if you know who are school worst. does calls biggest concern was that the crowd would ever ups or after that they would be aggression on fights nationalistic out bests you know. flame alive not to allow this to show that could have easily shaken up the 2nd world wars for victorious powis very quickly go see a sheer hawkish like to. the supporters of the east german peace movement was shocked to see that the majority of the people wanted reunification. and about the miller was not celebrating with the jubilant crowds on the day of cole's physics

she had believed that east germany would survive the fall of the berlin wall. in october in october i co-founded the east german social democratic party i remember at the 1st events held here interest in that same year people were already talking about reunification. i couldn't believe it because i hadn't been thinking along those lines and it wasn't what i wanted was a. knock at the. was i was i was tough or in the us i've never been afraid but there i realized the goodness if i speak out i'm going to be beaten up there was such euphoria but there was simply no room for discussion they wanted one thing and one thing only reunification as

soon as possible. and the deutschemark as soon as possible. the best. we witnessed widespread anxiety off to the war found in the autumn of 89 more and more east germans were packing up and leaving for the west they didn't trust their government they thought the. order might close again. when helmut kohl visited the phone cashier he knew that with his speech he had to allay their fears and gain their trust without whipping up further frenzy among the crowd i. assume in politics feelings are never a good advisor even though a politician needs to know how the people feel that apply to this day it was a day of deep emotions but it was the rational thought which told him if you actually now the door will shut before it even opens all the way by 2 of us.

ladies and gentlemen my dear young friends dear fellow countrymen. i. love snow here fellow countrymen is this one that gave me goosebumps it was the 1st time that a west german politician described us as countrymen not as a soviet satellite like a baltic state where people happened to speak german to finish but that was how he began begun. that's against us if she wasn't sure i'd like to start by sending you warm greetings on behalf of your fellow citizens in west germany the goodness will be thought of the of the i was a little that night on the 2nd set i'd like to say. i'd love stephens a word of appreciation and admiration for this he still revolution in the german

democratic republic. it is a demonstration in for democracy. fear table clucky for peace to feed and for freedom if i write. for it and for the self-determination of our people. live and self-determination also means that we in the federal republic respect your opinions as well they speak here than we don't want to patronise anyone would get at me a month at the football. he was trying to show that they were. equal which he was trying to pacify them to show them that they could benefit and they would had it have been for us in the united kingdom in. the last we won't abandon our countrymen and the german democratic republic of the was

divided by we want to work together as closely as possible especially regarding the economy see you with a clear goal to improve the quality of living in east germany as quickly as possible. we want people to feel comfortable here. we want people to be able to stay in their homes and find their happiness study i. said truth it wasn't only cheering. goodson there were lots of people towards the back of the crowd who just stood there frozen and for not believing what was happening to mo took the skiff others were just overwhelmed the t.v. reports didn't show that there was a mixed reactions the only showed the applause was done in fans into a cup because even though the you. shop is over you know the pro bought i saw his speech as

a diplomatic mass to pay us i know he spelled out the we are one people message we belong together. and we need to see what the future holds none of us knew. you get it on the other hand there was the reality. obviously an off day on the reality of 2 states 2 system that's just so i stopped it's rises to human being we want to enter a world with greater peace and greater freedom which sees more cooperation with each other than opposition against each other in the house of germany our house must be built under a european roof that must be the goal of our policy had with theists you need a few of us we stand for the basic law and we share your goal german unity that if one day of us what we want it to be agreed to by our neighbors and the soviet union in particular because europe must not be destabilized because he and off those were

the messages thus far that was what the people wanted to hear and they believed the chancellor cons they saw him as someone who gotten a lot done so he get this done to its mouth it is up to us to continue peacefully along this path in the time ahead of us to proceed with patience sound judgment and together with our neighbors summit winds of the nothing by tick eat fish let us work together toward this goal. letters help each other in a spirit of solidarity check to see them here from here in dresden i send my greetings to all of our compatriots in the german democratic republic and the federal republic of germany looks at the when we go god bless our german fatherland now the of the was i was of

the i i. voted money fest it was manifestly obvious that the east. people as represented in dresden didn't want to try a 3rd way. they wanted german unity. year going and i almost missed the speech there was no mention of it only official agenda we were busy finishing up our t.v. report fortunately when we were done we ended up walking back into central dresden . this exhibit we went past the square. and you could see the crowds arriving from afar. it was already dark so any call to speech from far off. there was no mistaking the people's message to cold they wanted ran if occasion to happen fast the east german leadership had no support. and the interest that evening in dresden when we set

