The accidental beekeeper

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In 1961 Jürgen Raddatz from Heinersdorf in East Berlin is an adventurous young man who has big plans for his life with his girlfriend Ruth. Becoming a beekeeper was not one of them. However, his fate changes when the Wall goes up on 13 August.

In 2011, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Wall going up, the rbb interviewed Berliners to find out what the division of the city meant to them. The Wall had a profound impact on the way each person went about their daily lives - no matter what side they found themselves on. Overnight people were cut off from their friends and relatives, from their offices, factories and schools, and from places where they enjoyed spending their leisure time. The division of the city tore families apart, ruptured biographies and claimed many lives.

locations

Berlin-Heinersdorf

showtime
1

latitude
52.5669

longitude
13.44
Berlin-Gesundbrunnen

showtime
77

latitude
52.5486

longitude
13.3903

date

1961
House-keeping day and men ironing

Everyday life in divided Berlin: The introduction of housekeeping days and ironing courses for men aims to promote gender equality.

Everyday Life, West, East

00:50
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1961
Marienfelde refugee transit camp

Hundreds of thousands of refugees leave the GDR. By 1960, 2.97 million people have already left East Germany. Marienfelde refugee transit camp in West Berlin is often their first port of call. Ursula Hagemann worked as a nurse at the camp and talks about her experiences there in 1961. She remembers how many a refugee from ""the other side"" was disappointed by the camp's simple facilities and cramped conditions. After the Wall is built, the flood of refugees dries up. There will not be another influx from the East until the mid 1980s.

Border, Escaping, Contemporary Witnesses, West

01:26
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June 15, 1961
"Nobody has any intention of building a wall"

"West Berlin is hosting the first German-American Festival. However, rumours are circulating that East Berlin is planning to close its borders. The Western world watches nervously to see what fate awaits the city. People have been leaving the GDR in their thousands and continue to flee. Cross-border commuters – Berliners who work in the West of the city, but live in the East – are being subjected to ever-tighter controls. At the same time, GDR head of state Walter Ulbricht faces journalists from all over the world asking about the status of West Berlin at an international press conference. Annemarie Doherr from the Frankfurter Rundschau asks Ulbricht if he believes that creating a free city will involve building a state border at the Brandenburg Gate. Ulbricht gives the following reply: ""I understand your question in this way: that there are people in West Germany who want us to mobilise the construction workers of the GDR capital to build a wall. Am I right? I am not aware of any such plans. Most of the capital's construction workers are busy building flats and their manpower is being put to full use in these projects. Nobody has any intention of building a wall." A few weeks later, events in Berlin reveal his statement to be a lie. On 13 August 1961 the GDR starts building a wall that will divide East and West for the next 28 years.

Politics, West, East

01:16
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1961
Commuting between East and West

West Berlin 1961: political freedom, modest prosperity. In East Berlin: SED Socialism is working hand-in-hand with the Soviet occupation. Two systems – two currencies – one city. Wolfgang Hermann commuted from East to West every day.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, Politics, West, East

01:02
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January 01, 1961
Berlin before the Wall

Berlin is divided into four sectors: the Americans, Russians, British and French are in charge of the city. The Cold War has become a part of everyday life – for both East and West.

Border, Everyday Life, Politics, West, East

00:35
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August 13, 1961
The Wall goes up

On 13 August 1961 work begins to construct the Wall. The division of East and West shocks Berliners and the Western world. They are left stunned as barbed wire and barricades carve the city in half and tear families apart. The mayor of Berlin is also shaken by events and makes the following statement: "The wall to a concentration camp is now cutting through the heart of Berlin." The number of refugees soared in the week before the Wall went up. In July 1961, 30,415 people applied for emergency accommodation. Over Easter alone, 4,000 people entered the transit camp – the first port of call for those who have no relatives in the West. The powers-that-be in the GDR have decided to put a stop to the mass exodus of its citizens. At first, the Western allies do not react to the closing of the border, as the barricades do not infringe their rights.

