Border Crossing Former East & West Germany - Fall of the Berlin Wall

[Wad12br]

I had a VAZ128 brilliant car.

[granskare]

I was tdy to USAF at Hof in 1960...we almost made the wrong turn and headed to the border...too bad we didn't continue to the checkpoint...that would have been something to see :)

[MrMellingen]

Long live capitalism!

[MaestroFire]

yesterday i rode back from Berlin to Holland but i only saw some old guard houses....

[TheEurozhongguo]

It's a great shame that Germany saw it necessary to pull down the original Checkpoint Charlie and all the different border crossings. They could have left the checkpoint installations in place, but unmanned, so that today's young Germans can better understand what it was like in those days and so that history doesn't get forgotten. .

[wulfshelmut]

Audinos your an idiot. Patton was assassinated. He was assassinated by both the American Goverment and probably Soviet Goverment as well. Patton discovered the truth about what the zionist jews were doing to Germany to cause the holocaust. That and his voiceful opinions of the Soviets is what caused his assassination. A high ranking officer like patton, the man who gave Europe to Eisonhower and defeated the Nazis was not in a "accident".

[Audinos]

You forgot to include the Bilderburgers, the Illuminati, the Freemasons, and the reptilian aliens.

[Romarinho89]

@wulfshelmut very true .

BTW i grew up in Pattonville a US based named after him in Germany

[EMSfreak]

Whats the name of the song?

[tjw1963]

The song does not have a name. It is just some Sony sound loops that I put together.

[dsm2240]

Were the "Transit WestBerlin" signs kept or dumped?

[jacarandaxia]

East German = Neo-Nazi!

[Airsoftrisupetteri]

You are fucking stupid they are no neo nazis they are communists!

[jacarandaxia]

Anyway, that F**** East part of Europe just is full of bullshit, F***** communists and finally with F******** Neo-Nazi! Sorry about those F words, just F******* being cynical.

[KoshmarUK]

You need to read history you ignorant american pig. Your country is shameful, arrogant, corrupt and evil - please stay at the other side of the atlantic, you are never welcome

[mcdonads]

It's sad living in the U.S. , our media and people tend to throw terms such as neo nazi, communist, socialist, marxist, etc. around and more often times than not the meanings are misconstrued and yes the ignorance of the common citizen is fully displayed when they try to use the "fancy" words in discussions of which they hardly know anything about. I am an U.S. born and bred citizen and even I think our country is shameful, arrogant corrupt and evil... not a nice reality to tell the truth.

[dtr0005]

I am an American and I visited both the USSR and DDR in 1986. If you truly believe the dismal and wretched lives their citizens led were somehow more "noble" or less corrupt, then you are being more than a little naive. I had no personal animosity towards the Soviets or the East Germans. However, don't think for a moment that either nation didn't have its eyes on expanding the Communist Revolution. As for corruption, it's everywhere comrade....even in the Workers' Paradise.

[altmarkmaik]

Hello into the USA from the former GDR. They are right. One must have been at least times in the GDR, in order to be able to take the liberty a judgement over the country. Corruption gave it here. But much less as today in united Germany. Friendly greetings from north Saxonia-Anhalt , Mike

[Q7boy]

hirschberg^^..and today the hotel at this place is the old"office building of this border^^..

i meen marienborn was the biggest border check point.. not herleshausen/bad hersfeld...

[fryskhanne]

Name of the song bitte?

[tjw1963]

The sound bite does not have a name. It was from some sound loops that I put together with my Sony editing software.

[doncamillo2010]

And you have done that very well because they so authentically re-create the feelings I had when going through this border.

[ColonelYashin]

This tune is so godly beautiful and serene. Perfectly show peace as was there existent between the two Germanies at reunification

[Indubitabil88]

If the Romania-Moldova border would have the same fate....:(

[michaelwright999]

Do tell us what would be the result ?

[Sk8guy915]

Today, we west-germans are wishing, west and east were still split...

[adamcos1]

why when the Berlin wall fell many people from west berlin were very happy

[Sk8guy915]

Yes - splitted families came together again and the fear of Russia was over.

West and East have been seperated 40 years: They're not like us!

Everyone I know hates minimum 1 east-german because of his origin and character.

They think they're the better Germans, know everything better, are not team-minded, are collaborationists and I was shocked how racist they are.

[GermBrit]

What would you expect after being 40 years under soviet rule?

it's too bad general Patton was assasinated in 1945 because he wanted to invade the soviets after Germany fell. And the Americans could have done it too. Damn shame.

