The Berlin Wall: How Communism Turned East Germany into a Prison State
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- Опубліковано 29 гру 2023
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Keep The Video Suggestions Coming! Thank You For Watching!
You Should do a Video about the Battle Of Athens not the ww2 one how a corrupt government in a small American town got overthrown
Battle of Midway
Do a video on Gaston Glock!
I’d love to see a video about William Cullerton! The means of his rescue is right up your alley. And he was an overall badass!
You should throw back to your short format style for a single video and do one about the CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon, a US made, anti-tank, smart cluster bomb
I think JFK said it the best: "freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect but we have never had to put up a wall to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us."
FACTS
Damn I never knew he said that before he ain’t wrong tho
Except we are a constitutional republic not a democracy.
"One republic under god" if im remembering correctly. @@marvinmurphy5523
@@marvinmurphy5523 A republic is a form of democracy, we're both. It would be like arguing that our unhealthcare factory is an F-15 not a fighter plane.
Why I'm anti communism: My DNA test. They trimmed my family tree very thin.
As a descendant of victims of the Holodomor, same here
As a descendant of victims of the Molotov's Breadbaskets, same here
Same here, Communism is the worst and thank god America and it's Allies won the Cold War
@joeyuzwa891 Sorry to hear that dude, I had relatives who were victims of the Japanese atrocities during the invasion of China
same here my grand-grand-grandpa (i don't actually remember the exact degree) escaped ukraine under soviet control (post WW2) to not die
"The only thing you have to do to make anti-communist propaganda is to open a history book and read it out loud."
I gotta remember that one.
Im sure some communist is saying that the history books are written by capitalists so it doesnt count.
Thanks to your profile pic, I read this in Ryan Reynolds Deadpool voice.
US history book?
The only thing you have to do to make anti capitalist propaganda is take a photo of any alleyway in NYC or LA
history isent any kinder to democracy capitalism or monarchism any of them can easily go wrong democracy just provides the best illusion of choice
1989, I was taking German as a language in college at this time. My professor was a German with family on both sides. While learning German, we talked of Germany and the Wall. One morning we walked into class, into a celebration waiting on us. Class that day was a party that we spoke as much German as we could, watched the news and celebrated the tearing down of the Wall. A big impact on my life, and I have never been to Germany.
I was in college then. A friend was a foreign exchange student from Norway. We were watching the news when Germany came on, the people destroying the Wall. I turned to ask my friend his opinion…and was silenced at the tears streaming down his face. ALL of Europe rejoiced in the destruction of the Wall.🇺🇸🇩🇪
That's epic. I remember seeing the news as the wall fell & thinking, may this break the spine of Communism
I'm an American born in a country that ceased to be not too long after I was born. My birth certificate says, "West Germany." The wall fell in the year after that.
I was in college. We were in dorm commons watching TV. This was in the Ozarks. I had a friend who was from Norway or Sweden…can’t remember. The news came on showing Berlin residents gleefully destroying the Wall. I asked Juri how it felt watching this. Silence. I turned around, and my friend just sat , smiling, with tears rolling down his face. A hated symbol of a detested regime. GONE!
@@wordforger Foreign kid and his family moved to my town and kid started going to my school district, but was ahead of me by a few years. I couldn't believe it when many, many years later he told me his birth certificate says "Yugoslavia" on it. My dad also worked for an old man's tile company, dad finds out the old man was born as a legal citizen of a little country called "Czechoslovakia".
I've come to discover that history is never, ever old.
Anti-communist propaganda? That's a weird way to spell The Truth.
That's just the truth with more steps.
The same way that commercials caused generations of children to think "relief" was spelled "rolaids". Repeat the lie often enough, it becomes accepted as the truth...
As Hitler taught.
@@Xaq235 You know nothing...
And assume much.
@@Xaq235 Ill send you pics of my boat for you to look at while you stand in the bread line.
@@Xaq235 you paid 0 because your broke ass didn't even clear the standard deductible
"Why do Stasi officers make such good taxi drivers? - You get in the car and they already know your name and where you live."-common east german joke at the time.
LOL
I have not heard that one before.
It is similar to one I learned in the military during the Cold War about KGB officers conducting an investigation.
Russian citizens during the Cold War had amazing senses of humor lol
@@twinzzlerswhen you’re in a situation like that, sometimes humor is all you have to get through it.
@@twinzzlers "Russian citizens..." they had no sense of humor because they were in charge.
Soviet citizens were the ones who developed that sense of humor to deal with the stalinist tyranny.
Biggest tragedy of 20th century was that the russian federation survived the fall of USSR.
If your ideal system is so inherently flawed it results in starvation and murder every time it’s tried the system sucks.
capitalism too tho
@@RaeAguirre-sr8cudo you have an example?
This. Thank You
@@bw3240 The silence to follow is deafening....
Berlin wall showed me what "Freedom" is when our older German couple went to Berlin to acquire they're 2 son's an daughter, after wall came down. When they all got back to Oregon, we invited family to Thanksgiving dinner. Ours was outdoor family and had elk meat, salmon, Lin cod along with turkey dinner. Daughter sees all the food an never imagine so much, an such variety of food? After minutes they are all crying. My mom starts to cry, then my sister. I ask dad, is it all this food making them cry? Partly, but I think it's our Freedom that gives us a chance to have such a table for Thanksgiving!
The opening was a planned action to infiltrate the West and it was successful, because todays west is now down to the same level if dictatorship as the commis were in thise days...
I met a lady from East Berlin who was eleven when the wall came down and her dad was a guard in one of the towers along the wall. Doing that destroyed him mentally. She told me that if he did not shoot people trying to escape, the secret police would have disappeared him and his family. That was standard operating procedure for disobedient guards, and her father said a couple of people he worked with at the time disappeared. Here one day, gone the next. I will never understand how people can’t look at the Soviet flag and feel the same disdain and disgust as when looking at the Nazi Germany flag.
Its kind of like how, now, there are Gen Z kids who think Osama Bin Laden is a hero.
Stupidity is a genetic flaw, not a lacking availability of resources. You genuinely cannot fix stupidity.
