Did you file a criminal complaint or did they explain it's a civil matter? (What was this channel rated? What should it have been rated? What service rated it? When did they rate it?)
Another politician that English speakers might be interested in is Günter Schabowski. Everyone remembers his slipup during the press conference when he prematurely announced a new open travel policy. But he is one of the few Politbüro members who admitted wrongdoing and criticized the policies of the SED. He wrote an autobiographical book titled "Der Absturz" (The Crash). He also wrote a book in collaboration with a West German journalist titled "Wir haben fast alles falsch gemacht" (We did almost everything wrong). His descriptions of top SED officials and life in the Waldsiedlung Wandlitz, the exclusive neighborhood in a forest where top SED officials lived a life of relative luxury, are also interesting.
I worked in former DDR from 1992 to the end of 1999. I met a lot of people with stories about their lives in the DDR regime. I find your channel fascinating
Actually, many videos could be made concerning "Die Männer der ersten Stunde" (The men of the first hour). This group of German expats was brought to Berlin from Moscow in the Summer of 1945 from Moscow with instructions to set up a Socialist (or Communist) government in Germany. Ulbricht was the head of this group.
Fantastic video, man. I'm an Asia who's been living in Berlin for 3+ years now. Your videos give me an unique opportunity to peep into the nuanced history of this country. Keep up the good work! Mach weiter so!
Ulbricht even tried to produce a GDR passenger plane (Baade 152). It ended in a disaster. If I compare him to his successor, I must admit that Ulbricht understood that initiative and activity are necessary if you want to achieve something. Honecker's creativity ended in the hunter's lodge once his intrigue with Breshnev was done and his portrait grinned from every wall in the GDR.
To bad.... for several technical reasons the Baade 152 never could be a sucsesfull airliner, but it could have made a start for a new sucsesfull brand. After all Germans had shown know that thay how to build aircraft.
23:10 At the time of his 80th birthday (June 1973) Ulbricht is overthrown by Honecker since two years (April 1971). You have to mention that U. in this period is deeply humiliated by his successor. Still in his lifetime his name is extinguished from public facilities, academies, sport stadium and even stamps.
These videos are an absolut like. German seriousness and reliability. German sense of humour and irony. Great stuff. The GDR was always a weird thing!!
Ahem, he is from the _Netherlands_, which explains the short, straight and esp. unpretentious reporting of facts. But he is pronouncing German names nearly perfect. On the other hand, surprisingly, he messes up "socialistic" with "social-democratic". I.e., "SPD" means "Sociall-democratics Party of Germany". The east-german SPD suffered from an enforced enemy-takeover by the communistic KPD when forming the eastern SED, which he reports rather correctly. And there is a _huge_ difference, since e.g. for starters, social democrats don't reach for a one-party dictatorship, but want people to vote freely, etc.. Btw, I'd like to see a video a video on the SED, what happened to it (
As a Pole intresed in the history of the Communist Block this channel is a gem. Keep up the good work! BTW I've never thought Walter Ulbricht was so resentful!
Well done. As a young freaky kid loving history and geopolitics in the 1960’s, I followed the two Germanys assiduously. You provided great background material. Bravo.
You have done a really interesting and well done documentary. I visited once in East Berlin. It was maybe year 1986. I did stay in West Berlin but I spent one day in East Berlin. Divided Berlin was like a night and day. West was rich, free and lively but East was dull and gray. Restaurant in East Berlin didn´t have any salads and only Selyanka soup was on menu. :) How ever museums and even ruins were interesting in East Berlin. I saw even the famous Congress Palace which was later demolished. I visited again in Berlin 2007. Potsdamer Plats had new, modern buildings, shopping centers etc. 1986 Potsdamer Plats was just an open field, and urban jungle. Berlin is now again a great city. Greetings from Finland.
'Old men who speak of victory shed light upon their stolen lives, they drive by night and act as if they're moved by unheard music.' The Thin Wall, Ultravox.
What a wonderful addition to the channel ! Thank you ! I’ve been fascinated by Ulbricht , in spite of his dry, very antiseptic image, since seeing such pictures of him as the one with him speaking at a meeting cohosted with Goebbels ! Or standing alongside Stalin for his birthday celebration, in close proximity to Mao, Khrushchev, and Kaganovich !