down together we knew there was no point negotiating further agreements with more drugs government with the only thing to do was get the ball rolling with free elections as quickly as possible and do you feel injured some bruised him in the survivor clearly our mistake was based on our expectation that the treaties we agreed on serve as a foundation that made both states viable during that phase. theo biden. and therefore and they give us a tot he think that was pushed aside by coal very quickly they can show visitors why it was one of the most difficult speeches of my political life it's given the people who are waiting for a statement not only there on the square but across the country in the in west germany and in east germany millions of people abroad are where their own concern is that had to be taken into consideration we're also watching and listening i

sense that you have. decades on the square where code. gave his speech looks very different. today it's dominated by the following cash rebuilt after reunification. financed by german and international donors from all denominations it's considered a symbol of peace and reconciliation. destroyed by allied bombs in 1945 it now attracts countless visitors every year locals are proud of dan said his land back. pastor sebastian fight says that cole speech and the events of 30 years ago are inextricably linked with a frown cassia of a man who bit of a disease when you look at the images today there he is standing in front of the

rubble of the church nor laying out the path to a new europe the middle and was then goodly to day i think he laid the foundation for the rebuilt church to become not only a symbol of german reunification but also of european unity will soon. become better suited to the slogans i would say that for the people addressed and it's a symbol of the change that came with the associated with the change that they themselves made happen. that cut. but not everyone is pleased with that change. in the past 5 years there have once again been demonstrations in front of the frown kasher they are organized by picky eater a movement began in eastern germany that is nationalist that islam and far right supporters feel left behind and blame the way reunification happened. in ferguson one mustn't forget that these people had to really learn everything as

a result of the laws new regulations and a new type of economy they grew up to smooch some people see reunification as a gift others as dictated and. offered so of course some people felt left behind us and i think it would make guns mccomb of them he says play with mention obviously there hasn't been enough of a dialogue with these people these are would not and wanting reunification wasn't automatically a statement of support for a democratic system quinces team given his and but they didn't know what that was. that process needs to be reappraised you know if all these people are saying that maybe they wanted different systems. or that there are unhappy with today's germany fleet and that the. sustained winds will be slow and the number of people attending the picky eater demonstrations hash trunk but desert sands of the far right have day in eastern states suggest there is still

a significant number of people who are angry some say that these people feel their contributions to communist east german society are not respected doesn't that's the underlying feeling and it's come to the boil these days i don't know why exactly after 30 years but they don't feel taken seriously in their own country they don't feel there's any acknowledgment of what they achieved in their lives. that's the perspective that. we want to be given the way the east german government that i was a part of was treated after 1990 was pretty shocking. well. they acted as though the german reunification was up to the chancellor alone. as a result east germany was completely sidelined. for. this you can't do that and then be surprised by the f.t. . one thing's for sure in that post-war period the

message cone was given by the people of east germany was unmistakable they wanted him to negotiate reunification and to do it fast 1st that fateful evening in dresden in front of the ruins of the frown cassia and again when it came to actions he delivered reunification 9 months after his tightrope act in dress to. the dresden that you're going to and i revisit it is thriving but with met people who experience that day in 1009 and germany's rapid reunification as a profound shock the process had its disappointments but hopefully dresden will find a way to deal with populist looking to instrumental eyes those disappointments 30 years ago in front of the ruins of the found catcher east germans made a choice they chose a free democratic society. my let me say that my goal should

the historical our permit it remains the unity of our. i don't dear friends i know that we can achieve this goal and that the hour will come when we will work together towards it provided that we do it with reason and sound judgment in a sense for what is possible in the past there will be difficult but it's the right path it leads to our shared future. i was. the law.

plain and internment camps. really good good bad it just managed to escape from china. in turkey she meets other weekers who also report on the home or if it conditions in the camps. jellied of op wants to tell her story so the whole world can know the plight of her people. in 90 minutes on d. w. . the big bang that created today's world started

to succumb. to the german force in politics business religion. and raw beat up people of the islamic revolution under a tough. opens up making its initial flirtation with captors a. strong sense states of emergency put things into chaos margaret thatcher remarks in carriage them to work harder and they will was it the start of neo liberalism. pope john paul the 2nd physics. hence the. friendly steel. crisis. the start is an era that defines a modest. 1970 the big move to today. thanks to simple truth. w.

. this is the the view news live from berlin the u.s. house of representatives impeaches president donald trump article on. the historic vote sets off a trial in the senate that will decide whether the president remains in office also on the show. australia's bushfire crisis prompts a state of emergency in new south wales a record heat wave is fanning unprecedented fires the situation is expected to get worse with even more intense heat and extreme lens on the.