Super random bit of information... Did you know Hitler never referred to their symbol as a swastika? The exact translation was "hooked cross" but the people that translated his book didn't want his symbol associated with Christianity so they called it a swastika instead.. I personally choose to still call it a hooked cross since there are over a dozen variations from all over the world and all throughout history.. only the one called the hooked cross has such a horrific meaning.. it was the only one rotated on a 45 degree angle, and it rotated to the left, which in many cultures means moon or evil (fitting).. for vikings, the swastika (commonly called the broken sun due to its shape) symbolized thors hammer (another symbol stolen by ignorant hateful people). In Japan and China they used these symbols to mean many things including prosperity. The oldest example actually came from modern day Ukraine and is 15,000 years old.
It's been a while since I've shared this information. But it's just my way of hopefully reminding myself and others that no matter how much negative we see in the world, if you look, you can find way more positive..
Forgot to mention the word swastika comes from a Sanskrit word meaning luck, well being, and fortune..
If not for the Soviets, I doubt that the US would have been able to defeat the Nazis. They captured more Nazis in a single operation (Operation Bagration) than the US fought in the entirety of the European theater. Look at their losses vs the US, they took the entirety of the brunt of the German military. Then (and only then) did we think of invading.
Don’t forget too that the US doesn’t have clean hands either. We captured Germans and threw them in field surrounded with a barbed wire fence with armed guards… no shelter (just holes in the dirt), barely any water, and barely any food. Definitely no toilets. A lot died from disease or malnutrition.
FDR struck a deal at Yalta with Stalin and FDR actually went out of his way to cultivate a good relationship with the Allies and Stalin… he was pissed they took their grand ol time opening another European front, saying we were using them as “cannon fodder” which is exactly what we were doing. But then FDR dies and we get the idiot Truman who openly said to the press basically “let’s let them kill each other and then see who’s winning then support the other “. So from the get go he destroyed any good relationship with the Soviets cementing us as an enemy. All because he didn’t want to play politics.
Didn’t have to be that way. But naively seeing things as black or white is what caused the entire sequence of events leading to the Cold War. But wait… what happened to all those Nazis? America let almost all go with a slap on the wrist then gave them new lives in America. Like nothing happened.
So yeah the Soviets suck but so did everyone else.
@@jasonsimons4411Say you spend too much time on Reddit, without saying you spend too much time on Reddit.
why i'm anti-communist: 1. they were literal inches away from ending my family line and 2. [gestures vaguely at a nearby history book]
Me: (points violently to a nearby history book for the idiots in the crowd)
same here, family are survivors of the khmer rouge
@@theenderdestruction2362 , unfortunately those individuals your showing the history book to are looking at you thinking your insane cause to them if it's not a meme then it's not history
Why I'm communist: Capitalism has killed more people than any ideology in modern history.
3 books communists revolve-r their life around (If it fails they're just going to play russian rullet lol):
Economy and budgeting 101 (don't read it)
History books (don't read it)
"Jewish question" or other Marx'es books. The author just promised everything good once you give him power and Free labour (yes zaddy!)
President Kennedy's "Ich bin ein Berliner" Speech, and President Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" will always move me to tears.
Fun fact, that phrase was confusing to Berliners (since a Berliner can be a pastry), and with English, it gets funny. It is supposed to be “Ich bin Berliner.” Nonetheless, in the end, it had the same effects.
@@boywhohasl1vedhascometodie469 That is a long-standing myth. Either is fine, and the cheering and tears of those Berliners from his words was proof of that.
@@DragonoftheEastblu XDDD
That is not a myth. That is how the German language works (at least in the Western Part). And despite that, and JFK being a foreigner, who barely understood a bit of German, clubbed together something German that helped him identify himself to their cause, and they still understood what he meant. But still, when that portion of Germany watched it, they got confused.
@@boywhohasl1vedhascometodie469 Sorry, that is completely wrong as well. “I am a Berliner” can be said “Ich bin ein Berliner”, “Ich bin eine Berlinerin”, and “Ich bin Berliner”. Furthermore, you are also propagating another myth, that the West-Germans laughed at him for his “mistranslation”. Not four days ago I watched that speech, and you are wrong.
@@DragonoftheEastblu idk. You suit you.
Also, halt die klappe bitte :)
The hot air balloon bit is flat out amazing and truly impressive...to build one big enough to lift eight people meant that thing was huge.
Cubans do it all the time.
I got in an arguement with an actual communist the other day. I asked them why the Berlin Wall was built and they really said "To keep the capitalists out of our society..." I never really realized how strong propaganda could be until then. It's wild.
Lol, I would have clapped back with, "then why were people trying to get over the wall into West Berlin?"
Record-keepers that they were, I'm sure East Germany has a record of how many capitalists they shot breaking in versus those disloyal comrades breaking out? 🤡
@@troybaxter I did in fact ask him that. He proceeded to back out of the conversation
@@Finnish_Infantryman ain’t that funny
Actual history is no match for the university system :|
The fact that so many people my age think communism is the best route for us to take is absolutely horrifying to me
I get the complaints people have about capitalism and our current economic inequalities and political corruption. But the solution is to reform capitalism away from corporatism, not convert to communism!
@@troybaxter I couldn't agree more
It's because people our age don't actually understand what communism actually means. Keep in mind we are the participation award generation, "everyone wins and no one is really a loser" is what many were raised on and communism to the uneducated can sound a lot like equal outcomes and everyone winning.
Communism as an economic idea isn't the issue. Communism as it's been presented to the worls has always been either a 1 party autocracy, or a dictatorship.
You have to separate the political structure we have all seen from the economic idea.
Actual Communism exists in the United States. We call them co-op corporations where the workers actually own the business. That way everyone gets profit sharing and a voice in how the business is run.
@@Mizuna752 but it is worth point out who were the ones to instill such a mindset in our generation. Remember, just like the participation trophies, they had to come from someone older than us. Someone that has money and power.
I'm old enough to have watched the wall go up and I doubted I'd ever see it fall. Then on Nov. 9th, 1989 I watched it fall, live on TV. I sat on my couch with tears of joy streaming down my cheeks.
As a young adult, born and raised in former east germany, I can say you did a fucking great job putting all this together. My grandfather was born in a different country than my dad and I myself was born in a different country than my dad.
German history of the past 100 years is absolutely wild and many people, both from east and west germany, have still to this day problems dealing with each other due to the fact they were raised and educated in such huge political and social differences.
