germany, including east berlin and west berlin. that announcement was made at the news conference which concluded just a few minutes ago in east berlin. of course two points to keep in mind here. first of all, the berlin wall, the wall of concrete and barbed wire and minefields still stands, but as of right now, it appears to be nothing more than a symbol of the old iron curtain because east berliners will now have the right to leave through the wall directly into west berlin itself. the government announced instead that east germans will have to have visas to go out but in order was given today to the police authority along the border to issue those visas to anyone who wants to leave and to issue them quickly. so, to wrap up again, the east german government has bowed to the increasing pressure from its own citizenry demanding greater freedom, including freedom to travel. as of right now, they have that freedom to leave their country legally to come to the west. we will have more information as it comes to us throughout the afterno

germany, including east berlin and west berlin. that announcement was made at the news conference which concluded just a few minutes ago in east berlin. of course two points to keep in mind here. first of all, the berlin wall, that wall of concrete and barbed wire and minefields still stands, but as of right now, it appears to be nothing more than a symbol of the old iron curtain because east germans, east berliners will now have the right to leave through the wall directly into west berlin itself. the government announced instead that east germans will have to have visas to go out but that an order was given today to the police authority along the border to issue those visas to anyone who wants to leave and to issue them quickly. so, to wrap up again, the east german government has bowed to the increasing pressure from its own citizenry, the 60 million east germans demanding greater freedom, including freedom to travel. as of right now, they have that right, that freedom to leave their country legally to come to the west. we will h

how did life in east and west berlin differ before the war came down to for the for the for i think the similarities were actually quite interesting that each country each city in east berlin and west berlin was a was a shot from for its system its ideology there was capitalism in the west berlin being shown off in the in the windows of the big boutiques in west berlin in east germany that was the show of city for. instrument communism truth be told both cities were really rather dingy bit in a fascinating kind of way i mean what it helped helped everybody to make some good music and that's a good thing but today the united berlin is a better place to stay with us peter because once the wall opened then as wasted no time in tearing it down but it left a scar that took decades to heal in our next report we're going to meet an east berlin photographer who risked documenting the war from his side of the city. the center of the island skyscrapers and tourists filled the streets but this was the death strip until 1909 it was part of the heavily guarded wall complex which separated west a

how did life in east and west berlin differ before the war came down differ. i think the similarities were actually quite interesting that each country each city in east berlin and west berlin was a was a shot from for its system its ideology there was capitalism in the west berlin being shown off in the in the windows of the big boutiques in west berlin in east germany that was the showoff city for. east german communism truth be told both cities were really rather dingy but in a fascinating kind of way i mean what it helped helped everybody to make some good music and that's a good thing but today the united berlin is a better place to stay with us peter because once the wall opened then as wasted no time tearing it down but it left a scar that took decades to heal in our next report we're going to meet an east berlin photographer who risked documenting the war from his side of the city. the center of the island skyscrapers and tourists filled the streets but this was the death strip until 1909 it was part of the heavily guarded wall complex which separated w

but high paying jobs are rare in the east mind and 3 percent of major companies are in the west. another key difference in the number of leadership positions in the east versus west after reunification the top jobs in politics education and commercial were filled by westerners what started as a quick solution to replace eastern germany executives has stayed almost entirely in place. federal judges university chancellor senior government officials corporate executives decision making positions are only filled by easterners. only 1.7 percent of top leadership jobs are held by eastern germans. there's also a lingering feeling of dissatisfaction in the eastern part of the country 57 percent of easterners according to polls consider themselves 2nd class citizens that discontent also comes to the surface in elections the far right populist alternative for germany is twice as strong in the east as in the west. recent election results have shaken the political establishment bringing east and west together is proving much harder than expected great strides have been made since $1809.00 but

east german citizens now have the right to cross directly from east germany into west germany. up to now, as you know, the thousands, tens of thousands of east germans going west have had to pass through other communist east bloc nations, most of them passing through czechoslovakia. but as of right now according to the official statement just concluded, they have the right to go directly to west germany. nbc correspondent dennis murphy is in berlin right now and has been following the events. the news conference on television. dennis, what more do you know about this startling decision? dennis: it is truly astonishing. in a series of events that have happened the last few days and hours. literally in the last five minutes on television here in west berlin and also in the east, the germans east and west, speaking for the government, the

