Animal airlift

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Foot-and-mouth disease is raging across the Federal Republic. As a result, East Berlin has banned the transportation of animals through the GDR, meaning they must be flown in to the city.

locations

Berlin-West, Flughafen Tempelhof

showtime
5

latitude
52.48154797

longitude
13.39289148

date

1965
Beatlemania and the Rolling Stones

Young people are crazy about the Beatles and not just because of their music - much to the bemusement of many older Berliners. The Rolling Stones give a legendary concert in the West Berlin venue, the Waldbühne. The fans leave a trail of destruction in their wake. East Berlin quickly uses the incident in its propaganda war against the West, classifying beat music as a decadent, Western influence and banning numerous bands.

Culture, West, East

01:47
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1965
Studio at the Barbed Wire

West Berlin's authorities mount illuminated display boards on the GSW housing association high-rise near the Wall in an attempt to provide East Berliners with news from the West. The Studio at the Barbed Wire was launched by the Berlin Senate in 1961 in cooperation with the American sector's radio station, RIAS Berlin: their goal is to provide information and news across the Wall in response to the propaganda blaring out of the GDR's speaker vans. This sparks a conflict dubbed the "speaker war", which does not end until October 1965. Wolfgang Göbel was responsible for designing the display boards on the GSW housing association high-rise back then.

Border, Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, West, East

01:54
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1965
Escaping in a Cadillac

The Wall is becoming harder to cross by the day. Despite all the risks involved, there are still people who are desperate to flee to the West and people willing to help them escape. Burkhart Veigel, a medicine student at the time, has worked as an escape helper since 1961. Together with other helpers, he enables 650 people to get from East to West, making him one of the most successful helpers. As well as digging tunnels, he also converts cars into escape vehicles. The most well-known: the converted Cadillac, which allowed many people to escape, hidden behind the dashboard.

Border, Escaping, Contemporary Witnesses, West, East

01:31
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June 15, 1965
A boat trip with a fatal outcome

Forty-two-year-old West Berliner Hermann Döbler sets out on a boat trip and is shot when he accidentally crosses into GDR territory. His boat enters GDR waters on Teltow Canal near Dreilinden border crossing point. After firing warning shots from their watchtower, the GDR border guards aim directly at Hermann and his companion – even though they have already turned around their boat. Hermann Döbler dies. Large numbers of Berliners attend his funeral a few days later. In 1993 the guard who fired the fatal shots was convicted of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter and sentenced to six years in prison. His superior, who had issued the order to fire, was sentenced to two years on probation.

Border, Politics, West, East

01:36
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May 18, 1965
The Queen visits Berlin

On Ascension Day, Queen Elizabeth II spends a few hours in West Berlin. More than a million people line the streets to cheer on the British monarch. She is greeted with the same enthusisam as US President John F. Kennedy two years previously. Elizabeth II reviews a parade of British troops on the Olympic Stadium's Mayfield and passes by Pariser Platz and the Soviet War Memorial on Strasse des 17. Juni. At the end of her visit she signs the city's Golden Book at Schöneberg Town Hall.

Everyday Life, Politics, West

00:53
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1966
Deadbeats at the Church of Remembrance

Young people are lazing around the Church of Remembrance and getting Berliners hot under their collars. They have long hair and are known as deadbeats. These young people are trying out a new way of living that goes beyond merely working and consuming. Meinhard Schröder looks back at those times. He believes that a lot of born-and-bred West Berliners had forgotten how to think and a Wall had formed in their heads. Meinhard recalls one of the standard arguments back then: "Why don't you just go over to the East?"

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, West

01:44
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1966
Division of the evangelical synod

The evangelical church is fighting against moves to divide its diocese which still encompasses the whole of Berlin. In February 1966 Kurt Scharf is appointed as the new bishop. However, he cannot visit his East Berlin parishes, as he is refused access to East Berlin. Instead, he retains informal ties to Christians in the East. Meinhard Schröder, then a theology student, talks about his connections with Christians in the East.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, West, East

01:35
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1966
Shopping centre opens in Lichtenberg

In April 1966, the GDR's most modern shopping centre opens in the East Berlin district of Lichtenberg. Manfred Lauchardt recalls how the GDR's popular WM66 washing machine was not only used in East German households, but also came in handy on Berlin's Alexanderplatz to keep sausages warm.

Everyday Life, East

01:08
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1966
Soviet plane crashes into Stößensee

A Soviet plane crashes into Stößensee. Apart from the pilots, no one is hurt and a disaster is narrowly avoided on West Berlin's densely populated Heerstrasse. A plaque on Stößensee bridge commemorates the fighter jet crash: "On 6 April 1966, Soviet pilots Captain Boris Vladimirovich Kapustin and Lieutenant Yuri Nikolayevich Yanov steered their faulty aircraft into Stößensee, losing their lives in the crash. Thanks to their selfless act, they avoided an unforeseeable disaster in the nearby residential area. This plaque honours the sacrifice made by the Soviet soldiers as a symbol of humanity in the midst of the Cold War."