Bold of you to assume that modern day communists would actually think to open a history book.
Facts!!
Lmfao 🤣 omfg!!! They know their media is fake! But still believe their history books!!! Lmfao 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣maybe look into the other side from their angle and you’ll see who the good guys were
@@darthcarnage6734LMAO "good guys". Good one.
To be fair, the Marxists, communists, and socialists that are “writing” a lot of textbooks nowadays are actively trying to white wash the history of communism and socialism as much as they can. They started in the 1960’s or so by removing/obfuscating the fact that the Nazi/Fascist party were, to the end, socialist parties/ideologies.
@@darthcarnage6734Are you a commie or something?
Watching you dunk on communism, whether it be here or on unsubscribe, has become one of my favorite pastimes.
Facts!
Nick's drunken rants on Unsub are some of the best content on that podcast, lmao. That is the only podcast that I've actually binged every video (well, every video after Baddie left) and loved every minute of it. I love it because all of my favorite GunTubers either host it or have been guests on it.
Just so you know, you earned me an extra 20 points of extra credit for describing how the wall was flooded a day early in my pls class ❤❤❤
I was there in 1990 (I will not disclose my age) with family helping to take down the wall and still have pieces if it in my home today as well as several memorabilia of checkpoint charlie on display. It was a memorable experience to see german relatives and historic sights.
The best thing about the berlin wall is that shortly before the wall was built, the east german leader Walter Ulbricht said: "Nobody has the intention of building a wall"
A communist...lied. Who could have foreseen such a thing?
"Democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in." JFK
Bridge of Spies did take some liberties in characterizing the CIA handler, but very accurately displayed the lawless environment of East Berlin when the Wall started going up.
And that same government killed off jfk.
I was stationed there with the 690th and was at checkpoint Charlie when the first East Berliners came through. Still have a big chunk of the wall I chiseled out with a piece of rebar I “borrowed” from a nearby construction site.
I'm so glad you are doing longer videos. You have become my favorite historical story teller.
Having grown up on the wrong side of the iron curtain, I sooooooooo agree with your assessment of any form of communism.
We all wanted to escape.
Communists trying not to consider Cuban escapees and Berlin wall escapees "stepping stones" challange: (impossible)
just like for the Austrian painter.. who took inspiration from Marx, like seriously.
I knew someone who dated an escapee from the former Czechoslovakia back in the late 80s into the mid 90s. He waited two days at the border, watching the guards and how they operated, without food. He finally made a break for it and got shot at but made it. Fast forward to the fall of communism and he brought his mother over to the US to visit. He brought her to a normal, non super sized, grocery store. She started crying and could not believe 1) there was this much food available anywhere and 2) if you had the money anyone could buy it.
In 1979 our Church in Worcester, MA sponsored a Russian couple to emigrate here. They were both Doctors and their teen son. I brought them to Iandolis a medium to small local grocery store. They were stunned and argued it must be for the Wealthy & Powerful people? Or maybe was just for show? No no I said, look we can put anything in the cart. The cereal aisle blew their minds but she started crying seeing the meat section where you just chose anything. She had never in her life “chosen” protein. If the Butcher had anything he handed you a portion but you had no say as to what cut or how much. Many times in her life she would wait in line at a shop having been told they had a shipment of (fill in the blank, some food item) and often the shop would run out before her turn came. The choices were mind blowing for them for months and they hadn’t seen anything yet as we later took them to other places like the Mall. I worked in a store called The Walrus that sold just jeans. Jeans were Very High Value, Scarce and prized in Moscow. To see store after store with endless racks was unbelievable.
@@annieseaside Thanks for sharing this.
I visited Berlin in 1975 and crossed into East Berlin through Checkpoint Charlie. It was one of the most eye-opening experiences in my life. It was like walking from a technicolor world to one of black and white. East Berlin was stark, cold, unfriendly, and overall not a fun place to be. I spent the day there and when I crossed back to West Berlin, I had seen and experienced all of communism I wanted to ever see. Shortly thereafter I joined the US Army to help make sure that something like that could never happen here. I then spent nearly two years back in West Germany in a tank, thumbing my nose at the Soviets and waiting for WWIII to start, which thanks to us, it never did. Anyone who thinks communism in any form is a good idea is a total and complete idiot.
Been watching you for a long time... finally had to join and support your Channel. Keep up the great work.
As a veteran who served in Germany in the 80s, I can 100% support EVERYTHING you said in the last two videos. I have pictures of east german guards taking pictures of drunk tourists visiting the fence between east and west. On the west side you could walk right up to the fence in places, and tour guides would take you to those places. On the east side you couldn't get within 200 yards or you'd be shot.
Where was this that you could walk right up to the fence 5m from the actual border??
@@SGobuck That depends entirely by what you mean by fence. The fence and the border are 2 different things and there are different fences. One can get close to the border but not be near the fence. He may mean the fences the US put up to keep tourists from creating incidents. Look for the KP stones and the barber poles, that's the border.
@@SGobuck stop being a pedantic prick.
My 8th grade German teacher lived in East Berlin and was a teacher there. She was such a "menace to society" that they finally let her go over to West Berlin. She talked about that crossing moment to us and about how scared she was for herself and her 2 kids because "once she signed the papers disavowing the USSR citizenship, she was no longer protected and the guards could do anything they wanted to her and her 2 kids".
That’s evil, straight up villain behavior
@@TheMNrailfan227 Welcome to Communism, where your rights don't matter and the cake is a lie. As well as southern fruits, not gonna get these....
@@TheMNrailfan227 What else do you expect from Bolsheviks?
@@_Its_Ya_Boy true
Guards could do anything from the moment she was born, it doesn't matter if she was a citizen of DDR (I don't think she was a USSR citizen)
I was 19 when this happened and watchimg this still tears me up every time ... just 9 months earlier i crossed from West to East Germany into Berlin, walked that wall in Kreuzberg during the extreme winter of 88/89, and noone had the slightest idea what would transpire 8 months later. Probably the singular best moment the entire german culture has ever experienced in their whole history.