Ahh...interesting thanks. I was wondering where FBI's psyop of Silk Road Takedown magically manifested the operative name of Ross Ulbricht. Knew it had a German connect as the hidden Romanov heirs are half German, but now the Ulbricht named rat line in honor of previous comrades makes perfect sense. Not a COIN CID ENCE. Always been a plan.
Top content weer. Professioneel gemaakt. Ik kijk uit naar de volgende. Overigens meen ik gelezen te hebben dat Ulbricht zich nogal met het privé-leven van zijn geadopteerde dochter heeft bemoeid. Met de bekende tragische afloop tot gevolg.
By sheer coincidence I happened to see Ulbrichts funeral - as I was visiting East Berlin at the moment. I was 13 y/o at the time and didn't have a clue who the man was - but it was impressive enough to take a couple of snaps. We were there for an entirely different reason, but we just bumped into the funeral procession - somewhere between Friedrichstrasse and Alex if I remember correctly (it's half a century ago, you know).
@@tacob0 That's probably why you think it's the worst. Being Dutch too, I can't stand the accent either, but are Italians or French better? Probably not :P
@@jemoeder5347 Italian accents are awesome, french id agree is also horrible, but them talking in english is still better then talking french at least xD
So often, history clips go over familiar subject matter. Often they add to my understanding, sometimes in surprising ways. This channel is a perfect delight, as the subject matter and the dramatis personae are at best slightly known to me and always present me with new horizons. Do please remember to hit the 'like' button as a mark of appreciation for Olaf's hard work, as You Tube isn't always kindest to what it regards as "niche" subjects. It's scarey to realise how much of my own life has now passed into history!!
In 1953, the East German propaganda apparatus produced a heroic portrait movie about Walter Ulbricht, pathetically called "Baumeister des Sozialismus" (Builder of Socialism). After quashing the June 17th uprising, this pic was deemed politically inopportune and disappeared in the archives. I watched it in an East Berlin cinema in the 1990s, a few years after the GDR had shut down. The audience was split: half were older folks from the East, most of whom piously following the praise on their ole' Walter. The other half were younger people enjoying the involuntarily comical moments of the film, bursting out laughing at times. I don't think the younger cinemagoers ever realized how much their laughter pissed off the older ones - what a show!
Tough subject, verry well researched. For some unknown reason i always was verry interested in what was goin on in the GDR. looking forward to your next video. Dank en beste groet, Pascal.
Amazing work yet again! I'd be interested in videos about the DDR economy, the efficiency deficits of a state run economy and the Kombinate and their functions, including daycare and such
Thank you for such a detailed look at this chapter from history. In the U.S., we tend to think of East Germany in generalities -- a wall, lot of Olympic medals, and that's about all.
Apologies if this has already been mentioned in another comment but there is a funny, and perhaps illustrative, anecdote about Ulbricht from his time as a Red Army propagandist. After the surrender of what remained of the 6th Army at Stalingrad, the prisoners were formed up on a parade in the ruins. Walter Ulbricht was brought in to give a speech to degrade and harangue the defeated men. Lavrenty Beria, who was there, observed Walter ranting and raving as he bullied his countrymen and in his diaries remarked that he was "the biggest idiot I have ever seen". Source is Anthony Beevor's excellent Stalingrad history.
I've watched several of your videos and am impressed at how well-documented and well-executed they are. And your German is 100% (I believe you remarked your mother was German in one video). My major was German Studies and I got to see both Germanies up close before and after the Wende.
How very well done! This is an excellent overview of this controversial political figure in both the GDR and abroad. I'm looking forward to more videos.
Another good anecdote about the voice and saxon dialect of Ulbricht: The later head of the foreign intelligence department of the Stasi was Markus Wolf. He worked as a Berlin radio journalist during the late 1940s, and asked Ulbricht to speak standard German because people from other places than Saxony may not like his talk just because of the dialect. Ulbricht got upset and insisted to talk the way he liked. Markus Wolf was indeed correct 😉
Dank je wel voor je geweldig filmpje. En ik kijk uit naar beeld van mensen aan de top van DDR. Zoals Honecker, Egon Krenz en hoop stilletjes dat ook Sabine Bergmann-Pohl voorbij komt.
