berlin was. berlin was the place where the two ideological systems were faced off. the second thing is, the wall in berlin, when it was built in august 1961 really shaped the contour and where is it led to the cuban missile crisis. >> host: why did you decide to write this book and this particular city to write about? >> guest: angela, as you mentioned and as you know i cut myself teeth on the cold war. it was depressing. i saw the people of poland in 1981, risk everything, their jobs, families for independence. most of my relatives were german and lived in east german but they were kind and generous but they lived lives of limited freedom, limited travel, limited scope. and i asked myself at that time, so it was my personal reason, could one have avoided the berlin wall and ended the cold war that mortgaged the lives of tens of millions of east europeans. could have it ended it earlier. that's the personal side. on the historical side, i think the cold war is the least -- the worst reported and the worst reported of our world wars, and i think it was world war iii.

air lift, to reensure berliners he would still defend berlin. fear was west berlin would just leave and then the east germany would win the city by default. kennedy had to respond to that, but billy saw that families were separated, lovers were separated. you know, working people were separated. students were separated from their schools, workers separated from workplaces. a dramatic place in history. >> host: people woke up and there was the barbed wire and the concrete wall, but just, if you could mention some of the very dramatic and sad stories of people who still tried to get out, and how the rules changed for the east german border guards on what they were told to do. >> guest: the story, you're right, it was very dramatic, but particularly dramatic for a tailor that i write about. he was a tailor to the stars of west berlin, the people in the theaters, and west berlin was a glittery and still is a glittery place. he suddenly can't go back, and he's desperate to go back because he has no wife in east germany, he's going to be put on a cons

the berliners.e writes his speech on the way to city hall and he enuances these famous words. [speaking german] >> yes. >> but he gets there after having made these mistakes. and so you still have to condemn him because we're stuck with 30 years of berlin wall. and we almost got a nuclear exchange or at least we had some real dangers regarding cuba, both of which happened because of his acquiescence to the berlin wall. >> maybe if you could say a little bit about the cuban missile crisis and how you relate it to khrushchev's perception of kennedy. of the berlin crisis of 1961 and also why khrushchev in the end did change his policy. he never really did sign -- and he never signed this treaty with the gdr which gave it full control of berlin. >> the soviets were always a little bit wistful about west germany. they realized that would have been the better set without ever accepting their culpability for why east germany wasn't working. >> right. >> the reparations, the economic system they imposed, et

would still befend berlin.he fear was that west berliners having seen this would just flood out themselves, would just leave. and east germany would win the city by default. so kennedy had to respond to that. but bill brunt saw -- families were separated, lovers were separated, students were separated from their schools, workers from their workplaces. it was a dramatic moment in history. >> people woke up in the morning and suddenly there was this barbed wire, there was the beginnings of war, and then they came with a concrete wall and it was refined. if you could imagine some of the very dramatic and sad stories of people who still tried to get out and how the rules change for the east german border guards about what they were told to do. >> yeah. the story -- you're right, it was, it was very traumatic. but particularly dramatic for a tailor that i write about. and he was a tailor to the stars of west berlin, the people in the theaters and, of course, west berlin is a glittery -- was and still is a glittery p

from berlin. he knew that something was brewing it's hard to say whether he had a clear knowledge of the details for the we now know that off famous firing led by kim philby was operating in britain at the time top foreign office officials they were doing a very effective job which if you. stephan jordan bird son of a german anti-fascists had joined the soviet army in one thousand nine hundred forty two as a volunteer. in april of one thousand nine hundred five he was a propaganda officer. at the early hours of april sixteenth he was summoned to headquarters he was told to announce to the germans through the loudspeakers the start of the war's final so he defensive in a few hours time. he said tuesday because assistant at the new comer general this is impossible with we can't possibly give away military secrets annoys me instead tenons we can have an interest in keeping casualties to me and. the war's most massive preparatory bombardment began and five o'clock in the morning of april sixteenth. th