where this was east berlin and the street over there on the other side of the spawns was west berlin yes our building stood here now just imagine when we leaned out the window our low bodies were in east berlin and i had bodies in west berlin. the construction of the wall in august 13th 961 put an end to that situation for not right away 4 days later the streets leading from east to west had been blocked but the front door to burn or strasser 11 was still open. one day had lunch our parents said all right when you're done in a single take a few belongings and today we're going to flee. we're leaving east berlin. oh look there's our escape that's my mother running a camera man happened to film the family as they fled. we were able to leave by the door and my father handed back it out because we wanted to take a few things. in my look there i am my sister my mother and my father. and just imagine i even took my bird along and its cage. i couldn't leave it behind i think it was the only bear that fled to the west. was little more than a walk across the street participants of the events l

the historic brandenburg gate which for decades was part of the heavily guarded border between east and west germany until november the 9th 1900 communistic east german authorities lifted travel restrictions on its citizens and reopened the border crossings to. let's talk about it these are life images from. the unification which happened less than a year later so let's go down to tonight's events at the brandenburg gate rejoined it up as chief political editor became a customer welcome mckayla took us through what's going on now. his right now behind me you can hear i'm not always singing she's a well known german actress and singer who myself as a teenager flats via hungary but in those on certain weeks preceding the eventual full of the balun bull's eye on her face it's a dark city illustration of what a profound effect this moment caught on the lives of many people in the east but also in the west who were then reunited with their families and now she's singing their own song just suited to also remind everybody here that this is a time of reflection so many years biographies will be bro

heavily guarded border between east and west germany. 9989 communist east germany has lifted travel restrictions on its citizens and opened the border crossings to west bank. system live to the ballin. live. live. live. live. live. live. it's about a study conducted by daniel barenboim and those events so years ago marked the start of the fall off the boat and was d.w.i. chief political correspondent jim acosta is at the brandenburg gate and joins us now welcome because you are a whole what's the mood like that. well you're hearing that very dramatic music of beethoven's 5th symphony this into the face this exam for me and it's a celebration mood of course but also a very reflective mood here this evening we've heard from the german president we've heard from manny and 1st who led the 1st stars e-file organization here commemorating also the victims of division not just victims who died because they tried to even see the thank also those who spy over fees were cut short too stupid and studied because they had the wrong parents and also also. having the responsibility for the future that's what t

residence and all i know is that i'm a mix of east and west one parents from the west and the others from the east but i don't know which ones from where. last year over a 1000000 people visited the berlin wall memorial on their own i watched also it includes this documentation center historian showed me around the permanent exhibition. we display historical objects here that are important because they allow for an immediate experience especially for visitors who don't know much about it who don't know the details about the berlin wall. only taken. here i see pieces of homemade diving equipment that who about hoya buying used for his escape in 1963. well why did the berlin wall exist why did they put up a wall through a city that's not you and it compacts a very complicated question but if you want the short answer i'd have to say that it became clear after the founding of east and west germany and 949 that 2 different political systems would become established. and then they'd have a situation of mass exodus. there were many people who wanted to escape east germany in the 1950 s. and

and the east german couples are incredible escape to the west. after almost 30 years east germans were finally free to visit the west of bolin on november 9th 1989 autistic and how it tells us her story from the night the wall fell as an opponent of the east german regime she had just recently been released from prison and secretly secretly traveled from lights to east berlin that evening unexpectedly able to celebrate her 21st birthday in west berlin the very next day. and then men for being here during the time when we flooded through here i was as if a bottleneck at a going down to desperate you're going to literally sense that down and get us to that so many different levels it was no turning back for what has happened here we don't care this was something which would not really change the tone of on line said. november 9th 1989 for the 1st time in decades east german citizens could cross into west berlin. the train hocking how it was there she walked over this bridge and celebrated her 21st birthday in west berlin on november 10th a few hours

remains people living on the form a east west longer and overall a lower quality of life compared to their western counterparts as thousands streamed across the berlin wall the economic differences were a stock in west germany 62000000 people lived in one of the world strongest economies in the east the population was a quarter of that of the economy only 110th as a big no these economic differences remain none of germany's dax 30 blue chip companies are headquartered in the east at best these companies run factories in the former east such as fox our wages in the east are much lower in the west the average hourly wages around 34 year as well in the form east it's 6 euros of this power productivity's also in the eastern states so let's talk a little bit about they said now with an expert in joining me in the studio is of exxon the shares she's a research associate at the german institute for economic research also known as the dia i.w. so you constructed a study on the impact reunification hot on the economies in the 2 germany's how divided or how united is germany now in that res

including east berlin and west berlin. that announcement was made at the news conference which was concluded a few minutes ago in east berlin. two points to keep in mind, first of all, the berlin wall, the wall of concrete and barbed wire still stands. as of now, it appears to be nothing more than a symbol of the old iron curtain because east germaners will have the right to leave into west berlin itself. announcer: you can watch archival films on public affairs in their entirety on our weekly series, reel america, saturday at 10:00 p.m. and sunday at 4:00 p.m. eastern here on american history tv. announcer: next we hear from sophia rosenfeld, who is the author of "democracy in truth: a short history." she talks about the long-held tensions among citizens in a democracy to determine what the truth is, rather than relying on an elite class to determine what the truth is for them. the robert