OLAF!! You did it again... more fascinating information about the people of area that has intrigued me, ever since my Uncle told me his stories of when he visited on his Triumph Bonneville motorrad! I recently saw a video by Asianometry about the GDR's disastrous attempt to enter the semiconductor industry. By his account it was pretty brutal to the GDR economy causing a lot of damage. I can't wait to watch your video on Honecker. By the way, would it be possible to see videos on the GDR car industry, including the likes of Wartburg(?). Many thanks!
I have to say that for me Ulbricht looked always grey, no charisma, no fire. It does not mean he was dumb or incompetent given how far he climbed in the party but he wasn't exactly a thrilling, charismatic tribune.
I think was milke Who scapes to Moscow because he kill a two nazis and a police oficiel, in a street fight beteween the political squadrons of kpd vs nsdp.
@@josepetereo2123 They both fled to Moscow. Mielke and another man shot three police officers, but one of them survivedband could identify the shooters. The murders were done on the orders of two senior Communists, who themselves were encouraged by Ulbrcht. Ten Communist Party members fled to Moscow and a further 15 were arrested in connection to the shooting. The two who ordered the hit were later purged by Stalin, while of those arrested three were executed by the German government and the rest sentenced to hard labour or jail terms. Mielke was eventually prosecuted in 1993, after serving as head of the Stasi amongst other roles, following the collapse of East Germany, while Ulbricht by then was already dead from old age. I guess technically he didn't flee to "Moscow" as he initially fled to Paris and Prague and then spent time in Spain, but he eventually ended up in Moscow by 1937.
Ooh what a great channel! I'm very interested in cold war era politics and the GDR in particular. Have you covered Honecker yet? I'll check your videos. Subscribed! 👍
It's always fascinating to learn about East Germany. Those were very dark times. It might not have been as bad as Romania under Ceaușescu, but still pretty bad. The red plague oppressed us for half a century, it destroyed us all.
I was born in Merseburg and never knew we had the German central archive. The pollution was indeed quite terrible. I developed pseudo croup at least two times as a kid and after reunification they sent us on 14 day long class trips two times a year so we could breath some clean air for a change.
When I lived in Berlin 1989 I took the train to stendahl in East Germany,100km from Berlin. The train was so slow snails 🐌 past the train next to the railway tracks
Honecker would be a very interesting video, as Honecker was not in the "Ulbricht Group". Rather, Honecker had spent 10 years in prison between 1935-1945 (he was caught as a Communist spy by the Gestapo). How Ulbricht was pushed out in 1971 is also very interesting material.
Absolutely brilliant in every respect, even German pronunciation. 👏 Beria: “Ulbricht doesn‘t … love his people“. Well, the people didn‘t exactly love Beria either.
Very interesting. The German Democratic Republic has become a footnote of history. But for over 40 years it was a country that claimed to be "real existing socialism." It had high labor participation rates from women who were guaranteed day care for their children. Although East Germans enjoyed many other "economic rights" like cheap housing, free health care, and low food costs, many decided they didn't like socialism, especially when they could watch West German television every day. Everything in East German seemed inferior to what their Western counterparts enjoyed. Constant proclamations that five year plans had been over-fulfilled, but without any noticeable improvement in the economy, just fueled this discontent. It was soon Erich Honecker's turn to seek an opening to the West, only to be called back again by the Soviet Union. When Honecker's protector Breshnev died, Honecker, much like Ulbricht, was also unable to change course. By then, all efforts to salvage the GDR were rejected by East Germans. But these were 40 years when an alternative economic system based on egalitarianism existed on German soil. They should not be forgotten. As disenchantment with capitalism rises, future generations may once again become interested in the East German experiment. That, or maybe fascism as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party steadily gains power.
Yes, but the suppression of civil rights and the inevitable forceable suppression of all internal dissent will never be voluntarily chosen by any free people. Marxist socialism is dead forever. But fascism may well reappear in some form, as we see with Trump.
CRIMINALLY underrated channel. I'm so excited to watch this once I finish work!
Did you file a criminal complaint or did they explain it's a civil matter? (What was this channel rated? What should it have been rated? What service rated it? When did they rate it?)
Another politician that English speakers might be interested in is Günter Schabowski. Everyone remembers his slipup during the press conference when he prematurely announced a new open travel policy. But he is one of the few Politbüro members who admitted wrongdoing and criticized the policies of the SED. He wrote an autobiographical book titled "Der Absturz" (The Crash). He also wrote a book in collaboration with a West German journalist titled "Wir haben fast alles falsch gemacht" (We did almost everything wrong). His descriptions of top SED officials and life in the Waldsiedlung Wandlitz, the exclusive neighborhood in a forest where top SED officials lived a life of relative luxury, are also interesting.