by the evening of the second of may civilians were out in the streets of berlin. there are many kids but the adults stayed at home with the russians at communal they'd heard many stories about them. what if they were treated in the same way i did it kids had pill faces they were wearing short pants some had small balls on their hands and knees when they were given some porridge they rushed home was in the way the i wish i saw my sergeant major skipping something else to the cause i found out that the people who were queuing for the food what access from the local theatre all skinny and hungry they stood there sobbing which element of us me that's the russian soul. you know they actually were afraid of us they thought russians were cossacks with a long mustache they were looking us all over thinking where the russians mustaches were your first half and they wanted to know we were wearing field caps we were just young boys let's have it. on the evening of may eighth marshals you called and representatives of great britain france and the united states signed the pact

the berlin operation lasted for sixteen days the. two hundred thousand. according to various estimates lost from eight. hundred forty nine hundred forty five. including civilians a total of twenty seven million soviet people died in the war with. the losses of the usa and great britain hundred thousand people. was a result of the casualties and the heroism of off all those and grandfathers it was the result of self-sacrifice and heroic deeds. sort of force in europe not just in africa. hundred thousand victims come to compare to twenty million lives. history of mankind was over sixty five years have passed since. those who survived still remember the victory like it was yesterday they still live with a victory in their hearts.

the evening of the second of may civilians were out in the streets of berlin. there are many kids but the adults stayed at home where the russians have come you know what was paid heard many stories about them what if they were treated in the same way i did the kids had pill faces they were wearing short lambs some had small bowls on their hands when they were given some poor and they rushed home with it in the morning you know winchell's what i saw myself may just skipping something else or the part i found out that the people who were queuing for the food one access from the local theater all skinny and hungry at these they stood there sobbing which element of us me that's the russians or. i you know they were afraid of us they thought russians were cossacks with a long moustache with me they were looking us all over thinking where the russians mustaches were your first hand they wanted to know with me if we were wearing field camps we were just young boys at seventy. on the evening of may eighth marshals who called and representatives of great britain france

berlin and kruschev dumps a berlin ultimatum in front of him and says "if you don't help me fix my berlin problem within six months, i'm going to do it unilaterally." caught him totally off guard. one other... >> rose: does that say as much about him than it does about his aides and the preparation he should have had? >> it says... first of all, he went into the summit late notice after the bay of pigs, kruschev only agreed after the bay of pigs so you only had a month and a half. not enough time. and he's doing it partly to restore his foreign policy luster after having really botched the bay of pigs. so he's coming in already in a weakened position and a lot of people think he shouldn't have rushed to come to a summit when he was already weakened. kruschev, on the other hand, has just put the first man in space, gagarin, so he's riding on a high. and so already you have this problem. then one other problem which other historians haven't really connected to the vienna summit. kennedy was sick and he was in pain. he had chronic back pain, addison's disease, all sorts of different things a

mahmoud abbas takes the palestinian initiative for an independent state to berlin and talks to chancellor merkel. and president obama plays a -- lays a wreath at ground zero in new york city. >>> western and arab countries opposed to muammar khaddafi have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to help help the libyan rebels. ministers have made the pledge at work today. among them, the u.s., france, britain, qatar, and jordan. the aid is a boost to the disorganized rebels who failed to capitalize on the nato bombing campaign against khaddafi. >> they're trying to support a transfer of power from the gaddafi regime to the rebels. >> the first is the implementation of a temporary financial mechanism in order to deliver money to the national council. the second out, is the determination -- the second out, is to maintain pressure on gaddafi. >> they stressed the money made available was not to be used for weapons. that this will be used for salaries, medication, medicine, and food. and then also, the plan which has already been announced, to start rebuilding or reconstruction of the schools,

. >> this summer marks the 50th anniversary of the construction of the berlin wall by the east germanunist regime. the occasion is being marked by a new exhibition here in the capital. there are photos by the man who worked for a west german newsmagazine and other works. both men documented life behind the iron curtain up until the very end of the cold war. stay with us. we will be back with a look at german language theater and how it is coping with mounting financial pressures. >> and thank you for staying with us. some of the most fascinating german language tutor projections are pay -- are playing to sold-out audiences in berlin. they are showcasing 10 productions selected from more than 350 plays from germany, austria and switzerland. the global financial crisis, collapsing social structures and other things are dealt with -- both by new offers an old and being interpreted by new generation of directors, capturing the audience's imagination with time tested teams. >> [speaking german] . >> he demands of his actors what he demands of himself. he is constantly jumping onto the stag