Border, Escaping, Politics, West, East

01:48
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August 13, 1961
The end of the line at the Wall

On 13 August 1961 S-bahn trains reached the end of the line at the Wall. Manfred Doro worked at Falkensee train station for 47 years and was station master from 1961. He has kept a historic document from that time: the GDR Transport Ministry's order the day the Wall went up to terminate all S-bahn trains heading to Berlin. The border in Berlin ran for a total of 155 kilometres; the section stretching around the outer edge of West Berlin (separating the city from Brandenburg in East Germany) measured 112 kilometres. This film looks at how people living in Brandenburg experienced the Wall going up and what it was like to live in its shadow.

Border, Contemporary Witnesses, East

03:04
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August 13, 1961
Farming in the border zone

Uwe Damm and Horst Gäbert used to work on Großbeeren state-owned farm, which owned arable land by the Wall. A quarter of the land belonging to the Agricultural Production Cooperative (LPG) was located in the border zone. As a result, employees required special permits and armed border guards sometimes sat with them on their tractors as they worked. The border in Berlin ran for a total of 155 kilometres; the section stretching around the outer edge of West Berlin (separating the city from Brandenburg in East Germany) measured 112 kilometres. This film looks at how people living in Brandenburg experienced the Wall going up and what it was like to live in its shadow.

Border, Contemporary Witnesses, East

03:19
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August 13, 1961
Secret sand

In March 1963, 11-year-old Detlef Aagard, his parents and ten other people flee from Glienicke/Nordbahn in the GDR to West Berlin. They escape through a tunnel that starts in the living room of his parents’ house, which at the time stood right next to the border. As they dug the tunnel, Detlef’s family had to work out how to conceal several tonnes of sand around the house. The border in Berlin ran for a total of 155 kilometres; the section stretching around the outer edge of West Berlin (separating the city from Brandenburg in East Germany) measured 112 kilometres. This film looks at how people living in Brandenburg experienced the Wall going up and what it was like to live in its shadow.

Border, Escaping, Contemporary Witnesses, East

03:37
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August 13, 1961
The church in the border zone

Norbert Greger was just a boy when he attended his first service at the Church of the Redeemer in Sacrow, Potsdam, in the 1950s. He is overjoyed when, after years of being inaccessible because of the Wall, the church reopens on Christmas Eve 1989. The border in Berlin ran for a total of 155 kilometres; the section stretching around the outer edge of West Berlin (separating the city from Brandenburg in East Germany) measured 112 kilometres. This film looks at how people living in Brandenburg experienced the Wall going up and what it was like to live in its shadow.

Border, Contemporary Witnesses, East

03:27
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location

May 1989
Local elections in the GDR

The GDR holds local elections in May 1989. A group of young civil rights activists monitor the vote counting. When the official figures show that 98.85 percent of the population voted for the candidates put forward by the SED, the activists accuse the party of ballot rigging. As a member of the peace group in Weisensee that organised the monitoring, Mario Schatta experienced the events first hand.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, Opposition, East

02:23
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June 15, 1961
"Nobody has any intention of building a wall"

"West Berlin is hosting the first German-American Festival. However, rumours are circulating that East Berlin is planning to close its borders. The Western world watches nervously to see what fate awaits the city. People have been leaving the GDR in their thousands and continue to flee. Cross-border commuters – Berliners who work in the West of the city, but live in the East – are being subjected to ever-tighter controls. At the same time, GDR head of state Walter Ulbricht faces journalists from all over the world asking about the status of West Berlin at an international press conference. Annemarie Doherr from the Frankfurter Rundschau asks Ulbricht if he believes that creating a free city will involve building a state border at the Brandenburg Gate. Ulbricht gives the following reply: ""I understand your question in this way: that there are people in West Germany who want us to mobilise the construction workers of the GDR capital to build a wall. Am I right? I am not aware of any such plans. Most of the capital's construction workers are busy building flats and their manpower is being put to full use in these projects. Nobody has any intention of building a wall." A few weeks later, events in Berlin reveal his statement to be a lie. On 13 August 1961 the GDR starts building a wall that will divide East and West for the next 28 years.