. 3rd very big divisions between east and west and i think a lot of a lot of it has got to do with how the economy develops in the region in the g.d.r. after the 2 countries came together east and west germany. there was this there's been a lot of good news stories about especially surrounding cities like berlin for example like potsdam like leipzig even done dresden a difficult city at this point in time but quite a dynamic city there's been a lot of as i say good news there's been a lot of people who had gone west to find work millions of people the some of the the brightest in the best who are left out of nowhere and now returning so that's all good news but there are still in eastern germany a surprising number of people or a very large number of people or probably a quarter of the population who view themselves as having been left behind unfairly have great resentment feel as though they have no voice feel as though they're being ignored by what they see as a western german government still and they're being given voice by the far right alternative for germany the populist rig

however it is important to stress that there are still divisions real divisions if you will between east and westwhen it comes for example to 2 salaries one counter-example to pensions the fact that in the east people turn to earn less money in the west and i think there are also sieved divisions perceived differences many in the east many in the eastern part of the country still feel for example that they are as 2nd class citizens that they are not represented politically in an equal way as for example the west that they have been you know way left behind so although germany has indeed advanced a lot there are still many differences between east and west. and now john if i may say you seem as though you are someone who would remember the fall of the berlin wall 30 years ago i know you were living in west berlin at the time give us a short summary of what you experienced on that night when i have to confess that i went to bed early because i was planning to get up at 5 o'clock the next morning so i didn't actually hear the fateful announcement that the border was open until my telephone jangled a

in what was a no man's land between east and west the thousands rushed to the land to climb atop the wall and make history. as the main celebration german president in my hour paid tribute to east germans and others in the east bloc whose peaceful demonstrations led to the fall of the iron curtain here people to carry their legacy into the present. invent via. today when we remember the brave people back then with gratitude. and maybe even tears in our eyes and we can't just sit by and watch as that for which they fought is forgot you. just we can't allow people to be excluded and attacked democracy to be disrespected and our solidarity destroyed we can't allow that to happen. to notice. earlier in the day leaders from central and eastern europe placed roses to honor the many who were killed trying to escape communist east germany on banners toss the ball and run straight to the middle of the street dividing families neighbors and friends. chancellor spoke at the chapel of reconciliation nearby it was built on the former death strip where the east german government demolished a church

destinies of millions changed a burning war before to fight burying the divide of the communist east from the west of the city finally fell and set in motion the collapse of communism in eastern europe some even describe it as an end of history but today is germany remembers the fall of the wall it's also contending with the resurgence of the far right and with divisions placing its alliances so 30 years on from november of 1989 i'm going to medical a sound it a note of caution defend democracy and freedom she says don't take them for granted i feel gail in berlin and this is the day. to day in the i would like to honor those who were killed near the wall because they sought freedom. i honor the 75000 people who were imprisoned because they attempted to flee east germany. this place and this day remind us of a great historical achievement. so after decades of living with a border patrol by ruthless armed guards under orders to shoot on sight anyone who tried to escape the east freedom which had seemed unimaginable in berlin i arrived in november 989. we just walked right through without being stop

the city of berlin was completely isolated within east germany. we had west berlin, set up as a political and economic system that was democratic and capitalist, completely surrounded by communist east germany. a symbol of the division between east and west and dump -- and communist and democratic system. the berlin wall itself was about 96 miles long, completely separating west berlin from east berlin. again, cutting it off from the rest of east germany. we had a couple of pieces of the berlin wall i would like to show you. we have two authentic pieces of the berlin wall here. we ship them over to washington, d.c. from germany and put them up here. most people, they think of all the graffiti and color and designs on the wall. these are completely plain. that's because they were on the people were not allowed to graffiti the wall. they did not want people drawing on the wall was because having the wall be completely plain makes it easier for the guard to see people. visiblethem more against plain background. before the berlin wall was felt, several million of

