Border, Escaping, Contemporary Witnesses, East

A teacher commuting across borders

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"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.

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  • Berlin, Wollankstraße
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  • Berlin, AEG-Werk Brunnenstraße
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    1
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    52.5390431
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    13.3953269