>> things have shifted. >> reporter: shifted toward the hope that the berlin patient brings to all of us. >> i'm cured of hiv. i had hiv but i don't anymore. >> reporter: words that so many in the community are now clinging to. in san francisco, hank plant. >> stem cell research is being funded based on the case trying to repeat the success. the goal is to start clinical trials next year. hank will present more stories about aids as we approach the 30th anniversary of the disease. those start airing here on cbs5 on memorial damon may 30th. >>> a new approach to health care is being tried in the bay area. today a hospital moved more than a hundred patients to its new medical complex. the administrators say the new approach is the future of health care. >>> our future? is rain apparently. >> so much for spring. it just continues to rain around the bay area. we had the scattered showers and a few clouds, you can see a couple clouds, the moon looking good and we still have scattered showers around the bay area. we have more significant rain. that will push on shore latel on. a cell been m

. >>> we also spoke with our political correspondent in berlin. chancellor angela merkel mususbe pleased with the announcement. >> absolutely, chancellor merkel has publicly supported lagarde calling her an outstanding candidate and personality. a government spokesperson said she would provide seamless continuity in their role. angela merkel wants a new head of the imf as quickly as possible, as to other governments, because the imf is a key institution in the response to the financial crisis in portugal and greece. the fires are burning in europe right now, and they believe it could be helpful to have the european leading the firefightersrs >> it looks like the skies are clearing. >> perhaps for now. they say the worst of the chaos caused by the ash cloud from the icelandic volcanic eruptions appeared to be over. airspace over northern germany has been reopened after a shutdown at airports are slowly but surely getting back on track. scientists in iceland say the eruption appear to be slowing down. >> all flights were canceled wednwsday morning.

the berlin patient received stem cells from a donor is immune to hiv.e say it goes back to the great plague. people who survived the plague developed an immunity and that was passed down to their heirs today. >> your doctors say that you- cured. >> yeah, they do. >> the medical journals. >> they do as well. >> cured? >> right. >> am i looking at the first man in world history to be cured of hiv. >> i think so. >> what do you think about that? >> it makes me very happy, very happy. >> reporter: needless to say, he's being monitored where we sought out a medical opinion from one of the most respected researchers in the world. >> if you're able to take the white cells from someone and in a nip late them so they are no longer in effectible by hiv and they become the whole immune system you've got essentially what we call a functional cure. >> we also sought out another medical opinion from another expert who has studied its disease. >> it's not one that can be generalized. you don't want to go out and get a bone marrow transplant because the procedures them

the berlin patient received stem cells from a donor who was immune to hiv. in fact, about 1% of caucasians are immune to hiv. some say it goes back to the great plague. people who survived the plague developed an immunity and that immunity was passed down to hair heirs today. >> do your doctors say that you're cured? >> yeah, they do. >> reporter: and the medical journals? >> they do as well. >> reporter: cured? >> right. am i looking at the first man in world history to be cured of hiv? >> i think so. >> reporter: what do you think about that? >> it makes me very happy. very, very happy. >> reporter: needless to say timothy is now being monitored by doctors at san francisco general hospital and here at ucsf where we sought out a medical opinion from one of the most respected aids researchers in the world, dr. jay levi who was one of the co-discoverers of the hiv virus. >>> if you're able to take the white cell from someone and manipulate them so that there is no more of the infectible by hiv and those white cells become the whole immune system of that indiv

fred platkin is at cnn in berlin.ow long are the airports going to be closed and how long are travelers going to wait? >> reporter: zain, for some travelers, the nightmare is just beginning. two berlin airports, among the largest in germany, just shut down a couple of minutes ago, the airspace closed at 11:00 a.m. local time. which indeed happened a couple of minutes ago, hamburg and bremen airports remain closed since the early-morning hours. 600 flights will be canceled throughout germany today. there will be a lot of very annoyed travelers. the interesting thing about this, zain, is these really aren't the biggest airports in germany. the major ones are frankfurt and munich airport. if those were to shut that would bring massive travel chaos, not only here in germany, but in all of europe. it looks as though right now those two airports are not going to be affected by the ash cloud. to get back to your question, the german authorities are saying they believe, if the weather holds the way it is right now, that the a