today this section of the wall is a memorial site but 3 decades ago it separated east and west germany and this symbolic location is where the official memorial celebrations are taking place. the iron curtain is now history that's what these young people say they are from the so-called visit grodd countries poland the czech republic slovakia and hungary their message 30 years after the fall of the wall europe stands united and in his speech german president. emphasized the role of east european countries before the fall of the wall the openly demonstrated for more freedom. or noted moot or not in fighting that's been born without the courage and desire for freedom that motivated the poles hug ariens czechs and slovaks the peaceful revolutions in eastern europe and german reunification would not have been possible. guns on its way this place and this day remind us of a great historical achievement. and they remind us that today we europeans are united in joy. so and so i'm going to find the chapel of reconciliation was built on the former death strip where the east german government dem

we never or hardly ever discussed the east west question it for people in the west like my parents it didn't make much of an impact nothing much changed and that. i for one half of gemini little changed i said the other half the world's turned upside down on november the 9th 1900 was open and i was like what do you want about sure right it's open now it'll be open tomorrow and i didn't take it seriously but beginning when different there and then of course the party was over. and mine 8 of us piled into my little 5 seater our car and drove to bornholmer strasse are there born on a bridge on a fork of the crossing we heard was open to his i. i i. i. he hid them and i can still remember the particular quality of the light in the stony expressions of the border police who had no idea what was going on either and we crossed over and there we were in west berlin it's this for. instance a curfew was deeply moving were drove back after midnight then again i wanted to go to the brandenburg gate. i. was funded as a teenager it seemed so exciting. you were trapped behind a wall you couldn't cro

i want briefly to say i experienced east germany from west germany as we fled from east germany into west germany. almostppened was until 1989, the news for the east germans was tightened more and more. wethe 1950's and 1960's could send clothing and packages to east germany for the people because they did not have very much. eventually we had to send new clothing. i sent american dollars when i came to this country in carbon paper to east germany so the woman could buy some groceries. i experience the hungarian revolution. that berlin or east germany would become free. i have a person in east germany that i called and he was very drunk because he never thought the wall would come down. i never thought it did. i cried and cried and cried. i had visited east germany in 1959 with [speaking german] .e traveled to various cities the people that housed us, that gave us meals, they were so thrilled, and i don't know how they afforded food in 1959. to feed us. and the best menus restaurants you could go to. for me, germany was united. , but born in east russia .o me, germany united is a gift

that political representation is different between the east and the west that there are many differences when it comes to these kinds of issues between the 2 parts of germany and there's a sense of perception especially in many east and germans who believe that they are not represented as well as people in the west that they do not as much as people in the west that they have been left behind all those a perceptions that are very important when it comes to understanding this problem of these differences between eastern germany and west into this feeling of being 2nd class citizens these perceptions of inequality that you're talking about and some of them are very real or based on real facts this do. satisfaction of the people in the east expresses itself politically and is reshaping germany's political landscape i would agree with you there in particular this is something that's been used by political parties on the right of the political spectrum in particular the party known as the a if the alternative for germany that is a party that is particularly strong in the eastern p

i had one boy from east germany and another from west germany. in my home. ,e lived in a little village was veryest german boy spoiled. the east german boy, however, the minute he got up from the table, he said now i do the dishes for you. i said oh, why don't you just go upstairs on the computer with my sons and the other boy? he said oh, no no. i must thank you for the dinner. so lots of change has occurred. i am half german myself, my mother was from oldenburg, and dutch-german. i have lived half my life in europe, and the germans were so ar weful after the w whoa frau hildebrand taught a subpoena she would take no money. .- you taught us piano she would take no money, we paid her and coffee and sugar, which after after the war, and the germans were so rightful to the americans for freeing them. and my dad's people, his wife survived the nazi death camps. she saw all of her family murdered. she survived, she and her little sister were experiments for the nazis. and of course, when i was teaching, one of my neighbors was a pow. he was very grate

the berlin wall itself was about 96 miles long, completely separating west berlin from east berlin. but also completely surrounding west berlin and again, cutting it off from the rest of east germany. we have a couple of pieces of the berlin wall i would like to how you. we have two authentic pieces of the berlin wall here. they were donated to the museum by a county which is outside of east berlin. we shipped them over to washington, d.c. from germany and put them up here. most people, when they think of the berlin wall, they think of all the graffiti and color and designs on the wall. these are completely plain. that's because they were on the east side, where people were not allowed to graffiti the wall. it would have incurred some pretty severe penalties. one reason why they did not want people drawing on the wall was because having the wall be completely plain makes it asier for the guard to see people. it made them more visible against plain, like -- light gray or white background. seeing them without graffiti should around mind us -- should remind us of them keeping people in.