Politics, West, East

01:16
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October 07, 1979
Brezhnev and Honecker

Leonid Brezhnev, leader of the Soviet Union, visits East Berlin to take part in the celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the GDR. As well as the famous fraternal kiss (staged at Schönhausen Palace to show the special relationship between the two states), the official schedule also includes an appearance at the ostentatious anniversary parade. Brezhnev tells the SED politburo that it must see to it that industrial productivity increases. “After all,” he says “we can only consume what we produce. None of us want to live at someone else’s expense or declare ourselves bankrupt.”

Politics, East

00:36
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August 13, 1961
A lucrative bridge business

With his grandmother in Wedding in the West and his father in Prenzlauer Berg in the East, eleven-year-old Hans-Joachim Weß often cycles over Böse Bridge on Bornholmer Strasse. During his frequent crossings he builds up a lucrative business which comes to an abrupt end on 13 August 1961. In 2011, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Wall going up, the rbb interviewed Berliners to find out what the division of the city meant to them. The Wall had a profound impact on the way each person went about their daily lives - no matter what side they found themselves on. Overnight people were cut off from their friends and relatives, from their offices, factories and schools, and from places where they enjoyed spending their leisure time. The division of the city tore families apart, ruptured biographies and claimed many lives.

Border, Contemporary Witnesses, East

03:37
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November 09, 1989
The Berlin Wall opens

During an international press conference on 9 November 1989, Günter Schabowski, a member of the politburo, announces that the GDR will be opening its borders. An Italian journalist asks about changes to the laws governing the right to travel. Schabowski answers: "We have therefore decided today to put in place a regulation that allows every citizen of the German Democratic Republic to leave through any of its border crossings." Journalist: "When does it come into effect?" Schabowski: "That comes into effect, according to my information… immediately, without delay." Schabowski continues: "Permanent exit can take place via all border crossing points between the GDR and FRG or West Berlin." A few hours later, the Wall falls.

Border, Politics, West, East

02:03
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August 13, 1961
A teacher commuting across borders

"They're expecting me at work", says Heinz Kranaster, a vocational school teacher who commutes across the border to West Berlin every day. He thought he was only saying good bye to his colleagues for the weekend when the Wall went up on 13 August 1961. In fact, it will be decades before he sees them again. In 2011, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Wall going up, the rbb interviewed Berliners to find out what the division of the city meant to them. The Wall had a profound impact on the way each person went about their daily lives - no matter what side they found themselves on. Overnight people were cut off from their friends and relatives, from their offices, factories and schools, and from places where they enjoyed spending their leisure time. The division of the city tore families apart, ruptured biographies and claimed many lives.

Border, Escaping, Contemporary Witnesses, East

04:17
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November 01, 1977
Expulsion of Pannach, Kunert and Fuchs

In November 1977 the Free German Youth gathers in East Berlin to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the Russian revolution. At the same time, a year since Wolf Biermann’s expulsion from the GDR, East Berlin’s cultural life is losing its lifeblood. Anyone who criticises the state is promptly banished to the West. Singer-songwriters Gerulf Pannach and Christian Kunert, and the author Jürgen Fuchs all suffer this fate.

Politics, Opposition, East

00:47
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July 28, 1984
Gasometer demolished

The gasometer in the East Berlin district of Prenzlauer Berg is demolished. A new showcase estate honouring revered labour leader Ernst Thälmann is put up in its place. General Secretary Erich Honecker pays a personal visit to Ernst Thälmann Park to see how the project is progressing.

Everyday Life, East

01:10
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1985
Queuing up for the West

Many East Berliners have submitted applications to leave the GDR, but no one knows when or if they will be granted. Most people have to wait a long time before they find out. Author Bernd Wagner is among those who want to get out. When his application is finally approved, he leaves Prenzlauer Berg and settles in Kreuzberg in West Berlin.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, Opposition, East

03:22
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1989
How much longer will the Wall survive?

Protests in the GDR keep getting louder, but still no one thinks the Wall will fall any time soon. Even in January 1989, Honecker still believes in the border: “The Wall will still be here in 50 years, and in 100, if the reasons for its presence still persist.”

Everyday Life, Politics, West, East

01:02
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