I think the most telling thing for me about the footage of the wall going down was how the people literally tore it down with whatever they could find. The German people practically tore down a concrete wall, topped by barbed wire and with armed guards _with their bare hands_ . No one really coordinated, so basically none of them had demolition or military experience, yet with pure _muscle power_ they ripped down a fortification that had been improved on for so many years. The funny thing is, it validated the threat of zombie hordes for me. Because if the living, who had so much to fear, could rip this thing apart so rapidly, the dead could have done so that much easier.
Biden is the head zombie in the US, the rest are coming over the border
A serious contender for a new video should be Josef Menčik, the last knight. He was a Czech guy living in the 20th century who liked to ride a horse wearing full medieval plate armour and lived in a castle with no electricity. He collected medieval artifacts and tried to get young people interested in history by inviting schools to his castle. In 1938 the Nazis crossed the border into Czechoslovakia and Menčik prepared for war. Despite being 68 he got into his armour, onto his horse and charged at panzers crossing the border with his halberd. He wasn't shot at by the invading Nazis and was left be. He survived the war and died in 1945, a few days after his castle was nationalised by the Czechoslovak government.
Here from Mark Felton's video as well?
Imagine invading a foreign country, you see a castle, and this sixty something year old man comes charging at you on a horse and in full Knight's armour with a pike, screaming at the top of his lungs scariest shit ever.
@@rjtrageser9884 sounds like the next Hollywood movie plot actually.....
@@BQwain Yup, Mel Gibson or Stallone, which ever is available for a couple of weeks... "Mad Max on a Clydesdale." What a concept!! 👍😂🤣
Sounds like a real life don quiote.
As someone who almost daily drives over the old east/west border for work, let me tell you that you can still see the difference between Bundesrepublik und DDR to this day.
If you see the old inner german border stripe in person, you instantly realize how insanely rediculous the whole thing was.
But if people are determined enough, they will find a hole in any obstacle ... to a point where you have entire museums showcasing all the ways to escape.
I studied in Berlin in the late 80s. Because it was cheaper, I would fly into East Berlin and transfer over to West Berlin...It was like one side was in Black and White and the other in Technicolor and the most surreal thing I have ever seen is looking out either side of the bus as you passed between the walls.
When tyrants pop up, it turns out mankind doesn't like em and if they can they will escape them and if that doesn't work, shit might get violent
I visited West and East Berlin as a teenager. Even then, at such a young age, I could plainly see a night and day difference. It was sobering.
My father worked for military intelligence intercepting communications (mostly between the Stasi and the KGB) and translation at Field Station Berlin (aka Teufelsberg "Devil's Mountain") from 1963-1969. He has some harrowing stories about Checkpoint Charlie, and other stories he doesn't tell much. One of his functions was to monitor communications for any hints that the Stasi and KGB were anticipating an "exfiltration" of a VIP.
My mother, sister and I all also lived in West Berlin, East Germany which looks weird to even write now.
One of the few times I ever saw him cry was when the wall finally came back down.
Check the street lights and you can see where the old lines were.
Also an Army Intel brat, lived there Feb 80 to Feb 83 and remember having t-shirt that said “I’m not a tourist, I live here.”
Thank you for sharing history into such a good digestible way for people. It shines a light on the phrase, "those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it."
I remember watching that on TV. Makes me cry now.
Fun fact: My father was in the American army and stationed with 10th SFG in Germany. One day, while out and about he saw this (his words) bodacious German woman walk out of the same apartment building he lived in. She wanted nothing to do with him. Of course after some American smokth talking they finally went out on a date. She still hated him. She would see him around and come to find out they had a mutual friend and they both showed up at her house party. With a little gluwein and couple beers they found out they actually had nothing in common. They got along though and after a while she started to kinda like him in her own very German very cold kinda way. I was born a year later or so. A year later, when my pops was on r&r, they took a trip up to Berlin and the news of people storming the checkpoints spread like wildfire. My mom refused to let my dad talk her out of seeing this moment in her peoples history. They both witnessed the fall of the wall and my mother actually took up a pickaxe and smashed it a few times herself for funsies. We have two chunks of that wall framed in the living room at their home.
that's a fantastic story of perseverance and drive.
your father that is, not the wall falling lmao. a cold german woman into a wife and mother as an american solider in the cold war had to have been some work lmao
For me this was one of your best videos you have made so far! Why? Because as a former East-GermanI can say you nailed it. Without doing a to deep dive into the historical facts and circumstances your summary is conclusive and correct. My wife’s uncle and aunt escaped East-Germany via the Baltic Sea, I myself explored every possibility to flee to Freedom since I was 14 years old. In 1989 I was active in the counterrevolution against the communist dictatorship in East-Germany.
The press conference held by Günter Schabowski on the 8th November 1989 I followed live together with my father. After Schabowski uttered the famous words "to my knowledge, this applies immediately, immediately", my father and I drank a cognac to the end of the communist dictatorship in East Germany, which was only a democratic republic by name.
By the way, thanks and appreciation to Ronald Reagan who stood in front of the "Brandenburger Tor" and said the most important words in direction of M. Gorbachev:"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!", these words gave a lot of hope …
Too many now look at him as someone who was just an old coot who didn't know what he was doing half the time when in fact he was playing 4th dimensional chess against everyone else's checkers, building opportunities for a future few others could see. He had some of the brightest minds behind him and wasn't afraid of the world's bullies.
@@chrismaverick9828Which him?
Ronald Reagan. @@Damons-Old-Soul
Fantastic story, and thank you for sharing it.
These comments are bringing a tear to my eye.
I don’t know if you have already but you have to do a video on one of if not the most badass SAS member during WW2. Sir Christopher Lee who met rasputins assassin’s, fought in the winter war, was an inspiration for james bond, was a descendant of Charlemagne, nazi hunter and released a metal album at 88.
I remember that Brokaw broadcast. I was ten. Crazy the details you remember when you see it again.
I had the misfortune of having to attend some feelings training for work, and the instructor claimed the Berlin Wall was to keep the West out of the East. I tried to correct her, but she claimed that's what her source said. My response was "No one was shot going across the wall from west to east."
Don't bother argueing with an idiot.......they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.....mark twain.
Absolute insanity.
Just laugh and say ya people love starvation and spending 40 hours a week for bread that costs a dollar in the west.
Did you tell her about when one of the Soviet leaders (can't remember which one) came to America he went and toured a groceries store and said "My country is doomed"?