Thank you for the reference!
I worked in former DDR from 1992 to the end of 1999. I met a lot of people with stories about their lives in the DDR regime. I find your channel fascinating
@@bfc3057kinda, it wasn't pleasant overnight!
@@bfc3057 East and West Germany did fully integrate until well into the mid 90's. It took years for it to recover.
Finally a channel whose main purpose is discussing the GDR.
An identical video about Erich Honecker would be a great idea.
He and Mielke.
Actually, many videos could be made concerning "Die Männer der ersten Stunde" (The men of the first hour). This group of German expats was brought to Berlin from Moscow in the Summer of 1945 from Moscow with instructions to set up a Socialist (or Communist) government in Germany. Ulbricht was the head of this group.
Agree - seems like they were similar.
Your prayers have been answered (a month ago)!
This channel is a great dive into GDR history.
Fantastic video, man. I'm an Asia who's been living in Berlin for 3+ years now. Your videos give me an unique opportunity to peep into the nuanced history of this country.
Keep up the good work! Mach weiter so!
Ulbricht even tried to produce a GDR passenger plane (Baade 152). It ended in a disaster. If I compare him to his successor, I must admit that Ulbricht understood that initiative and activity are necessary if you want to achieve something. Honecker's creativity ended in the hunter's lodge once his intrigue with Breshnev was done and his portrait grinned from every wall in the GDR.
To bad.... for several technical reasons the Baade 152 never could be a sucsesfull airliner, but it could have made a start for a new sucsesfull brand. After all Germans had shown know that thay how to build aircraft.
Do you suspect that Honecker performed felatio on Brezhnev?
@@Flies2FLL Ja!
@@Flies2FLLI mean they are kissing each other on the lips so it's not a difficult rumor to say...
23:10 At the time of his 80th birthday (June 1973) Ulbricht is overthrown by Honecker since two years (April 1971). You have to mention that U. in this period is deeply humiliated by his successor. Still in his lifetime his name is extinguished from public facilities, academies, sport stadium and even stamps.
Imagine being berated by Beria for not being friendly enough...
Again, a top class documentary.
These videos are an absolut like.
German seriousness and reliability. German sense of humour and irony.
Great stuff. The GDR was always a weird thing!!
He sounds Dutch to me.
Ahem, he is from the _Netherlands_, which explains the short, straight and esp. unpretentious reporting of facts.
But he is pronouncing German names nearly perfect.
On the other hand, surprisingly, he messes up "socialistic" with "social-democratic".
I.e., "SPD" means "Sociall-democratics Party of Germany".
The east-german SPD suffered from an enforced enemy-takeover by the communistic KPD when forming the eastern SED, which he reports rather correctly.
And there is a _huge_ difference, since e.g. for starters, social democrats don't reach for a one-party dictatorship, but want people to vote freely, etc..
Btw, I'd like to see a video a video on the SED, what happened to it (
As a Pole intresed in the history of the Communist Block this channel is a gem. Keep up the good work!
BTW I've never thought Walter Ulbricht was so resentful!
It sounds to me like he had a chip on his shoulder the size of Moscow
Well done. As a young freaky kid loving history and geopolitics in the 1960’s, I followed the two Germanys assiduously. You provided great background material. Bravo.
You have done a really interesting and well done documentary. I visited once in East Berlin. It was maybe year 1986. I did stay in West Berlin but I spent one day in East Berlin. Divided Berlin was like a night and day. West was rich, free and lively but East was dull and gray. Restaurant in East Berlin didn´t have any salads and only Selyanka soup was on menu. :) How ever museums and even ruins were interesting in East Berlin. I saw even the famous Congress Palace which was later demolished. I visited again in Berlin 2007. Potsdamer Plats had new, modern buildings, shopping centers etc. 1986 Potsdamer Plats was just an open field, and urban jungle. Berlin is now again a great city. Greetings from Finland.
'Old men who speak of victory shed light upon their stolen lives, they drive by night and act as if they're moved by unheard music.' The Thin Wall, Ultravox.