[KoshmarUK]

You are stupid and ignorant in one go!! How stupid can you think? The USSR was the biggest army on earth. We wanted a peaceful coexistence, the US/UK wanted riches at the expense of men. As they still do. They planned the destruction of socialism because it wasn't the american way. Why bankrupt economies because they are unamerican?? Now you are reaping the backlash and oh how funny it is. I hope Joseph McCarthy died in lonely long painful agony

[bluballzzz]

then why did ussr trap ppl in

[VanSisean]

While Communism was a great philosophy, and most likely would better the world under other circumstances, it is an unrealistic system due to human greed and selfishness. It is because of this that Communism in the USSR and abroad was corrupted. Capitalism has it's problems too, but, because of these human factors, it will always be a more realistic system.

[Audinos]

What capitalist country had anything as deadly as Stalin's purges, the Cultural Revolution, or Pol Pot's killing fields? How many people died crossing from the USSR into Finland, or from East to West Germany?

Try crossing into Canada or Mexico from the USA. There is not even a fence in many places, and you certainly won't be shot. I have been on both sides of the Berlin Wall, and in those days, anyone with half a brain could have seen the social destruction that Communism created there.

[VanSisean]

Agreed, and these are examples of Communist corruption...but any system has problems no matter what (this should not be taken as justification for such inhuman acts).

[Audinos]

There can be no utopia on earth as long as there is sin in the world, and no system is perfect. The American system has faults, but it has been by far the least deadly and has brought millions of immigrants the freedom to live and believe as they please.

[calisse245]

Not true they make you believe that's its the only system possible. Hey capitalism has been only been around since the end of the 18th Century... What is that in the history of mankind... Not even a little shitfly... Be positive and think that you can change things... such ''conservative'' thinking can only lead to oblivion for mankind.... By the ways nature and mankind will inevitably take care to put capitalism in its tomb sooner or later... its just natural law ...

[calisse245]

Hey I guess u live somewhere on Saturn or so !!!! Hey canadians need a vlaid passport to cross into the US since 01-01-2009... and what about the wall across the Mexican border ??? And the one built by Zionists in Israel... Wake up dude !!! The police and fascist state has been reinstored since 09-11-2001

[Audinos]

Obama is the closest thing we have to a communist, but that wall along the Mexican border is designed to keep illegal immigrants out, not to keep Americans in. Who in the hell would have wanted to sneak INTO the DDR? I was there; the place was a toilet compared with the West.

[vetteed]

@Audinos at least a equal toilet...

[Audinos]

Have you ever seen the Canadian border? In most places it is nothing more than a cleared strip of land with a stone marker every 500 meters. It is quite easy to walk across and nobody will check your passport. As for the Mexican border, my town is full of illegal aliens from Mexico, many of whom don't speak much Spanish (they are Indians), and I guarantee you they didn't stop at the border stations. But I guess I'll go back to Saturn now. Like you, it doesn't have any ground to stand on.

[DavBlc7]

@Audinos Also in many European countries where anybody can go across border without any checks apart from ID reasons.

My country the UK and Ireland did check passports cos fear of terrorists and criminals carrying drugs.

[UnitedCommunists]

@VanSisean

What about Socialism?

[CharlesVariations]

@VanSisean

Even though under these socialist countries, (they were officially NEVER communism) you had free education, free healthcare, free housing, and didn't have to worry about standing outside a restaurant and not being able to eat.

[VanSisean]

@CharlesVariations No, I believe East Germany deemed itself Marxist-Leninist, a form of communism, and the Socialist Party (while socialist in name) was communist. Of all the communist nations, pretty much everyone of them declared themselves Communist, with the possible exception of a few, like Grenada, which termed its New Jewel Movement party as a Marxist vanguard party rather than a Communist party, which was an accurate description, considering most movements never fully realized communism.

[CharlesVariations]

@VanSisean

They've referred to themselves as both Communist and Socialist...they're just words.

How about Romania? "SOCIALIST Republic of Romania. How about USSR itself, Union of Soviet SOCIALIST Republics? And then of course the leadership is a part of the Communist Party. The true meaning of Communism is NO state. All of these Communist countries had a STATE, a government, organization, establishment. Their ideal, and their ultimate goal is communism. Hence they are the communist party.

[CharlesVariations]

@VanSisean

There's a difference between theories and reality, and the reality was they had to rule over these countries with bureaucracy, just like every other country in the world. They were Socialist countries, but since their ideal was communism, I'm sure you can refer to them as both. But like I said, they're just words. Only the reality, and what you have right in front of you, is what matters.

[VanSisean]

@CharlesVariations Well, I don't disagree with you on the idea that communism is near impossible to accomplish on even a tribal level (a group of 20 people or so), and is definitely an improbable system on a large scale level. However, Marx never stated that there would be no nation or government, only a mass collective he preferred to term as a "Dictatorship of the Proletariat," and not a centralized system. If anything, what Marx envisioned was a utopic night watchman state.