Politics, West

01:36
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1966
Military parade to mark the 5th anniversary of the Wall

The SED party leaders hold a grand military parade to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the closing of the border. The Western allies view the military parade as a violation of the Four Power agreements. However, head of state and Party leader Walter Ulbricht claims to have secured peace by building the Wall in 1961. West Berlin's mayor, Willy Brandt, declares that the Wall will come down, but only as part of more widespread changes. Manfred Lauchardt witnessed events first-hand back then. He recalls how many of the East Berliners who lined the streets did so more out of duty than conviction.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, East

01:06
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location

October 21, 1969
Willy Brandt becomes Federal Chancellor

In October 1969, the new Bundestag elects Willy Brandt as Federal Chancellor. His policy of Ostpolitik is based on the principle of "change through rapprochement".

Politics, West

00:43
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November 01, 1974
Tegel Airport opens

A new, modern airport opens in West Berlin. Tegel is designed to take over from Tempelhof as West Berlin's “beachhead” to the Federal Republic. But in its first few months in operation, its modern jet bridges barely dock with a single aircraft. The allied airlines are reluctant to leave Tempelhof because of the high costs involved. Many West Berliners continue to fly from Schönefeld. Robert Grosch, the director of Tegel Airport at the time, describes the difficulties the airport faced in its first years in operation.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, West, East

02:23
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1983
Aerobics vs. Popgymnastik

Exercising to music is the latest craze to hit Berlin. In the West they call it aerobics, in the East it’s Popgymnastik. A Kreuzberg factory building becomes home to Europe’s first aerobics studio. Angie Kauss, who soon became an instructor at the studio, remembers the early days of the trend.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, West, East

01:44
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1986
An unusual art gallery

Artists in West Berlin are using the Wall as a canvas for their paintings. Thierry Noir, a young Frenchman, moves to the city from Lyon in the 80s and settles in Kreuzberg. He starts painting the Wall in bright colours. Perhaps his most famous works are those featuring giant, colourful heads. Their creative endeavours often brought the artists into risky situations, since even the West side of the Wall stood on East Berlin territory. Thierry talks about his experiences of the time.

Border, Culture, West

02:03
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1978
Kreuzberg nights are long

SO 36 is the name of the part of Kreuzberg that stands right in the shadow of the Wall. Kreuzberg isn’t exactly the best of West Berlin’s districts, but a lot of flats are available in its old, often crumbling buildings – and the rents are cheap. That’s what brings comedy singer-songwriter Beppo Pohlmann from Osnabrück to Kreuzberg. He and his band, Gebrüder Blattschuss, release a song called Kreuzberger Nächte (Kreuzberg nights), which celebrates life in the district and becomes a nationwide hit.

Contemporary Witnesses, Culture, West

02:00
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1975
Turkey comes to Kreuzberg

Numerous foreign workers from Southern Europe and Turkey come to West Berlin, attracted by the prospect of jobs and the extra pay that comes with living in the city. Many of them move into cheap flats in pre-war buildings in Kreuzberg. Eva Sarioglu talks about how the buildings were often in very poor condition. Over time, Kreuzberg becomes known as Little Istanbul and develops its own unique identity: “The air was different there,” says Eva.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, West

01:31
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January 01, 1980
Teen fashion

The choice between being a popper or a punker can be a highly divisive issue in 1980s West Berlin, where fashion is a huge part of young people’s lives. Poppers haven’t really caught on in East Berlin, but clothes from the West are extremely popular. The GDR’s “teen fashion” doesn’t stand a chance against the much hipper alternatives from across the Wall.

Everyday Life, West, East

00:47
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October 02, 1990
Allied control ends

Allied control in Berlin has been governing relations between the occupying powers and West Germany since 1949. This control, along with Berlin’s special status, comes to an end in early October 1990, when the GDR becomes part of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Two plus Four treaty is signed on 12 September 1990. It returns full sovereignty to Germany, giving the country sole control over its domestic and foreign affairs.

Politics, West

00:56
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1973
Double-decker buses

Berlin Transport Authority's (BVG) double-decker buses wind through the city's streets decked out in bright and cheerful adverts in an attempt to generate funds for its cash-strapped coffers. This is not the only innovation on the bus lines: for the first time since the war, women are also allowed behind the wheels of double-deckers. Up until 1971 this was prohibited by law.

Everyday Life, West

00:51
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October 26, 1968
Olympic gold medallist Manfred Wolke

East and West German athletes are competing in different teams at the Olympic Games for the first time – with different anthems, but still with the same flag. Boxer Manfred Wolke wins a gold medal for the GDR.

Contemporary Witnesses, Culture, East

00:46
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