@@hockey66191that was the last guy, Mikhail Gorbachev.
I remember watching this on TV. David Hasselhoff (the actor) displayed his European popularity as a pop-singer. German citizens were attacking the wall with whatever tools they had available, at some points, after breaking out much of the concrete, they would use their own bodies as counterweights to pull the sections down.
Haven't even made it to the main video and the interaction with your dog just brought a huge smile...gotta love the doggies!
Taking a break from binge watching you videos. You've hooked me, and can't wait for more. Just picked up ma Get off my lawn T and War crimes hat. Looking forward to the new merch. Keep up the great work
I was in HS when the wall fell. It didn't really sink in until that moment how precious freedom is to everyone. 🙏🇺🇸
My uncle in highschool was able to be the last class from his school to go through checkpoint Charlie the year before the wall came down. Hearing the story from him every time is amazing.
You have one of the best channels that I have ever seen. Keep putting more on
I grew up in Berlin.
I regret that I have but one upvote for this video.
Having lived in Berlin soon after the fall of the wall, it was quite clear and obvious, the need to destroy basically all of the still bombed out buildings from the "die neue funf," and replace it with modernity. I thank you for this video, it's my favorite Christmas Present! FYI, in 1997 every other apartment building in Friedhrichshain, Berlin, Prenzlberg Berlin, and Angerbrucke Leipzig still had bomb damage from World War II, 42 years after the fact. The damage done to the communities during the communist era of the DDR ecologically as well as in the zeitgeist of the people is still not erased. One could argue, that 15 years or so of Nazism, was less damaging even with the War, as opposed to 40 years of communistic peace and it's devestation to land and mind, even the mindset in the old east is still idiotic and authoritarian. Russian culture clearly struggles to get rid of it as well. Communism may just be the most evil thing that has happened to the world and yet it's taught as a nice alternative in half of American Universities by those that never understood the terror.
No, it's pretty much a fact that 40 years of communism is worse than 15 years of socialism and war.... Which is pretty horrible itself.
I pent about a month studying in Berlin in the 80s. It was wild walking around East Berlin and realizing how many scars of ww2 were obvious...even more so when compared with the vibrancy of West Berlin.
One could argue, that 15 years or so of Nazism, was less damaging even with the War, as opposed to 40 years of communistic peace but that would only take place at those American Universities that are teaching communism. The ones that aren't are teaching people not to argue but to accept doctrine without question.
Aslo, I would argue that after reading de Toqueville (1835) and his opinion on America and (at that time, Imperial) Russia, on could better understand Russian cultures struggles with the Communist philosophy.
Relative peace of Communism? Relative to what? Real peace?
@@revscottymaelstrom are you asking an actual question? Is it peaceful to wonder if the secret police are going to arrest you every night, if the government will come into your home and confiscate your food every night, or lock you in solitary confinement on trumped up charges in a room one foot wide and only four feet tall in the dark for 12 hours for not knowing something?
I attended the American High School in Ludwigsburg, about 10 km from Stuttgart in the early 1960s, when my dad was stationed there in the US Army. We were in Berlin in December 1961 and among other things, visited Check Point Charlie. Standing upon the viewing platform, looking into East Berlin was just chilling. It looked like WWII had stopped yesterday. The rubble had been cleared from the sidewalks but not removed. When I turned to look back at West Berlin, I saw a new, vibrant city with beautiful wide streets and people walking along taking care of their daily business. There was no comparison between the two.
The Berlin Wall had been erected a couple of months before our visit and I could see the wall go through a kitchen from one side to the other, just a foot or two behind the open window. It looked like the East Germans soldiers had laid a "snap-line" across the city and laid a straight line regardless how it happened to go through the buildings. It was just a straight line across the city. I've traveled through much of 1960s Europe, and all 50 American States with my parents, and many Asian countries around the Pacific Rim, in the US Navy. I never viewed any place that appeared as cold as East Berlin that day. I may have made a short visit but I can never claim to understand how the people who experienced it every day felt.
My parents both felt that the four children in our family needed to see these things that remained from WWII. They, even then, were concerned that society, in the future, would try to stifle the truth of what happened in that time. They were right... much of that history is no longer in any school curriculum today. Regardless of who made the original comment, the society who forgets their past is condemned to repeat it.
I remember this like it was yesterday. And not 34 years ago.
A couple of haunting stories that have filtered down from the fall of the Berlin wall. The first was about an elderly lady who owned a third floor apartment. Apparently whatever agency that was in charge of seeing she was cared for just abandoned the AO. Her body was found about 15 years in the same apartment. As it had been cold when wall fell, she had her heat cranked up and the high heat had mummified her. The other story wasn't quite as grim. Guy owns an apartment. For some reason the building management needed to access the apartment. So they summoned a locksmith, opened it up and it was an absolute time capsule. There was a newspaper neatly folded on the kitchen dinette dated November 9th and the TV was tuned to whatever channel the announcement was made on. There were multiple signs that he had at least one dog, but no dog corpses were found. Nor was there any leash found. Dudes heavy jacket was missing from the coat closet. So it appeared he heard the news on TV, packed up Mans Best Friend, and beat feet before the government changed its mind. Just left his whole life behind.
I was 6 YO when the Berlin Air Lift began. I remember in the news of the day (yes, I could read). When the wall ent up in 1961 I was a Lance Corporal in the USMC. infantry. In 1989 when the all came down I was a civilian wording as a freelance photographer writer. A such rich of my work required staying aware of world conditions, and so I stayed tuned in. Ronald Reagan and GHW Bush we instrumental in that collapse. It grieve me today that so many do not see that Putin is re-incation of Stalin, and that too many Americans and Conrgess persons do not realize that because they do not know history. I hope that people will watch this video and read this comment. it's late for me and I am turning in. Tomorrow I will join your channel. Good Work!
One of the most incredible men I've ever known made it over the wall in 1963 as an 18-year-old. His mother had always told him that if he got the chance to take it and not look back. He was a delivery boy for a hardware store and had two pails of paint he was delivering when he saw a ladder set up at a low point of the wall with another ladder set up of the Western side with not a soul observing anywhere. He climbed to the top, set the paint down and scaled down. Two weeks later he was working as a landscaper in New York, joined the U.S. Army and went on to be brass in Army CID. He was one of the most humble and polite men I've ever known and a true gentleman. One of his sons became a Marine and the other became a Cav Scout. I am lucky to have known him.
