A Day in the Life of an East Berlin Factory Worker - Last Days of East Germany Raw Footage (1990)

On 20 February 1990, ITN captured a day in the lives of East Berlin factory worker Michael Wiedt and West Berlin Siemens employee Wolfgang Kurkowski. Just three months after the fall of the Berlin Wall and with German unification on the horizon, ITN filmed Wiedt at work at the Berliner Werkzeugmaschinen Fabrik Berlin-Marzahn (BWF Marzahn) in East Berlin before interviewing him at his family home. Wiedt spoke of his colleagues' fear that they may lose their jobs in the event of unification. Meanwhile, after being filmed at work at a Siemens plant in Siemensstadt, West Berlin, Kurkowski told ITN of the mixed feelings his colleagues had at the prospect of East and West Germany becoming one.

#EastBerlin #EastGermany #DeutscheDemokratischeRepublik #DDR #GDR #WestBerlin #WestGermany #BundesrepublikDeutschland #BRD #FRG #ColdWar #Communism #Communist #SovietUnion #Soviet #SovietWave #Trabant

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[zoltanr]

So, in 1990 a factory worker could afford his own apartment, a car with a parking lot, and could raise three children.

[Pakil]

East German factory workers seem like working in a relaxed mode) But Michael's family looks very nice 👍

[dmitriysandash]

Under socialism, there was no stratification of society, people lived about the same in relative poverty, but basic human needs were provided. The hero of this film obviously does not live in luxury, but he looks like a happy family man, most likely he is not burdened with a loan for housing and an expensive car. Everything that brings happiness cannot be bought with money.

[hyacinthusorientalis]

I was at a German factory about 7 years ago and was shocked that workers smoked cigarettes at work. Nice video

[milosstevic]

We supose to be living in better world today but is it. Those people looks much more normal to me than people nowadays. We have fancy cars, we have access to endless information seconds away in our smartphones but still, is the world became better place fundamentally speaking? I wouldn't say so.

[tovarish_]

Many factories in Italy, where I live, are worse than DDR

[andreasbartel]

Factory was shut down in 2004 because of lacking orders in favor of the Stuttgart one. Stuttgart was shut down 2009.

[neilfoster]

4:36 Irmgard Shickelgruber in her overhead crane lol.
Great video, loving the Trabis!

[allahsnackbar]

and now, the regular factory worker no matter where he is can hardly afford an apartment, let alone an old horrible two stroke car, and just forget the wife and 3 kids))

[_____J______]

The Berlin machine tool factory in Berlin-Marzahn (BWF Marzahn) was sold by the Treuhandanstalt to Körber AG in 1993 and closed in 2004 after some restructuring.
They were afraid for a good reason

[norway]

A real German family. A wife and three children. Look what you've done to Germany now

[paulochon]

It's crazy how relaxed their work pace is here. I worked for years in a factory in France, and we could never move at that pace or even talk without doing something. And another thing, for the same position today, the number of employees has been cut by a third... Not to mention they have cars, apartments, and children who don't live in poverty. I was born in one of the most productivity-driven eras, and that's why I packed my bag and hit the road—I'm much happier now.

[thelostcosmonaut]

Damn, dude had a family, house, car and one job in a factory. The Americans Dream was in the DDR.

[GünterMarx-cb]

Der Golf 2 war mittelmäßiger Standart ! Aber die Deutschen Produkte waren Ost wie West absolute Weltklasse ❤ ich bin Stolz darauf!!!

[mamedaslanov]

нету арабов и всяких фанатиков вот что было характерно для ГДР это было золотое время

[alexandernek]

The gentleman who owned Golf was a very wealthy man for East Germany.

[NORDBANKENSUGER]

Nice editing, nice wig the westberliner was wearing and interesting movie.

[донБольшой]

The sound of reved 2 stroke engine 💪🏻😅

[necasto]

Everything that DDR had produced was well made and for the good price. My grandpa had Wartbourg Tourist for kraftmen work, and he was satisfied. My farher had Praktika fotoaparat, in 70. ties. Also was satisfied. They made exellent motorbikes, for reasonable price.

[bnast]

Can't believe any one can say that things were good in DDR, they had to build a wall to keep people in for gods sake!