What a wonderful addition to the channel ! Thank you ! I’ve been fascinated by Ulbricht , in spite of his dry, very antiseptic image, since seeing such pictures of him as the one with him speaking at a meeting cohosted with Goebbels ! Or standing alongside Stalin for his birthday celebration, in close proximity to Mao, Khrushchev, and Kaganovich !
Ahh...interesting thanks. I was wondering where FBI's psyop of Silk Road Takedown magically manifested the operative name of Ross Ulbricht. Knew it had a German connect as the hidden Romanov heirs are half German, but now the Ulbricht named rat line in honor of previous comrades makes perfect sense. Not a COIN CID ENCE. Always been a plan.
Top content weer. Professioneel gemaakt. Ik kijk uit naar de volgende. Overigens meen ik gelezen te hebben dat Ulbricht zich nogal met het privé-leven van zijn geadopteerde dochter heeft bemoeid. Met de bekende tragische afloop tot gevolg.
By sheer coincidence I happened to see Ulbrichts funeral - as I was visiting East Berlin at the moment. I was 13 y/o at the time and didn't have a clue who the man was - but it was impressive enough to take a couple of snaps. We were there for an entirely different reason, but we just bumped into the funeral procession - somewhere between Friedrichstrasse and Alex if I remember correctly (it's half a century ago, you know).
Awesome.
The Dutch accent of English is one of the most pleasing non-English accents to listen to.
Although I am not a fan of his American pronunciation of 'Moscow'. 🤣
I think its the worst accent, and im dutch lol. At least he doesnt have it to badly
@@tacob0 That's probably why you think it's the worst. Being Dutch too, I can't stand the accent either, but are Italians or French better? Probably not :P
@@barrysteven5964 He might do it that way because it is extremely close to the normal Dutch way of saying it
@@jemoeder5347 Italian accents are awesome, french id agree is also horrible, but them talking in english is still better then talking french at least xD
So often, history clips go over familiar subject matter. Often they add to my understanding, sometimes in surprising ways. This channel is a perfect delight, as the subject matter and the dramatis personae are at best slightly known to me and always present me with new horizons.
Do please remember to hit the 'like' button as a mark of appreciation for Olaf's hard work, as You Tube isn't always kindest to what it regards as "niche" subjects.
It's scarey to realise how much of my own life has now passed into history!!
These are great. Subscribed. Are you Dutch? Your accent resembles Dutch to me, but your German is very clean.
Another excellent video. Thank you and please, offer us more.
In 1953, the East German propaganda apparatus produced a heroic portrait movie about Walter Ulbricht, pathetically called "Baumeister des Sozialismus" (Builder of Socialism).
After quashing the June 17th uprising, this pic was deemed politically inopportune and disappeared in the archives.
I watched it in an East Berlin cinema in the 1990s, a few years after the GDR had shut down.
The audience was split: half were older folks from the East, most of whom piously following the praise on their ole' Walter.
The other half were younger people enjoying the involuntarily comical moments of the film, bursting out laughing at times.
I don't think the younger cinemagoers ever realized how much their laughter pissed off the older ones - what a show!
Would love to see with English subtitles
Another excellent video. Dont know how I missed this one
This is a very good quality video. Loads of facts, no unnecessary drama, just letting the story speak for itself. Thank you.
Your videos are absolutely excellent👍
I love the longer videos you make. Great work, keeps me coming back!
Tough subject, verry well researched.
For some unknown reason i always was verry interested in what was goin on in the GDR.
looking forward to your next video.
Dank en beste groet, Pascal.
Such a pleasure to listen to your German pronounciation!
Having lived in MV for a few years, I’m glad to watch your videos explaining the DDR with a honest perspective. Thanks
Would love to see a video on Honecker
Olaf, thank you for another enlightening and intelligently presented video (and your command of English is excellent!).
Keep up with this quality content. You will grow amongst those interested in real history.
Amazing work yet again! I'd be interested in videos about the DDR economy, the efficiency deficits of a state run economy and the Kombinate and their functions, including daycare and such
Excellent overview. Thank you.
I'm very glad to have found this channel!
Very interesting. Thank You
Very informing and valuable knowledge thank you.
This is real history, told in a stunning way. Great research and presentation.
Thank you for such a detailed look at this chapter from history. In the U.S., we tend to think of East Germany in generalities -- a wall, lot of Olympic medals, and that's about all.