in my family it's never mentioned we never or hardly ever discussed the east west question with for people in the west like my parents it didn't make much of an impact. nothing much changed at the end. for one half of gemini little changed. to the other half the world's turned upside down on november the 9th 1909 when the whole file. was then known to november that is now in the us the 9th of november $989.00 was my son's 18th birthday. he came of age in communist east germany so we had thrown him his 1st big party we both saw a fiat that comment on wolf then we got a call from a friend. telling us how the border was open so i was like what do you want about it sure right it's open now it'll be open tomorrow and i didn't take it seriously but again you got wind of it there and then of course the party was over and in mine 58 of us piled into my little 5 seater our car and drove to borrow much tighter they're born on a bridge on a fork of the crossing we heard was open to his eye. i. shared them and i can still remember the particular quality of the light in the stony expressions of the bor

i want briefly to say i experienced east germany from west germany as we fled from east germany into west germany. almostppened was until 1989, the news for the east germans was tightened more and more. wethe 1950's and 1960's could send clothing and packages to east germany for the people because they did not have very much. eventually we had to send new clothing. i sent american dollars when i came to this country in carbon paper to east germany so the woman could buy some groceries. i experience the hungarian revolution. that berlin or east germany would become free. i have a person in east germany that i called and he was very drunk because he never thought the wall would come down. i never thought it did. i cried and cried and cried. i had visited east germany in 1959 with [speaking german] .e traveled to various cities the people that housed us, that gave us meals, they were so thrilled, and i don't know how they afforded food in 1959. to feed us. and the best menus restaurants you could go to. for me, germany was united. , but born in east russia .o me, germany united is a gift

stood for nearly 3 decades slicing through berlin it was a deadly symbol of the cold war between east and west in europe between the u.s. and the soviet union. demonstrations in east germany had put pressure on an already unstable regime the communist government then decided to east travel restrictions to the west just picked up minor interest just a small force in communist official culture of guns mistakenly told reporters that the new regulation. swer effective immediately within hours joyful chaos broke out at east berlin spota crossings it was the beginning of a new era. when much has changed here in berlin since the wall fell the physical reminders of a city that was once divided or hard to find most have been a race to it 1st it was a horizon full of construction cranes which has been replaced by the shine of kill was new building now when i was a young reporter here in berlin covering the 10th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall germans from east and west spoke often about the wall that remained in their minds sealing you knowing that as a country but still divided as a people t

it stood between east berlin and west berlin, which was surrounded by the communist east , but part ofocratic west germany. it was an ultrasensitive spot in the line between the blocks. that is why it later became such a powerful landmark, representing german unity. the night the border was opened, it was the site of deeply emotional scenes. that is where political correspondent simon young was earlier today. i asked him what has been going on as the city gears up for big celebrations tomorrow. simon: people have been coming down here again this evening. lots of tourists. lots of berliners seeing what is going on. behind me, you can see the brandenburg eight, and the stage that is set up for saturday evening's big show. there are projections being displayed at the m minute, pipictures from the era of t the berlin wall. you just saw one shot with a little boy kicking his football against the berlin wall back in those days, a reminder of how habituated people became to the existence of division in the city. you have to remember, as i think you said, where i am standing right now used to

west. in the end the soviets did not what unification. they thought you could have reform in east germany. in march they had their first free elections in germany and it would not work. the united states played a key role with the west germans and the soviet union in pushing the unification process forward and a couple should get in a year. spent,rofessor angela stent, author-- of "russia against the west." we are taking your phone calls this morning. we will start with steve out of webster, massachusetts. i joined the army in 1979. i studied czech, russian and serbian. my wife is also a linguist in the army. we went on the east berlin tour. someone mentioned how dark it was. what stuck out to me was the 50 caliber bullet holes the soviets had a liver east berlin. they never fixed that up. a lot of unwrap on today's program. the fall of the wall was a large seminal moment in the fall of communism, but people have criticized our role in southeast asia. i heard it referred to as failures in southeast asia. these were our shooting wars against the communists where we gave our blood t

today i write a long before my border between east and west berlin. i would like to see what remains the history of the divisions of the jerk germany temporally in. searching for traces of the berlin wall. next d.w. . in the timeless way discover the boss of. housework starts november 14th on to dublin. park in berlin it doesn't look all that special berliners have lots of green space to choose from but this isn't just any park after the fall of the berlin wall in 1990 this broad section of no man's land was turned into a.