this was in hitler's nazi germany, hitler's berlin.merican wild west bar where you would order your martini and be served it by a german in a cowboy hat, many of these germans being members of the nazi party, so i like to imagine being served a drink by a nazi in a cowboy hat. the kind of thing that delights me about history. .. >> his experience was wonderful. he just had the best time. he loved the germans. every day a young woman put violets on his pillow, so he comes to germany bearing this personal history and expectation. what he finds -- what he finds is pathology. i'm not talking metaphorically, but his general and a secret dispatched from the state department described hitler as people who in any other place or any other time would be receiving treatment somewhere. this is in 1933. here's his daughter, martha, who in effect falls in love with the pathology at first. i realize that the two stories provide kind of an ideal vehicle for looking at this era. i didn't want to write about dodd or martha alone, but the two together ca

also revises him in no uncertain terms avoid all social interaction with jews while he is in berlin. looking at the world through martha resides she finds herself in dave firebreak charismatic city. we usually think of as black and white and old newsreels. she sees the color every where. the trams running, the fact that every brock any seems to have red geraniums, at christmas there was christmas tree lights and christmas trees so much so dodd writes in his diary that he would almost think the nazis believed in jesus because there is so much evidence of the love of christmas. the glorious cafe sifting hundreds at a time. movie theaters sitting 1500 people at a time when of the most popular movies was king kong that was said to be killers favorite movie. dancing every night. from the roof of the eden hotel. five story buildings with nightclub venues and one of which was a bar that had an actual artificial thunderstorm complete with a light dusting of rain and in america been at wild west bar in hitler's berlin. were you ordered the martini and we served by a german in a cowboy hat. .

in germany, airports in hamburg, bremen, and berlin could be next on the list 2) there is no shut -- on the list to close. there is no shutdown plan yet. it is too early to predict. >> hundreds of people have to wait because their flights have either been cancelled or delayed due to the cloud of ash and billowing across the north atlantic from iceland. airports across scotland and northern england are affected. >> we cannot get any information. that is a problem. we do not get any information. we have to go to a computer p.m. >> -- computer. >> they are just stalling. >> in the days to come, more passengers and more airports will probably have to deal with the same problem. the icelandic ash cloud first reit scotland and northern ireland, then parts of -- first reached scotland and northern ireland, then parts of scandinavia. and the destction asot expected to reach the extent of last year's volcanic eruptions. but they're still watching nervously. >> if there any consolation, even the president of the united states was affected by the eruption. barack obama flew to london from viole

and berlin is poised to close very soon as well. dozens of flights have already been affected.he travelers there not very happy about what's going on. it would be different ifarities like frankfort and munich, which are the largest airports in europe, would be affected. they're saying at this point it does not appear that the ash cloud will affect either of those two major traveling hubs. one of the interesting things, nina, is they have a blanket ceiling level for the ash concentration that is allowed for planes to fly. it's two milligrams of ash per cubic meters of air. once that is exceeded, no planes are allowed to fly except for, of course, things like search & rescue missions. the good news here for people in germany believe that the ash cloud will have dissipated sometime by the afternoon hours. by then, you'll have a pretty big backlog at berlin's airports as well as the two other airports in jaern, nina. >> thanks very much for joaning us there in berlin and also thanks to phil black in london keeping us up to date. >>> stranded travelsers in europe will take care of t

the fall of the berlin r.t. . gets my name is daniel smith this is julian assange we're here to make a short presentation of all that we can fix project. the first step in the for the state in three to get information out about the real world. to him war on syria and on and. secrecy is the biggest. going to be a democracy. to fight a difficult and sauces and dangerous he would hunt me down and go. this is exactly one of the reasons why we left the culture because it has become a war of all those old james. than about the actual information. but thank you. for all the people around the wold. be. wealthy british style. sometimes. market finance. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike's concert for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into kinds a report. if . russia would be soon which bryson if you knew about sums from funds to impressions. means for instance hot seat belts come. we'll. bring you the latest inside stem cell culture from the realm plus. we've got th