Another outstanding bit of history, excellent channel.
Apologies if this has already been mentioned in another comment but there is a funny, and perhaps illustrative, anecdote about Ulbricht from his time as a Red Army propagandist.
After the surrender of what remained of the 6th Army at Stalingrad, the prisoners were formed up on a parade in the ruins. Walter Ulbricht was brought in to give a speech to degrade and harangue the defeated men.
Lavrenty Beria, who was there, observed Walter ranting and raving as he bullied his countrymen and in his diaries remarked that he was "the biggest idiot I have ever seen".
Source is Anthony Beevor's excellent Stalingrad history.
Hopefully Beria is rotting deep
In hell.
Another fascinating video and I thank you for the time and effort you put into this. Outstanding. Bedankt.
Brilliant work mate loved it! Hope there more to come
Colonel Sanders fell off HARD...
You sir are a man of good comedic culture.
That schnitzel is finger lickin’ good.
NEIN!!!!!! 😠
Good stuff, as always. Thank you for your efforts, I enjoy all your content.
Very interesting.
I knew little about him.
Thank you.
☮
Another fantastic video mate, I've been waiting for a video like this on Ulbricht 😊😊 keep up the excellent work!
Excellent content
Excellent content. Lots of good information and insights into the GDR.
I've watched several of your videos and am impressed at how well-documented and well-executed they are. And your German is 100% (I believe you remarked your mother was German in one video). My major was German Studies and I got to see both Germanies up close before and after the Wende.
I learned that this man is my great great uncle, i want to do research about him so this video helps a lot
Another informative, detailed and fact based presentation. Thank you
Yet another amazing video, I learned a lot! Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
How very well done! This is an excellent overview of this controversial political figure in both the GDR and abroad. I'm looking forward to more videos.
Great - precise - no bull- & informative - bravo
Fantastic content once again
Another good anecdote about the voice and saxon dialect of Ulbricht: The later head of the foreign intelligence department of the Stasi was Markus Wolf. He worked as a Berlin radio journalist during the late 1940s, and asked Ulbricht to speak standard German because people from other places than Saxony may not like his talk just because of the dialect. Ulbricht got upset and insisted to talk the way he liked. Markus Wolf was indeed correct 😉
Dank je wel voor je geweldig filmpje. En ik kijk uit naar beeld van mensen aan de top van DDR. Zoals Honecker, Egon Krenz en hoop stilletjes dat ook Sabine Bergmann-Pohl voorbij komt.
Good stuff 👍
Fantastic presentation
Geweldig kanaal, mooie video weer.
Great vid as usual. Thanks.
Great video
You tell a great story thank you
Thanks for the very instructive document.
OLAF!! You did it again... more fascinating information about the people of area that has intrigued me, ever since my Uncle told me his stories of when he visited on his Triumph Bonneville motorrad!
I recently saw a video by Asianometry about the GDR's disastrous attempt to enter the semiconductor industry. By his account it was pretty brutal to the GDR economy causing a lot of damage.
I can't wait to watch your video on Honecker. By the way, would it be possible to see videos on the GDR car industry, including the likes of Wartburg(?).
Many thanks!
Beria accusing someone else for not loving his people is absolutely hilarious.
Could you do one of these on Honecker?
I have to say that for me Ulbricht looked always grey, no charisma, no fire.
It does not mean he was dumb or incompetent given how far he climbed in the party but he wasn't exactly a thrilling, charismatic tribune.
Ulbricht didn't flee to the Soviet Union to escape the Nazis; he fled earlier to escape prosecution for his involvement in the police murders.
I think was milke Who scapes to Moscow because he kill a two nazis and a police oficiel, in a street fight beteween the political squadrons of kpd vs nsdp.
@@josepetereo2123 They both fled to Moscow. Mielke and another man shot three police officers, but one of them survivedband could identify the shooters. The murders were done on the orders of two senior Communists, who themselves were encouraged by Ulbrcht.
Ten Communist Party members fled to Moscow and a further 15 were arrested in connection to the shooting. The two who ordered the hit were later purged by Stalin, while of those arrested three were executed by the German government and the rest sentenced to hard labour or jail terms.
Mielke was eventually prosecuted in 1993, after serving as head of the Stasi amongst other roles, following the collapse of East Germany, while Ulbricht by then was already dead from old age.