I was there in Berlin when the wall fell, and it was truly a pivotable moment in history. I was 10 years old at the time, and the energy in the air was infectious! There's an iconic photo of a hand reaching through the wall from the east shaking another Germans hand from the west. The West Germans hand was my brother, Boris'.
I'm so grateful that I was alive during that time and have not for one moment of my life ever considered communism to be a solution or an answer to the problems of humanity. I remember all too well, but it was like visiting the east after the wall came down. It was literally like going back in time. The people had a few to know choices with what they could buy, have, learn, or share. It was like going back in time into a weird, sterile, sci-fi movie, and I will never forget it.
Now Germany is awash with migrants from every other nation raping your women and resources. You guys can't catch a fuckin' break over there.
und bald ist der ganze westen komm.... Kannst dich dann wieder in die Zeit zurückversetzt fühlen😄😉😔
Wow the East Germans hand was my brother, Ludwig 😮
East germany, If anything it was better than Germany today, Stasi also doesn't make a difference, Infact the Stasi is better than what we have today which is digital espionage and arrests based on anti-woke opinions you posted online, It was infact more free since camera's didn't exist, It was also more cheap, The gas was cheap, The diesel was cheap, Electricity DIDN'T have a price since it was directly pulled off your wages, Everyone had a home as soon as they turned 18,
Right upon joining west germany all of that went to sh, my father said all the issues were literally turned upsidedown as soon as east german combined with west germany, instead of people wanting to leave you instead had a overinflux of immigrants, instead of a waiting list for a car of a couple years (which isn't bad since public transport was everywhere and cheap as hell) you now have a waiting list for a terrible apartment of a couple years (which is worse because unlike public transport there is literally no other option apart from staying with your parents till your 24th) instead of low living costs the costs were increased by 10-15 times.
@@valyshknee4203 It's amazing how you said all that shit, instead of just saying "I'm a mindless commie automaton that needs to be removed from the planet.".
My favorite random fact about the Berlin wall coming down is that David Hasselhoff was there, singing.
Literally Knight Rider yelling english over all the chaos 😂
My guy, You don't Hassel the Hoff in Germany. He's a national treasure over there.
@@lousbk Barely any Germans care about him. It's more of a joke here rather than a serious thing.
Why is Hasslehoff so fucking chaotic lmaoooooo
"I've been looking for Freedom..." There is footage on UA-cam of it. I did not realise he could sing so well.
I must find video of this!
Great video! Having lived through that time, and as a former Cold Warrior, you nailed it.
This was a ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC video and really well put together thank you sir keep up the good work!
👍
I studied this as it took place, I was in the 7th grade when President Reagan demanded the walk to be torn down. I love the fact younger folks know how awful communism is. I have no clue how anyone could ever believe this is a good political ideal. I have German friends that migrated here in the mid 80’s. Their Dad was held captive after being an engineer that was allowed to come over and advise on infrastructure. After about a year he was released. Once released he applied to work in the U.S. and took his family with him. Never returning to Germany. Well I have not seen them since 1993. But his dad would tell us some horrible stories that have me nightmares. No shit, scared the shit out of me that, that could happen here. I am thankful I listened and glad they became Americans.
in my country, some young people are getting/being disillusioned by communism right now, and that same group of people doesnt like/hate learning or reading things about history written by legitimate people... and im really concerned, i like my current freedom...
The thing is, a lot of younger kids (which i am a part of that group) would rather have socialism or communism, and, from what ive seen, its most of the people who want to shut down arguments against their ideals, and that terrifies me.
Communism as an ideal is actually in my opinion the best economic model but it will never be possible with humans the way we are. Just like with capitalism in America now human greed and selfishness always ruins things. With communism it just goes downhill faster because of the requirement of government intervention. It would be amazing if everyone worked for the benefit of society, no one had to go without food, water or shelter, or go into life changing debt because of an injury, but it won’t happen until we change fundamentally as a whole.
@jayjay1234540 I disagree, Jamestown I believe was essentially communist, pure communism, but it lead to their downfall
@@jayjay1234540Communism as an economic model is inherently evil because it requires the monopolozation of lethal force by a governing body to impliment.
As someone who wasn't alive when it came down, I appreciate people like you going out of your way to inform people what happened. If it wasn't for people like you, events like these would remain as vague footnotes that were barely taught in school. Thank you
I graduated in 2019 and I wish I learned actual history... Not what they taught in schools
I was 9 when the Wall came down and I feel like it's still the most important moment of history I witnessed live.
I was 6 when dad was stationed in germany from 88-91. My mother was half german and picked me up and put me infront of the tv when the wall was coming down. Didn't know it at the time but i was watching history.......those germans partied their ASSES off. I have a german teddy bear with a piece of the berlin wall in his arms in my schrank and its a good piece with some of the graffiti visible. We sent my grandparents a nutcracker back of a stone mason breaking the piece of the wall.
i was 6 my dad almost cried and told me he was so happy that the cold war ended
imagine having a child and wondering when the nukes would fly.
that was the cold war for millions upon millions of people world wide.
me and you had basically the same experience except my father was air force and we were in the states. my dad was very happy the cold war ended.
thats beautiful btw
lets make sure communism doesnt rise in the west so that they didnt celebrate for nothing.
@@Banthisyoutube-zs6sx
You're one of the best history teachers I've ever listened to. Please keep doing what you do. And thanks.
I don't think it's ever been explained better than that 20 minute video. Congrats!
As a Gen X kid I got to see all of this unfold from the early 70s peak cold war, to the fall of the wall and the beginning of "Glasnost". The Hot air balloon escape actually had a movie made about it called Night Crossing produced by ( of all people ) Mo' Fuggin; DISNEY! I remember seeing it as a kid in theatres. I was obsessed with the wall in my youth and used to read anything and everything I could get my hands on about it. My English teachers got sick of seeing book reports about yet another tale of the Berlin wall from me. Thank fully, my kids learned about communism from me and their late mother ( who just happened to be an MP on the wall in 86 ), and the lesson stuck. Thank you for this history lesson for the ones that may have been not paying attention in the back.
