from one party t. to flashes from calls like the boardroom tom this is where. welcome to the 77 percent. this weekend already w. was. i've always wanted to show you around my hometown a small city in the state of hessen in the heart of germany.

there are more than 1000 have to merge houses here. and if you're lucky you'll hear the bells ringing at the marketplace. when i was born and figure was located on the fringe of the german federal republic germany's inner border read only a few kilometers from here it separated has end to lincoln and germany and all of europe for that matter into east and west but in 1909 the wall came down in berlin and the border between east germany and the federal republic was opened for the past 30 years no bigot has been at the heart of germany. today i want to take you on a little tour along the border between hassett and well lives at places that still bear witness to the cold war division of germany and that's mick tim's and we'll find out what has. change since reunification turning

a once heavily fortified death strip and so unattractive tourist destination. will visit a small town torn apart in the cold war. well check out castle one of the symbols of german reunification. and globetrotters steve painter sends his regards from durban and south africa. i'm heading south all the way along the border between hess and chewing and until i reach the. 3rd cities and towns meadows and fields quite unimaginable that this region was once marred by the cold war and cut into by the iron curtain i want to find out what things were like back in the day and head over to point alpha a former u.s.

observation post at the inner german border. in oxford. takes me around the premises 1st he shows me the different stages of the east german border fencing. starting in 1952 the old boundary stones were replaced with barbed wire. but those trying to flee could easily cut it when no border guards were in sight so the east german leadership made escaping more and more dangerous. because it's mignonne i know we're in the middle of a minefield that dates back to the 1960 s. when they began building the berlin wall on august 13th 1961 the inner german border was secured through military means and 1.3 to 1400000 land mines were planted. the death strip whoever managed to pass it unscathed was often brought to a halt at the last border fence would have from there. it would have been very difficult

to climb the fence practically impossible to pull yourself up by your fingertips. up until 1904 there were also s.m. seventy's here anti-personnel mines which would detonate if anyone tried to climb up. they were called automatic firing devices and would have fired shrapnel that anyone trying to escape and had. this was the border patrol road in the former east . only 50 meters across the border a u.s. army watch tower it was part of observation post alpha 40 u.s. soldiers were stationed here they all belong to the reno and black horse regiment a demanding task at the frontline of a conflict that had the whole world holding its breath and is that quickly given the black horse regiment was a very strong unit of its own combat helicopters armored infantry and artillery and the assumption was that if war broke out the soviets would advance and this would

be one of the 1st sights of a 3rd world war hopeless and couldn't very quickly and go to. every accidental movement could have had devastating consequences tanks were only allowed to drive up to this red line a rule established by the americans and meant to avoid provocation that could have cost the soviet leadership to stay. nowadays point out tells the tale of germany seemingly distant but there you've recent history groups of schoolchildren come to learn but also veterans who served here and many people from around the world interested in germany's peaceful reunification by the way this watch tower was only built in 1984 back then nobody thought that 5 years later the cold war and the iron curtain would be history until not too long ago the region we're in right now the wound was full of military infrastructure on both sides of the border today the low mountain range as a protective bias fair reserve and still somewhat of an insider tip for travelers

for hiking biking or just taking a little time up. the one there's a low mountain range in the middle of germany often called the land of open spaces it ranges from the state of turning in to has been and the various. to me. there are some larger cities on the outskirts for example mine again in the east which for a long time was the capital of the duchy of sucks a mining and. or the broken city of boulder in the west. and right in the middle is the vasa cookbook the highest peak of the world at 950

meters. this is the heart of gliding in germany because of the thermals. the 1st attempts of gliding took place before the 1st world war the 1st competitions were organized in 1920. a sailplane is designed to ride the air currents without an engine so that it can just glide through space. back when germany was still divided sailplanes from hesse and in the west sometimes found themselves gliding towards and even over the border just 15 kilometers from the boss a cookbook. some pilots were even arrested and only released weeks later after paying a hefty fine in torch marks. the planes were confiscated. today

these gliders and paragliders have the same ideal thermal lift conditions but there's no border that they have to mind. so they can glide freely in their own lands of the open spaces. little remains of the iron curtain only the border patrol road still meanders through germany i can start to walk on it on the shores of the baltic sea and would end up in hope and bavaria the 1400 kilometers of exclusion zone have turned into a greenbelt a protected area for flora and fauna. as one of the many environmental activists in east and west that demand the german greenbelt not be used for construction or agricultural purposes he wants it to be

