logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2014
9m 1s

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

Bbc World Service
About this episode

It had been one of the enduring icons of the Cold War. It had divided East Berlin from West Berlin; and socialism from capitalism. But on 9 November, 1989, after weeks of anti-Communist protests across East Germany, that all changed. Hear from two East Germans - Aram Radomski and Siegbert Schefke - who were among the first to cross from East to West Berlin.

Photo: copyright Siegbert Schefke

Up next
Dec 2014
The Biggest Rock Concert Ever
What does rock megastar Rod Stewart remember most about playing to 4 million people on Copacabana beach on New Year's Eve 1994? Well... it's not nice.Photo: Rod Stewart at the BBC. 
8m 52s
Dec 2014
The Beginning of Reality TV
In December 1999 a young Dutch man, Bart Spring in't Veld, won the first ever Big Brother reality TV show. It was to be the start of a global television phenomenon. But for 22-year-old Bart the victory proved to be a mixed blessing.Photo: Big Brother winner Bart Spring in't Veld, ... Show More
8m 57s
Dec 2014
The Casa Pia Scandal in Portugal
In 2004, some of the most high-profile people in Portugual went on trial on charges of sexuallly abusing boys from a children's home called Casa Pia. Six defendants were eventually found guilty, including a famous televison presenter. Simon Watts talks to Pedro Namora, a lawyer w ... Show More
8m 56s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2019
The fall of the Berlin Wall
<p>1989 was a seismic year in world history and ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the clearest symbol of the Cold War. But it was a series of events across Europe that added to the momentum. We journey back through Poland, Hungary and East Germany ahead of that historic m ... Show More
49m 54s
Aug 2021
83. The Berlin Wall
60 years ago this month, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) began building a barrier that divided the city of Berlin. It stood until 1989 and came to symbolise the front line of the Cold War. Iain MacGregor, author of "Checkpoint Charlie: The Cold War, the Berlin Wall ... Show More
1h 5m
Aug 2021
The Berlin Wall
<p>In August 1961, communist East Germany began building the Berlin Wall, which divided the city for nearly three decades and became a symbol of the Cold War. We hear the memories of Germans from both sides of the Wall and tales of daring escapes. Plus, what life was like in the ... Show More
50m 46s
Mar 2024
#110 The Berlin Wall
📖 Episode Transcripts in Link Below ⬇️ Today, we delve into the history of the Berlin Wall, a symbol of division and the Cold War that separated the German capital into two halves from 1961 to 1989. https://patreon.com/HistoryinSlowGerman?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=cop ... Show More
4m 4s
Sep 2020
Fall of the Berlin Wall and German Reunification | 33
This year marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most historic moments of the 1990s. On October 3, 1990, East and West Germany were reunited after 45 years of cold war separation. The reunification process was set in motion a year earlier when border crossings along the Berlin ... Show More
31m 7s
Aug 2021
Escaping from East Berlin
How a young West German student helped East Berliners escape communism at the height of the Cold War. Volker Heinz told Robin Lustig how he worked with a Syrian diplomat to smuggle people across the Berlin Wall in the boot of the diplomat's car. From March to September 1966 the p ... Show More
8m 59s
Feb 2023
The Cold War Gets A Wall
February 22, 1962. The city of Berlin is cut in half by a concrete and barbed wire wall. On the west side, U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy is giving a rousing speech when suddenly, what look like balloons explode above the crowd, revealing Soviet-red flags. “The Communists w ... Show More
30m 46s
Jan 2022
A Cold War love affair
The East German authorities built the Berlin Wall in 1961 to keep their people in. Thousands had been streaming westwards. But a few people went the other way. Frauke Naumann was one of them. She grew up in West Germany but fell love with her cousin who lived on the other side of ... Show More
8m 57s
Feb 2022
The Berlin Wall
On the border between the Western world and the Soviet Union, the Berlin Wall was a symbol of the Cold War. Starting out as a simple barbed wire fence, it would grow in scale and complexity to become a 27-mile concrete edifice, incorporating watchtowers, trenches, electric fences ... Show More
50m 53s