For one group, at least, the erection of the Berlin Wall on August 13, 1961 was a stroke of luck. Over the following decades, the Wall would be the lifeblood of the East German secret police, known as the Stasi. By the time the Wall fell, in 1989, thousands of Stasi agents were employed with a single goal: to make the Wall insurmountable.
The film tells the story of this existentially symbiotic relationship from the perspective of the Stasi under its notorious leader Erich Mielke. It’s the first time this most sensitive chapter of East Germany’s history has been told in such an exemplary and coherent way: including the deaths that took place at the Wall, and the cover-up and concealment of many of those murders.
We learn about the arrests and imprisonment of tens of thousands of refugees, as well as the Stasi’s elaborate construction of tunnels and underground listening stations to track down tunnel diggers. From the billion-dollar business of selling GDR prisoners to West Germany, to the “filtering“ of Western traffic at border crossings to recruit unofficial collaborators, Mielke’s specialists were everywhere.
We see how Mielke’s power grew, as the Wall and the border system were perfected, and how the walling-in of the population created more and more work for the Stasi. The Wall became the Stasi’s main field of activity, and its daily bread.
The fall of the Wall brought an abrupt end to both East Germany and its security apparatus. An irony of history is that, on November 9, 1989, it was a Stasi man who opened the first barrier on Bornholmer Strasse and thus initiated the fall of the Berlin Wall.
#dwdocumentary #berlinwall #documentary
__
DW Documentary gives you knowledge beyond the headlines. Watch top documentaries from German broadcasters and international production companies. Meet intriguing people, travel to distant lands, get a look behind the complexities of daily life and build a deeper understanding of current affairs and global events. Subscribe and explore the world around you with DW Documentary.
Subscribe to:
DW Documentary:
DW Documental (Spanish):
DW Documentary (Arabic):
For more visit:
Instagram:
Facebook:
We kindly ask viewers to read and stick to the DW netiquette policy on our channel:
1 view
646
187
4 weeks ago 00:05:58 9
Репортаж Стаса Бернвальда из курского приграничья. Стас и волонтеры снова поехали уговаривать местных жителей ( еще остаются , а
4 weeks ago 00:45:13 1
24 ЧАСА едим в СЕВЕРНЫЙ КАВКАЗ Дорого vs Дешево / ВСЕ или НИЧЕГО челлендж/ 2 сезон
4 weeks ago 00:01:03 12
[Themecstasy] Transformers Armada Theme Song (HQ)
4 weeks ago 01:08:16 16
[IFA Wartburg] IFA Wartburg Live Show 7 april 1999 at Die Kaserne, Basel Schweiz.
4 weeks ago 00:03:12 1
Purple Disco Machine, Sophie and the Giants - In The Dark (Official Music Video)
4 weeks ago 00:34:40 1
Casiio x Kainbeats - Submerged [lofi hiphop/sleepy beats]
4 weeks ago 00:49:01 8
Ghost in the Shell - Floating Museum (Extended Ambient Edit, 30mins)
4 weeks ago 00:45:13 364
[Супер Стас] 24 ЧАСА едим в СЕВЕРНЫЙ КАВКАЗ Дорого vs Дешево / ВСЕ или НИЧЕГО челлендж/ 2 сезон (1080p)
4 weeks ago 00:02:21 1
Russian Village Boys - KROKODIL @ w/ Стас Экстаз (Official Music Video)
4 weeks ago 00:00:44 1
The NEW Ender Pearl Stasis Chamber...
4 weeks ago 00:01:47 1
EVE Frontier - Official Teaser Trailer
1 month ago 00:52:01 1
СТУЛЬЧИКИ - ЯНЧИК, Команда АП, 2ДРОТС, Форсаж, Супер Стас и другие
1 month ago 00:05:04 1
Стас Карпов и Ира Зимина - Принцесса.
1 month ago 00:01:01 5
CRADLE (2024)
1 month ago 00:07:13 1
“Легенды Осени“ .Стас Корсак. / “Legends of autumn“ Stas Korsak