[VanSisean]

@CharlesVariations I should say a utopic night watchman state sans the capitalism...

[CharlesVariations]

@VanSisean Dictatorship of the proletariat meant "democratic dictatorship", which itself means that the masses, the working class, control the means of production. Which ultimately means, they are only dictators towards the former ruling class.

Marx did say "The state will whither away.." He doesn't say what state, he means the state in general. The state as we know it, will whither away, however not even Marx knew what foundations would rise up when/if Communism was ever achieved...

[CharlesVariations]

@CharlesVariations

But to me, the quote "the state shall whither away..." does in fact sound like he is saying the current establishments, govt. whatnot, will be done for. But first Socialism must be installed, in which there is a govt. after that Communism is achieved and the state will indeed, whither away. So yes, I believe he does mean no nation, and no govt,

[Audinos]

Patton died from injuries in a car accident. It was not an assassination.

[19thepyrochilibean]

thats what Eisenhower tried to make it look like.

[Sk8guy915]

I'm talking about the 16-30 year old people:

Never met or really known the DDR.

It's terrifying

[Alejandro634]

This is a great video, nice piece of history.

[tjw1963]

Thank you. :)

[pukaman2000]

Most Americans do not understand what the wall was about. The government built the wall to prevent the West side (capitalism/ free market) from entering and leaving the East side (socialism/command market) because the west would go east and purchase subsidized products (cheaper) bring them to the west and sell them. In effect, the west was stealling money from the east. A true West "free market capitalist" would be in favor of the wall because the socialist side had an unfair advantage.

[pukaman2000]

Human greed and laziness drives this. People would rather do something easy and illegal, rather than hard and legal. Economic theory states it as "Maximize profit". Hence, illicit drug trade is a rational choice and is economically sound.

[Johann221275]

The wall was built to stop the escapes from the east to the west. In the two weeks preceding the erection of the wall, nearly 50.000 people moved from the east to the west. The west had a very good working economy with no shortage of affordable products. There was no need to "steal" anything from the east. This was pure communist propaganda.

[pukaman2000]

Actually, the information I have presented is from a reviewed source. It is you that have been subjected to our own propaganda. America is good at keeping its people in control via media.  For instance, how many Americans know of the extreme riots that occurred in Greece just two months ago over a police shooting an unarmed kid?

[Johann221275]

I don´t know what american media reported about the riots in greece. In european newspapers and tv broadcasts there was broad daily coverage.

back to 1961: I admit that there were some people who went to the east berlin to buy cheap products (the exchange rate was 4:1 for Mark (east): Mark (west)).  But you cant´t seriosly claim that this was the reason for building the wall and shooting at people fleeing from east to west. read the hundreds of reviewed books about the millions who fled

[pukaman2000]

They reported absolutly nothing on the riots two months ago. I learned of it from Youtube.

Johann. Please read the book by Howard Zinn "A People's History of the United States."

People are kept interested in stupid stuff like Paris Hilton and her dog, J. Lopez, tabloid personalities. They also are misled by pudits on the news broadcast that have no formal training in the material they comment on.

Or, they are kept involved in professional sports programs.

A media controlled public

[jmccooe]

Excellent point pukaman, most people are too blind to see that the USA is the biggest propaganda machine this earth has ever seen. The worked for the fall of the DDR from the time of its establishment and who knows with out their constant efforts the DDR just might have been an excellent example of a working socialist economy. (In this case not refering to the USSR which was communist)

[pukaman2000]

I have to get my "news" from Al Jazeera because our own media is too tainted.

Right now America is attempting to fix capitalism. It used to be that we could import highly skilled workers from the communist countries. (ie after WW2 we took all the German Scientists. We also took a lot of Cuba's trained) It took a lot of money to train these people, hence we basically "stole" their technology. This is not happening any more. Chinese engineers are staying in China.

[pukaman2000]

Hmm. I bet the US had a lot to do with the DDR failure.

As society advances, I believe the truth will come out. I believe that the extreme financial crisis right now is part of this truth coming out.

Capitalism has benefits, but so does socialism, and so does communism. Their drawbacks are- Capitalism leads to class warfare. Socialism leads to confusion and inside fighting. Communism leads to laziness.

Corruption occurs in all three. Patronage is the worst of all the corruptions.

[jmccooe]

All three systems are perfect in theory except for one vital element... The human one. Until we fix that no system will ever be perfect. Our own greed is more powerful than the will to co-exist peacefully with each other.