I guess technically he didn't flee to "Moscow" as he initially fled to Paris and Prague and then spent time in Spain, but he eventually ended up in Moscow by 1937.
Which he was senteced for later?
@@gtboard Mielke, the head of the Stasi and one of the actual murderers, was put on trial in the 90s.
Ulbricht died years earlier.
*An objective and informative video.*
Enjoyable narrative, as always. 🏆
Ooh what a great channel! I'm very interested in cold war era politics and the GDR in particular. Have you covered Honecker yet? I'll check your videos. Subscribed! 👍
14:32 Serious video I know but can’t get over how much this guys name sounds like a certain Japanese monster
It's always fascinating to learn about East Germany. Those were very dark times. It might not have been as bad as Romania under Ceaușescu, but still pretty bad. The red plague oppressed us for half a century, it destroyed us all.
The "red plague" built the 80% of today Romania's infrastructure.
Can you do Erick Honecker
Nice video.
Thanks for the video.
Hopefully you won't mind my question: Are You going to make more Videos about important politicians? Who is on your list?
"Niemand hat die Absicht eine Mauer zu errichten!" 🤥
I enjoy your videos, and you are the world's most East German looking man.
I think he’s Dutch tho 😂
What does an East German look like?
9:32 'Ulbricht doesn't understand anything and doesn't like his people'
Coming from Beria, this is quite an indictment!
Interesting background to the Honecker episode.
In what regards his aspect he was a method actor, implementing a "Imitatio Lenini " !
I was born in Merseburg and never knew we had the German central archive.
The pollution was indeed quite terrible. I developed pseudo croup at least two times as a kid and after reunification they sent us on 14 day long class trips two times a year so we could breath some clean air for a change.
What are some of the books you would recommend to start learning about the DDR?
Pole-vaulting for beginners?
When I lived in Berlin 1989 I took the train to stendahl in East Germany,100km from Berlin. The train was so slow snails 🐌 past the train next to the railway tracks
A superb report -- many thanks!
Another fascinating and informative video. To me, the DDR was one of modern history’s great enigmas.
I'm looking forward to the follow-up documentaries about Honecker and Krentz.
Honecker would be a very interesting video, as Honecker was not in the "Ulbricht Group". Rather, Honecker had spent 10 years in prison between 1935-1945 (he was caught as a Communist spy by the Gestapo). How Ulbricht was pushed out in 1971 is also very interesting material.
Absolutely brilliant in every respect, even German pronunciation. 👏
Beria: “Ulbricht doesn‘t … love his people“. Well, the people didn‘t exactly love Beria either.
It should be favourable for our listener or viewers if you could compare the systems.. Pros and cons,
As an introvert and nerd myself, yes we find boring stuff fascinating. So he was one of the occupants of the famous Hotel Lux. Wow.
Drinking and smoking are not a weakness in every case. Look at Winston Churchill.
Very interesting. The German Democratic Republic has become a footnote of history. But for over 40 years it was a country that claimed to be "real existing socialism." It had high labor participation rates from women who were guaranteed day care for their children. Although East Germans enjoyed many other "economic rights" like cheap housing, free health care, and low food costs, many decided they didn't like socialism, especially when they could watch West German television every day. Everything in East German seemed inferior to what their Western counterparts enjoyed. Constant proclamations that five year plans had been over-fulfilled, but without any noticeable improvement in the economy, just fueled this discontent. It was soon Erich Honecker's turn to seek an opening to the West, only to be called back again by the Soviet Union. When Honecker's protector Breshnev died, Honecker, much like Ulbricht, was also unable to change course. By then, all efforts to salvage the GDR were rejected by East Germans. But these were 40 years when an alternative economic system based on egalitarianism existed on German soil. They should not be forgotten. As disenchantment with capitalism rises, future generations may once again become interested in the East German experiment. That, or maybe fascism as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party steadily gains power.
Yes, but the suppression of civil rights and the inevitable forceable suppression of all internal dissent will never be voluntarily chosen by any free people. Marxist socialism is dead forever. But fascism may well reappear in some form, as we see with Trump.
Mercui pour votre travail!
6:03 Proof that anyone can become a leader
somehow he is more competent then Joe Biden
As long as you're a member of the club ;).
Ulbricht was a monster.
Arch-traitor
08:03
You have a lovely intro