Stories From The Berlin Wall

This year marks the 35th anniversary of a monumental moment in history—the fall of the Berlin Wall. On November 9, 1989, the world watched as the Wall that divided East and West Germany for nearly three decades came crumbling down. It was a powerful symbol of freedom, unity, and the end of a divided era, sparking joy and hope across Berlin and the globe.

🗓️ Topics Discussed
The Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall Border Troopers
Weirdest Attempts To Cross The Berlin Wall
The Great Escape Beneath The Berlin Wall

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[OldMusicFan]

I’m a US Army veteran of West Berlin in the 80s. I visited East Berlin 4 times. At the time, I never thought the Wall would fall. Incredible moment in history!

[ijun]

“Democracy is not perfect but we never had to build a wall to keep our people in”-J.F kennedy

[nagjrcjasonbower]

Who remembers when it fell? I saw it on the news. A late friend of mine flew the Berlin Airlift. One of these days I’ll have to put his story up on my channel. We both used to volunteer for an Air Force museum. Both of us were pilots. Once I get permission to do the stories it’s going to be a history buff’s dream…

[gavinwhite]

Can’t believe it’s been almost 40 years

[markchatman]

I knew a German lady who said that the German people laughed at Kennedy when he said. “Ich bin ein Berliner” because Berliner was slang for a doughnut (outside Berlin). He basically said “I am a doughnut”. But they got his point.

[Harikejn]

Here is one fun fact, believe it or not.
When there was splitting of Berlin at the end of WWII in 1945, the Canada was also offered one part of Berlin from the Allies. When Stalin heard that, he told this: "If Canada should get one part of Berlin, then also Yugoslavia should get one part of Berlin as well." After that the Allies stopped from the idea to give Canada one part of Berlin.

[ConradFiat]

I was in berlin few months back. Its insane that for me. As a dutch person. My parents had a entire dystopia next to their front door.

Crazy.

[indianajones]

I knew a guy who was there when the Wall was put up and he witnessed the East German jump over to West Berlin in that famous photo.

[maxbutzki]

My family still tells how miserable it was to visit the cousins in the east. For them it is a wonder that the wall fell, especially without bloodshed.

[corymorimacori]

John F Kennedy: Ich bin ein Berliner!

Mikhail Gorbachev: Torn down that wall like the Kool-Aid Man! Oh Yeah!

[bradleyheath]

There we go another interesting history lesson for us thank you!

[tsarfox]

I always loved the story of the Berlin airlift. Stalin tried to intimidate the West by holding West Berlin hostage. And the US just responds with supply drops.
Kinda foreshadowed the end of the Cold War. The Soviets had a strong stick but, the US had both carrot and stick.

[PurplelonerYT]

time flies by too fast but memories like the berlin wall's fall will never waver away

[visjenl]

My ex-father in law grew up in East Germany and was planning to go through the wall on November/December 1989 he was a truckdriver and had a job that brought him near the border with his truck. He wanted to drive his truck though the wall, he didn't care if he lived or died. He was very lucky the wall fell before that.

[Gocever]

I went to Berlin on vacation with my family and i was left beyond speechless when we arrived there. At Berlin i saw the tower, the Stasi museum, the GDR museum, Checkpoint Charlie, the mark where the wall once stood, it was a scar in every sense of the word and the Jewish quarter. At the souvenir shop at the tower i even bought a souvenir but not a souvenir like many others, it was tiny pieces of the wall. Thank you for providing us with such invaluable knowledge Simple History.

[markuswagner]

Hans Conrad Schumann later moved near Ingolstadt and worked at the Audi factory. He unfortunally comitted suicide in 1998.
I was a classmate of his grand son for a few years in vocational school.

[paulkruger]

Funfact: the reporter who recorded Kennedys "Ich bin ein Berliner" was Peter Lustig (lustig means funny in german. He later played the main role in the children television series "Löwenzahn" in wich he explained a topic from everyday life.
A few weeks before the wall was build, Walther Ukbricht, tve head of the east german gouverment, said in a press conference: "Niemand hat die Absicht eine Mauer zu errichten." (Nobody has the intention of building a wall.) This quote is very famous in germany and is often used in connection when a politician say something and mean the opposite.

[freesk]

My parents visited Berlin soon after the fall of the wall. They brought me back a few chunks of the concrete of the wall. Millions of tourists got chunks of the wall, and brought them home as souvenirs. It's as though the force of the explosion of that wall left chunks all across the world.

[Gillan]

I still remember in 2014, CNN replayed their 1998 Cold War documentary all year long due to the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Now it's 35 years. Time does indeed fly.

[time_warriors]

This video was absolutely riveting! I knew the Berlin Wall was a symbol of oppression, but I never truly grasped the sheer desperation people felt to escape to freedom. The stories of these daring escapes were unbelievable! 🤯 The guy who stole an armored car?! The tightrope walker?! And that tunnel escape was like something out of a movie! 😮

It's heartbreaking to think of how many people died trying to cross the Wall. 😔 It's a sobering reminder of the human cost of division and political ideology.

Thank you, Simple History, for shedding light on this pivotal moment in history. This video was both informative and incredibly moving. Sharing this with everyone I know! 👍