the whole of berlin on r.t. . as my name is daniel schmidt this is julian assange we're here to make a short presentation of all that we can fix project. the first step in the fourth effect is to get information out about the real world coming up to him work on the fia i'm going after nearly. three years with the biggest ever going to be a democracy. if i've ever put it into sauces and danger he would hunt me down and kill him. this is exactly one of the reasons why he left the country because it has become more of all because all james bond with. all the actual information. thank you. told people around the wold. be. mine. would be soon which bryson if you only bought son from fun stuporous you can see. who threw stones on. si dot com. wealthy british style. sometimes. market. scandal find out what's really happening to the global economy for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines to cause a report on our. headlines from our c.e.o. at the e.u. parliament voted that the blog should have a permane

and certainly you can make a connection then the khrushchev making this move to put up the berlin wall. although in some ways the berlin wall is confused but that's another topic it is story. >> but it triggered the wall being built. >> well, that's true. there were certain, kennedy was certainly very aware of that when he went to a summit with khrushchev. look, the repercussions of the bay of pigs just kept going. all through. they really didn't and for kennedy until the cuban missile crisis, but, you know, a lot of things, the vietnam war in many ways started on april 20, the day after the bay of pigs. john kennedy needing a victory against the communists ordered a task force to look for a way to stop communism in south vietnam. and very quickly after that sent more men, 400 more men to vietnam, really the first step into did not begin on the beaches of cuba. this gentleman here and then i will come over there. >> thank you. in my mind there must have been some thought of cause that caused kennedy to back away from a second airstrike or even after that first air strike, are you aware

in some ways the berlin wall confused the situation. that's a rather complicated story.but certainly -- >> it was the trigger of the wall being built. >> it did trigger -- >> and the bay of pigs. the same thing happened in asia. >> that's true. and it was certainly -- kennedy certainly was very aware of that when he went to the summit with christoph. the repercussions of the bay of pigs just kept going. all through. they didn't end for kennedy until the cuban missile crisis. you know, a lot of things -- the vietnam war in many ways started on april 20th. the day after the bay of pigs. john kennedy needing a victory against the communist ordered the task force in the pentagon as a way to stop communism and stop vietnam. very quickly after that, sent 400 more men to vietnam. really the first step into vietnam began on the beaches of cuba. this gentleman here, and then i'll come over here. >> yes, thank you. in many mind, there must have been some sort of call that -- conflict that caused kennedy to back away from the airstrike. immediately after the first airstrike, are yo

his son came to berlin to launch it. >> he is in berlin to promote the german edition of his father's book. he says encouragement and pressures from abroad have helped his father s imprisonment. he last saw this on the 7 1/2 years ago. on tuesday, a moscow court overturned an appeal. against his conviction for theft and money laundering. he accused the judges of destroying judges -- destroying justice and the future of russia. germany's justice minister called the charges against him of certification -- called the charges against tampa absurd. >> the real reason my thought is in prison is that he is perceived by vladimir putin to be the main political opponent in russia. that is not true. my father does not want to become prime minister. these are fantasies. >> his lawyers are taking the case to the european court of human rights. the case will be heard next week. >> to some basketball now. the dallas mavericks have reached the nba finals, only the second time in their history. they beat the oklahoma city thunder to plan their decisive or a victory in the western conference finals. st

council of economic experts is also predicting slower economic growth in the future and is calling on berlin to take steps now to reform the labor market. the council says more women will need to join the workforce. germany also needs to make it easier for qualified foreign workers to immigrate and the retirement age may have to be raised yet again. by 2016, germans could face having to work until the age of 69. the report says that, if these measures are not implemented, germany's pension system could be massively underfunded in the future. >> the german city of munich is hoping to win the right to host the winter olympics in 2018. it presented its bid to the olympic committee on wednesday. the competition is tough and the results would be known in seven weeks. >> the german delegation, a high-profile team spending politics, business, and sports, were the first to make a 45- minute presentation. >> it was good to be first because everything is fresh. everything is new. and it fills you really can grasp the attention from everyone. >> unit sold its bid as a two- part concept, making use of i