fully returned to nature with who gets what close to the book on the taft which is now flowing again in its own bed and. before the wall came down this stream was part of a no go zone on the eastern side of the patrol road set up to prevent escapes. so when the. after the wall fell the riverbed was recalled invaded by environmentalists and hassen was it enough with whom you referred to see in. india . that now there are wetlands for plants and animals and this is a very valuable immigration that i'm going wasn't if you don't have a. surprisingly political and military hostility were fertile ground for endangered species. and regularly takes visitors around the greenbelt to introduce them to the biodiversity of the region and. i went on

a really fun walks with some biology students from also up look. we went to the also which is known for its orchids the country or. instead of the usual half hour the walk took 2 and a half because the biology students kept stopping at every blade of grass. when seeing that form and get. their lives so it's not just the locals in the greenbelt has turned into an attractive tourist destination this cleanup on the greenbelt will never be a tourist trap thank god. it's not done but it's very important that those who are interested should be able to come here. and. this will always be a small select group there won't be any mass tourism. but we're noticing more and more people coming from a far more fun in front of you know. my

next stop is for one of the oldest towns in tooling and. its existence was 1st documented in the year 814. almost as old this bridge that crosses the vet of river on the other side lies phillips only a stone's throw away but unreachable when germany was divided and these are bad luck it's born and raised and fought tells me how this bridge when from connecting people to separating them. during a cold war was located in the exclusion zone what was daily life like. with a few when we drove in and drove out we had to show a special stamp on our ideal. no one else was allowed in on friends couldn't visit us. we were allowed to request a visitor's permit from the police for very close relatives 6 we wouldn't know for

6 weeks whether we'd get permission or not this could mean we're going. to win that battle and this place looked very different and you tell us about this bridge and the role it played. yeah the. bridge was a very important artery cause of 4 kids from the holy roman empire it was on a very regular from like sick to frankfurt or. we liked it very much or if you leave and we were able to cross it until 195200 you know my aunt lived in the house on the border undermine the town and then that ended here your fear was that there were more and more fences. first a wire mesh fence. then i watch tower was built on the bridge. and then everything was closed off as there was nothing around alice cause it was

a no man's land really i mean months lot and i know what i did people trying to flee across the valley i'm not too girlish. very often my brother escaped in 1962 he was a student in fly back and he and his friends played jazz and that got them into trouble with this band so well they swam across in august 1960 to. try and safety did they succeed as they made a lot of them and no member of 989 the border opened what was that like your family was reunited so was germany euphoria must have been immense i suppose and. it's the best thing to have happened to us at the end of the 20th century. yes that's why it's a feeling that you don't experience very often come and visit us. you

can relive this moment in foz local history museum. and amateur filmmaker captured the scene as the west started to tear down the border wall the famous berlin wall came down on nov 9th 989 only 3 days after the border between father and phillips all followed. oh. god. since then the old bridge has returned to its original function connecting and philip stop. trying to take a little tour of billups tom the small town is home to a true gem a castle dating back to the 17th century and surrounded by a lush park. setting

out to explore the world wasn't really an option for the citizens of communist east germany people and couldn't even visit their neighbors here in philip's top nowadays things are much easier that our globe trotters save painted all he needs is a ticket a backpack and a sense of adventure this time we caught up with him and durban south africa 2nd biggest city. we start things off in the sunny city of devon i'm here with my local guides tell me we're got is around for today comes on i go go i'm going to be legal let me come to the city of deb and goes with the left on we're going to take up with what is on the other called cook should there be. south africa's warmest city is located on the east coast and has a population of about 3 and a half 1000000 in the metropolitan area durban is famous for being the busiest port

in the country it's also seen as one of the major centers of 2 arisen because of the city's warm subtropical climate and extensive beaches. get. it. right we made it to the moses to be the stadium which was built for the world cup in 2010 i think we're here to do the big rush the world's tallest when it's got. to. put through what you. know is it safe and it was scary. and it's expected to be back. on the ground. to the next morning we hit the road and drug about 3 hours

northeast. so we just drove it to where and what we see just right after we went to some sea process. i guess. our base inside the park was the hilltop can't which overlooks the reserve. first name dr watson are sitting right. there ready to cross the ceiling right also just to set this one. little date and follows the path is the oldest proclaimed nature reserve in africa it consists of 960 square kilometers of chile topography and is known for its rich wildlife and conservation efforts. each of the big 5 game animals can be found in just a short amount of time also we were able to see 4 out of the big 5 for now 1st game

drives. and we are back at the covered resort in the pool which is the 1st the court finish this trip through the region of quest to not stop . but. back in germany i'm on my way to the protest mining area stretching out on both sides of the back and has an as well as tooling and between 194-5989 it was divided after reunification east and west german potage industries merged the privatization led to the closure of unsafe or inefficient mines and the loss of many jobs in the former east the mine in macas was turned into a visitor's attraction. all of a scuba takes me on a tour of the huge underground labyrinth. even the ride is quite an adventure.