Makes sense honestly in my experience most english teachers are already border line commies......i got along with a grand total of 1 english teacher in my time in an academic setting.
You know when someone has a sob story about their terrible day, and then they say thanks for a video that took my mind off things for twenty minutes? That's me today. I'm in my forties and not a kid, but it still freaked me out to see my Mom with a ventilation tube in the ICU. So it's not just I had a flat tire and spilled my coffee, and it's not that I needed a giggle for the evening. Thanks for being a quality source of content on the good days and bad.
I know that shock well. Prayers for your Mom, and for you.
I hope you and your family are doing ok
Now I'm the one here thanking strangers for their kindnesses. 🫶🏻
Prayers for your mom and all your family.
Praying for your mom, brother.
Been a rough few days. Finally getting to this video...
I cracked at the opening. This is gonna be great!
While on the topic you should do a video on No Kum Suk the north korean pilot that defected back in the 50s.
My grandmother is from Germany and when I was growing up here in America she always had a random chunk on display next to all the family photos my entire childhood. Eventually as a teen I asked her why it was there and she said to keep her humble and grateful to be an American as it was a chunk of concrete or brick from the Berlin wall she took after it was demolished.
My adoptive father has a chunk as well, he was stationed in berlin when the wall fell.
Go back to Germany
German are never Americans
German are
Never Americans
Im also suprised you didnt bring up The Standoff at Checkpoint Charlie at all, where Eastern and Western Tank crews basically stood barrel-to-barrel at the border, DARING eachother to either shoot or back up a mutual inch.
They both opted for the latter, literally inching away from the precipice of World War 3
Excellent video as always! Yours is amongst the best content on YT.
89 was a busy year for me. Berlin wall, hurricane Hugo, and 16 inches of snow. All between September to January.
I had already been stationed in West Germany for about a year when the wall came down. You never made a more truthful statement than describing that block party. But, it wasn't just a block party, it was a COUNTRY party. The West Germans were celebrating like nobody's business. I don't think I bought a drink for a month. They were so happy and so appreciative, I've never seen anything like it. Until the whole Country reunified. I'm not going to describe that here, but I think you can form a picture. Thanks for another great video.
My mom remembers that day, she invited all her friends for her birthday and wanted to party, they all were glued to the TV though
I was stationed in Berlin from 1982 to 1984. I saw the bread lines and oppression. I do not want that for myself or my children.
A patrol from my platoon witnessed the escape with the zip line.
The guy had an accomplice on the west. It was his brother.
The escapee was halfway across when our patrol came by.
Our standing orders were that we couldn't shoot unless rounds were impacting on our side of the wall.
The East German Border guards were paid a bounty for shooting a person trying to escape.
The patrol Sargent saw the situation and dismounted from the jeeps. Positioned two M60 machine-guns in the direction of the East German Border Guards.
The Border Guards sized up the situation and made the decision to let the guy escape instead of die from instant lead poisoning.
My understanding is those two brothers were the ones to rescue their other brother in the plane.
For all the people who want communism. Go live in a communist country and see how you like it.
Because obviously you don't know what you are talking about.
We’ve had bread lines here in America, under a Republican administration. We got to the point where police were called because people were either shoplifting or fighting over toilet paper.
We have parents who demand control of not only what their child learns in school, but YOUR child as well, if you really think critically about it.
We have veterans of wars and other armed conflicts that are homeless or are in failing health because our corporate-owned capitalist government loves using troops and veterans like yourself and pawns and marketing tools while neglecting their health and needs during and after service.
At this point I see no difference between a “communist” government and a capitalist government because a government that is build on economic systems instead of by the people and for the people will inevitably become corrupt.
Capitalism and Communism are theories of economic systems to which has ONE thing in common, nobody is ever equal.
We as a people MUST do better to make sure our children have a world, at the bare minimum, that isn’t constantly on fire.
@CarbideSix what communists country did you live in?
@@thomashosch930 I think you missed the point of what I was saying.
@CarbideSix I don't think so.
You would never be able to complain about the government if you lived in a communist country.
If you really think communism is better. Immigrate to the communist country of your choice.
Try it out. Then you will know if what you are saying is true or not.
Give it a try if that's your conviction.
After you been there for a few years, let me know.
@@thomashosch930 either you didn’t read what I said in its entirety, or you’re being obtuse. Nowhere did I say that communism would be better than capitalism. I opined that governments that are based on economic systems are doomed to be corrupt.
I said both communist and capitalist governments are corrupt because of this. Governing by economics is a fool’s errand, doomed to fail.
12:37
The love of a family, and the will of a father sometimes is enough to try something as insane as that is beautiful.
Absolutely love the (very fun way you present) educational material. Excellent method!
Nic, you made me cry there at the end.
My grandfather was killed by that Soviet vomit of ideologies they claimed was a government.
The wall coming down symbolizes so much more than just the unification of a city, and a people
Could you do Witold Pilecki, who got wacked by the commies after infiltrating Auschwitz and escaping 2 years later. He fought in the Warsaw uprising and executed in 1948 by commies. Thanks. Polska 🇵🇱
Inmate 4859🤔
@@MLK_Sold_Black_america_out Super gangster 🇵🇱
@@MLK_Sold_Black_america_out
Yes, actually.
Intentionally gets sent to auschwitz. Breaks out. Reports to allies. They dont believe him. Gets himself sent back again on purpose. Breaks out again....
Witold, Witold, who knows your name?
Excellent, Joe!!! As a kid, I vaguely remember the building of der Mauer (the Wall) in '62, and I certainly remember November '89 when it came down. Love this episode. Love your channel. KOKO, bro. (That's Keep on keepin' on, bro.)
Immaculate Opening
Thank You Great Man
The Comfort Of Man Know’s No Bounds
What did the communists use before oil lamps?
Electricity! 😂
I served in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment from '76 to '80 in Bad Kissingen, Germany. Our unit patrolled the East/West German Border. I was on border duty when those two families escaped in that balloon. They landed in the sector to our north and were picked up by US Troops. I also have many stories about the Iron Curtain and yes it turned East Germany into one big prisoncamp.
Thanks for your service!
Blackhorse!