and not warming up much at all during the day. 15 degrees in berlin. out towards the west, very pleasant. summer like, in fact. 22 degrees in paris. and that will continue into the weekend. here's the extended forecast now. >>> here are the stories making news at this hour. a team of workers will enter the number one reactor building at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant on thursday for the first time since the march 11 earthquake and tsunami. it is the first step in a plan to safely cool down the reactor. the workers will set up a purifier to filter the radioactive air in the building. this is being done ahead of the plan to restore the cooling system. the company faces many challenges before the work to set up the system can begin. they include whether the purifier will be able to filter the air to a level that will allow workers to remain inside for extended periods. even if workers manage to enter, radiation levels may remain high near where a water circulating system is to be installed. the workers may need to clean the pipes with water and

welcome to "the journal," here on dw-tv in berlin. >> and i have the business news for you. >> here is a look at our top story this hour. president obama in ireland at the start of his european tour. the eruption of a volcano in iceland promise warnings that european travel could be disrupted again, if and 89 dead and a town devastated as a tornado goes through the midwest. we begin in ireland, where president obama has begun his six-day tour to europe. he got down to business soon after arriving, holding talks with the prime minister. those talks are said to be centered around the debt crisis and economic recovery. the president then visited a town where he had distant relatives. this trip is aimed at emphasizing the strong historical bonds between the u.s. and ireland. [cheers and applause] >> a cheering crowd gathered in central dublin to gather for the president's speech to the irish people. >> hello. [cheers and applause] hello, ireland. [cheers and applause] my name is barack obama. [cheers and applause] >> obama launched into a folksy address which at times seemed almost like a

i am in berlin. >> and i have the business news. welcome. >> here are the headlines. queen elizabeth becomes the first british monarch to visit ireland in the cenry. the imf chief is under pressure to resign as he sits in the new york jail on the sec's charges. >> and after agreeing a bailout from portugal, finance ministers turn the focus to greece. ♪ >> queen elizabeth is on a landmark visit to ireland, the first by a british monarch in 100 years and the first since ireland gained independence from britain. in a highly symbolic gesture, the queen laid a wreath at a memorial for ish freedom fighters. the four-day tour underscores the progress made in relations between the two countries after their long and troubled history. >> the british monarch in ireland's national color, emerald green. the symbolic shade for a symbolic visit. queen elizabeth was greeted by the irish president hit of the trip illustrates the shift in anglo-irish relations made possible through the northern ireland peace process. during a visit to the presidential residence, the queen was also intr

potential to bring about the transformation which took place in eastern europe after the fall of the berlin wall. they agreed to a financial aid package under a program. >> the world's industrialized nations want to support the reform to the tune of as much as 28 billion euros. part of that has been pledged by the european union. >> it's now foreign get the aid quickly to the people. germany is supporting a program to promote employment and educational training, especially of young people. >> leaders took a tough line with the regimes resisting revolts, warning libya and syria to halt the violent repreparation of their own peoples. tuneesha sees the offer of aid as a sign it's on the right path. >> in the past months, tuneesha started a transition towards a democratic government. it's certainly not an easy task. but we are proceeding with courage and have shown little fear. >> the partnership is also a signal to other countries in the region. the algerian president, seen here with his french counterpart, nicholas sarkozy, has so farrey sifted calls for reform in his country. the good 8 may

just a year ago, berlin was planning on extending the lives of its nuclear reactors. >> it won't be easy but chancellor merkel said transition to nuclear energy is possible and could help germany stay ahead of its competitors. translator: we believe our country can become a leader in harolding the era of renewable energy. we could be one of the first industrial nations to make the sbitch to highly efficient renewable energy. that brings with it new opportunities for exports, developments, technology and for creating new jobs. >> earlier a panel appointed by the chancellor presented its proposals for nuclear power generation. it has recommended shutting down all of the country's nuclear plants been ten years. merkel's government proposes a complete phase out of germany's nuclear stations by 2022. eight are already offline. seven of them since the nuclear crisis in japan. opposition parties are now deliberating the move, which represents a big u-turn for angela merkel. translator: today our political opponents have been forced to accept nuclear phase-out policy. which we initiated ten year