The rise and fall of the Berlin Wall - Konrad H. Jarausch

On August 13, 1961, construction workers began tearing up streets and erecting barriers in Berlin. This night marked the beginning of one of history’s most infamous dividing lines: the Berlin Wall. Construction continued for a decade as the wall cut through neighborhoods, separated families, and divided not just Germany, but the world. Konrad H. Jarausch details the history of the Berlin Wall.

Lesson by Konrad H. Jarausch, directed by Remus & Kiki.

[Lena-xzxw]

My mum grew up in eastern Germany while my dad grew up in the west. It's so interesting to hear the completely different stories about their childhood and youth, although they technically grew up in the same country. I still can't imagine how life was back then.

[shi]

“Otherwise, there were normal people”

5 seconds later
*AND DROVE A STOLEN TANK THROUGH THE WALL*

[abeestosruinsageneration]

Can we just stop and appreciate the animation? These guys are amazing animators.

[paulhan]

As a Korean, I wonder whether my country can be reunified like that again. After the fall of Berlin Wall, we were also very enthusiastic and optimistic that same thing will soon happen in Korea's DMZ as well, but no luck. Tensions only getting worse. Always makes me sigh when I think about this.

[asjkdhs]

The last line in the story is so beautiful: "Today the parts of the wall still stand as a reminder that any barrier we put up to impede freedom, we can also break down."

[wyattjohns]

I just want to know the story behind the guy that stole a tank.

[RainAngel]

It's so shocking to me that Germany only reunified in 1990! That feels like barely any time, but Germany seems like such a unified nation now

[vanessalago]

the guy with the tank was called Wolfgang Engels and apparently he met some other ppl along the way and asked, 'I'm gonna go to the West, wanna go?'

[San-jnbm]

Girl: come over
Boy: i can't, there's berlin wall
Girl: im home alone
Boy: *blitzkrieg* *starting tank engine

[mymoonly]

4:17 they did not just flew that air balloon, they built it themselves.
The ballon crashed in west Germany and the passengers weren’t sure if they really passed the border and asked the next best person. „Yes, this is the BRD. Did you really use THAT to cross the border“
Best story haha. Those refugees were from Pößneck, pretty close to where I live. My parents told me that story when I was little, they even knew these people ^^

[ravikurukulasooriya]

The guy who stole the tank: “I’m gonna do what’s called a pro gamer move”

[BastionMarshall]

Hi, I have my degree in Germanic Studies. There's a slight inaccuracy on why the wall opened. It was a mistake made by a journalist announcer about the new travel plans. He missed the briefing on the new regulations and so when asked when this would come into place, he said Immediately. So people listening to the broadcast in East Berlin got excited and swamped the unsuspecting guard station and thankfully let them through instead of conflict. It's hugely famous in Germany, so I'm surprised that was missed.Look up Günter Schabowski for more details!

[aspodermousstoplight]

Guy: Hey, can I use the bathroom?
Other guy: Sorry dude, Berlin Wall came through my toilet.

[tabthecabbit]

When I was in 6th Grade, we were studying the Berlin Wall for one of our subjects.
And my history teacher even had a piece of the Berlin Wall that he showed to the entire class.

[froggdoggs]

my grandma lived there once and told me how she would pretend to whisper into her coat button in front of police booths just to annoy them

[MightyMo]

I just noticed that when the wall was brought down everybody was purple bc west and east where blue and red 👌

[georgiab]

Kennedy once said, “Democracy is not perfect, but at least we do not have to build a wall to keep our people in.”

[melon]

When you're just guarding the wall quietly

Then suddenly you hear *boss music*

[ananonynoussauce]

Some extra info: Of the 5000 people that made it acrosss the wall, 570 were border guards.

[greenivy]

I'm from Germany and two years ago my aunt was giving me and my cousins tiny pieces of the Berlin Wall as christmas presents from a trip she was on. It got really precious to me, though I do not know any stories about it from my direct family members. Though history wasn't my favorite subject in school I did always understood that it's extremely important to know about it. I've seen some parts of the wall in museums and in Berlin itself and what impressed me was how scribbled they are. There are many graffitis on it and some are displayed as works of art, painted by some artist. By now it's really hard to collect a piece of it.

Last words from a show I love: "History is important, gentlemen. If you can't learn from it, you're destined to repeat it."