Allons sir, thats a pretty neat story
"I could do this all day."
Bet. I could LISTEN to you all day, bro
Absolutely love this channel. I’m a teacher and if I could play this stuff in history (or my science class) I would. Keep doing these and I’ll happily watch.
Perfect intro, man. Communism doesn't know how.
The story of the two families making a balloon to escape got turned into a pair of movies, one in German and a couple of years later into an English language movie done by Disney called Night Crossing. Always remember watching as a kid confused why anyone would do that to their own people. Thanks for the video.
As a german who loves the english language i've never heard about that movie! Well, "Ballon", the german one but never "Night Crossing"
On my movie-list now!
I remember that day so clearly. Seeing the people of Germany tearing down the wall that had separated them was a beautiful and emotional moment.
Outstanding narration! Thank you for that.
The rants on communism are always hysterical! Keep up the good work.
Please explain what he got wrong. :-)
@@peterbolinger6304hysterical means funny, he finds them entertaining not incorrect
@@kylezdancewicz7346 my bad, miss read the tone
Love all your anti communist stuff. Cult criteria was also amazing.
Right? He just described the MAGA movement with the cult criteria.
@@forged_ it aint just maga. both sides of the US political system have been turned into cults. at this point we should burn everything but the constitution and the first ten amendments and start over
Clown alert
@@forged_ The only thing YOU forged was your sister-wife's birth certificate. PLEASE show up and block the road somewhere. I've got a truck bumper with your name on it.
@@ronjones-6977don’t go to his level, I don’t think that most people realize that it’s not trump that people like so much but that it’s the fact he doesn’t LIE (I know he does to some degree) to the same extent as every other politician, it’s that he doesn’t need to be a politician like career politicians do, before being in politics he was beloved by most of the public and he didn’t have to risk all of that. I’m an in no way a fan of trumps character or how he acts but it is also refreshing to see someone more truthful on a podium than the career liar-- I mean politicians try at have been on said podium for years beforehand.
TLDR: people don’t realize that it’s not trump we like but people who don’t bullshit us like politicians do
Never saw your short vids but got introduced to your long form and I love this stuff! Keep up the vids man I love the strange occurrences in war, would love to hear about some more animal heroes! (maybe not voytek cause he’s talked about A lot)
Severely underrated video and over-all content creator. As a husband and father living in North America, I respect the shit outta this man.
My father was stationed in Germany at the time. We went to go see the wall being torn down. I remember there were people selling all sorts of stuff from makeshift stalls. People were hammering at the wall with sledgehammers, as East Germans were pouring through the freshly made gaps. Got a couple pieces of the wall somewhere among all my junk. At 7 years old, it was a defining moment, and one that I'll never forget.
My dad was also stationed there in the mid-80s, as commander of AFN Europe. We left a few years before the wall came down. Some of his former staff at AFN sent him a piece of the wall inside a beautiful shadow box, and it was one of his most prized possessions.
My mother still has a piece of the Berlin wall somewhere. Ironically she doesn't speak any german at all.
As a german who grew up with two parents from western germany, you can not imagine the absolut chaos followed by the most end of the world party ever when the wall came down. There are obviously pictures and videos of it, but it was such a life changing event that everybody can tell you exactly where they where and what they where doing when it came down. Especially people from east germany, alltho those stories usually involve a Trabi full of Bananas (if you know you know).
Thank you very much for covering this, I think its insane that not more people know about this and keep forgetting about this when talking about the failed experiement that is comunisem. Love from germany ❤
Now I wish I knew about the bananas
You can't really call communism a "failed experiment" when it was never tried nor achieved to begin with. The Soviet Union was socialist not communist.
Socialism is a mode of production/economic system that can be used as a mode of transition to communism, but that takes a long time especially when outside forces continuously get in the way.
@@mile3018 Haha, well in the east they had basically nothing, especiqlly no exotic foods, so bananas to begin with, so when the wall came down a lot of people drove across the border to buy all the bananas up because it was such a special thing. Basically everyone you ask has a bananas story, you could say, its pretty.... bananas 🙃
@@Typhlo_ttv You didn't watch the video did you?
@@ptprojektredreminds me of my grandma. My grandma had one tiny suitcase full.of memories. She grew up dirt poor in the west after the war. One of her few "treasures" were orange wrappers. I remember saying something smartass about it to my mom when i was younger of why grandma had kept "trash". Typical reagan era baby mentality i had. Mom sat me down and explained how getting an orange was a big deal when my grandma was young. It finally clicked in my 10 uear old head why i always got an orange and an apple in my christmas stocking every year.
Thank you for the video man
As a German the storys about the "Wiedervereinigung" - The Reunion of Germany still makes me proud af. I was very young at the time but still.
To unite a split country under occupation (one side way harsher and worse for the people than the other) by 2 mayor adveseries, without a single shot fired, is still a miracle to me.
One Germany, ein Deutschland.
Thank you for covering this!
"Capitalism is the worst system out there, except for all the other ones."
I love it lol
Like democracy.
Awesome video! Love this topic since my grandfather was a spy for the Army over there and crossed back and forth across the demarcation line undercover, I was lucky enough to hear some really cool stories about it.
I visited the wall outside of Berlin in 1988 when there was still some of the old wall left. They also had giant thorns.
I was 10 when this happened. I was at an age where I knew something big was happening, but couldn’t be bothered to care. My teacher was from West Berlin and often talked about life there. The next day at school after the wall came down, she was so happy she was crying as she explained it all to us.
I didn't know any of this until 2004 - My great grandmother who was born before WW2 was part of an anti-nazi resistance and helped Jewish people and others escape Nazism, she did it again after the Berlin Wall came up by planning a series of tunnels and also conducted psychological warfare with her group as a distraction to the guards posted all over the wall. She was the badass of the family
you better live up to that legacy
communism is tyranny with the veneer of justice.
never forget never forgive.
based grandma moment
@@alicorn3924 Oma was the definition of "F*** around and find out" before it was known
Cool😎
my great grandfather was god and created life also my dad works at call of duty
19:15 That's Tom Brokaw! 😊 I use to watch him with my grandparents in the 70's and on through the 80's!
I'm old enough to have seen the wall go up and I watched it come down, live on TV. I sat on my couch with tears of joy streaming down my face.