140 square kilometers of winding tunnels the nazis believed this to be the perfect hiding spot in april of 1905 u.s. soldiers couldn't believe their eyes when they came upon this room thousands of boxes and bags filled with cash diamonds and gold paintings by rembrandt duda and many others anticipating the downfall of the 3rd reich the nazis hid a lot of their gold and currency reserves in makkah. from by some means oh what dimensions are we talking about here that hold out my own right markets who are from britain. i mean if you count everything in but it comes to 3000000000 writes mark in the bank notes alone. there was so much money stored here

that there was a shortage of cash in berlin or. one of the most spectacular finds never t.v. this is of course a replica the original is back in berlin's pergamon museum if all of this is an adventurous enough for you you can also explore the labyrinth by mountain bike but there are only a limited amount of spots and dates so you should sign up ahead of time in any case there's plenty to see down here. like this grotto full of sparkling salt crystals. because it was on board it's something special or unique in the world as far as we know the salt crystals of this size with a metre long edge aren't found anywhere else except at america. and in the right light it's twice as beautiful.

time now for our weekly the mail our viewer jeff messmate sent us a video of his trip to the island of later on the philippines there he went scuba diving and that's an amazing footage of the pacific colorful underwater world.

book castle in. a symbol of german reunification. it too is

located only a couple of kilometers from the inner german border germany is arguably a country of many councils so why did the box book play such a crucial role in german history i meeting with all the power to find out that. for many years he's been showing visitors through the book into the birthplace of the modern german language 500 years ago monte lucia translated the bible into german in this very room until then there have been countless dialects has bible created a unified german language par in the language that german speak today emerged in this room with martin luther when good to start here hundreds of years later he said we became of people a nation because of martin. that's how we found a common language that would fight radical minds on the spot. in another milestone in germany history took place in the books banquet hall and

$817.00 students and fraternities hailing from small states and france a pallet got together and this room. here and they demand that the founding of a unifying german nation with democratic civil rights. under the 1st the un a fraternity germany's 1st for a time they invited people to the festival. and the fraternity colors were black red and gold with good luck in the middle red and then a modest gold on the rim of the flag and in the middle and french. with the flag became the symbol of german democracy black red and gold blue over the log book for the 1st time. today the book is once again a castle for all germans well they still remembers the 1st months after the border was open west germans were finally able to cross into the east without needing

a visa or passport and for many the bought book was the 1st place to visit. just that one year more than 700000 people came. and they waited in line for hours they were amazed because the font book wasn't such a good state and that money had been invested over decades. all prejudices flew out the window before they solve the gold cross on the tower and they knew they were home here to hold. even the hardest of frontiers are essentially artificial concepts and because they're artificial they can be challenged by the people and eventually taken down it's been 30 years since the fall of the iron curtain and the reopening of the inner german border 3 decades that have blurred the lines between east and west and still we mustn't forget about the past which is why it's so important to have places that remind us of how difficult and different things is to be around these

parts thanks for joining me that's it for this week i'll see you next time somewhere in germany.

islam democracy and religious tolerance that's what indonesia stands for. we understand that there's a diversity that forms the backbone of this country but islamist radicals are gaining influence. we only fight against anybody on insults our religion how long can the country hold its ground against the fundamentalists in tunisia diversity under threat. in 15 minutes on d w. going up today don't miss our highlights. programme

line d.w. dot com highlights. how does a virus spread. why do we panic and when will all be. true just 3 of the topics covered and a weekly radio show is called spectrum if you would like and the information on the crawl along rush or any other science topic. really check out our podcast. your podcast you can also find it at. science. hi i'm neal i'm good welcome to the 2nd season of on the fence it's about the environment it's still about society it's still about us little pumice on the brink he spoke to several leading experts in the field. look up just

a couple of days this. place. when the water rises cities will sink into the city. entire stretches of land it will be abandoned. when the water. stopped its happening faster than anticipated. massive sprinklers are supposed to prevent flooding but they only delay the inevitable. how will we live in the future. 66 me using sea levels from the stars to sit on d. w. . to listen. to sleep then beethoven's pastoral symphony is the foundation

of an international art project. to mark the 50th anniversary of the composer's 1st beethoven world wide. street project starts june 4th on d w. this is news and these are our top stories. in the united states the what police officer filmed kneeling on the nic a black man has been charged with murder and manslaughter outrage of george floyd's sparked protests some of which spilled over into looting and national guard has been deployed.