[devulboy1]

Or have an online buddy from Greece, in which I have. He mention to me the riot was growing & out of control. I knew about the riots in France in Oct. 2005, right after I visit there to see my family in St. Omer, northern France. Over 300 towns like them reported a degree of violence in North African immigrant communities across that country. I also knew on the BNP's electoral victory to get 2 of 3 British seats in the European parliament. The US news media thinks "it's not of our concern".+

[pukaman2000]

The average American is not educated. We bicker over stupid things like who is in charge. People do jobs for "title" so that they can put it on their resume.

[Audinos]

We heard about those riots as they happened. They didn't concern us. That was a matter for the Greek people to worry about, because riots and mass protests are the only way to get the government's attention.

[pukaman2000]

This reminds me of the Jewish guy that wrote "They came for blacks, I did nothing because it did not involve me, then they came for the homosexuals, again I did nothing, then they came for the Gypsies, again I did nothing, then they came for the Jews and there was no body to stand with me." OK, maybe I misquoted, but WTF, you understand the gist.

[Audinos]

It was Martin Niemoller, a Lutheran pastor and Holocaust survivor, who said that. I'm not sure how it pertains to this video, however.

[pukaman2000]

It is in reference to your remark "We heard about those riots. They didn't concern us." This is why I am so upset with the US news. They put unimportant information on about cats, dogs, horses, and celeberties. (Hmmm... I just equated Paris Hilton with a domesticated animal."

[Audinos]

There are many frustrated Americans who feel as you and I do, and who could care less about sports or Hollywood idiots. We can watch news feeds from sources such as the BBC, Deutsche Welle, or Al Jazeera, but they are as selective as American news sources. The European press in particular is just as left-biased as American journalism, and I've found that there is as great a percentage of Europeans who are unaware of American realities as there is of Americans uninformed on European happenings.

[konistiger]

Hier ist weder eine Ost noch eine Westgrenze. Fur uns flieBt die Saale noch Deutschland,this sign was on west germany facing east germany next to a blown up bridge that used to be the border.i think its in a town called hell or halle cant remember

[Netsort]

Visit the old Border Station in Eisenach. They´re is a Museum in theyre from the old Border and a Border-Stone an some other GDR-Stuff. The snd. Highway Border was Marienborn. In this old Border Station is a Big Museum and you can see the truth of the East-German Propaganda and theyre Stasi Work and the Soldiers at the Border. It´s very interesting and it helps to understand. I don´t miss anything of them. But we can not forgett the killed people who want´s to be free....

[Netsort]

I´m from East Germany and what ever u wright, thats stupid. "Hof" is a city in West-Germany(Bavaria) The famoust Border is Checkpoint "Charly" in Berlin (at the Wall) Eisenach was the biggest Border-station. They´re was the Highway between East an West. Eisenach in the East and Bad Hersfeld in the West of Germany.

[Kuszarian]

Is it Eisenach?

[tjw1963]

I don't remember. It was close to Hoff.

[114Pilot]

There is an Eisenach in Thurgia just east of Bad Hersfeld. There is still a "Hof" isn't there? Hof is, I think, between Graf and the old East German Zonal Border. Bad Hersfeld was the site of one of the Sqdns of the old 14th A/C and Eisenach was across the Border and slightly north of due east of Bad Hersfeld. Of course, there well may be another town/city with the same name. It would be a considerable distance north of Hof.

[fabrietsche]

Pretty sure the border crossing was called Rudolphstein on the A9. One of the three major Autobahn transit routes thru the east. Nowadays there's a truck stop and service station.

[Kuszarian]

yeah, you're right. Thanks

[Edenglaender]

Until you have any kind of disagreement with these people..

Then the people in East Germany can, and often are, far more evil than you would ever believe white people could be.

50 to 60 year olds who look you direct in the eye, while lying through their teeth, is also a new experience for many Western folk!

Don´t waste your time disagreeing, these facts are accepted by the Germans themselves!

"Der Deutsche sind die größte lugner"- Leipziger Volkszeitung (frühling 2005).

[tjw1963]

What are these facts you keep talking about and all this dark activity that is going on?

[exeuroweenie]

My dad got sent all over the world when I was a kid.That included (then communist) East Berlin and Dresden.Granted it didn't seem as wealthy as the Federal Republic.But,they were beautiful cities.Parts of Dresden felt like living in a fairy tale.The people seemed nice and down to earth-more that most I've met in in the west.

[hokejfanRSA]

i travel quite a lot between Poland and France via Germany. in my opinion, east side of Germany looks nice at the momment, but do not expect, that in 17 years, after join back together everything will look the same. If you know what Jałta in 1945 and Marschall's Plan changed in Europe - don't be amazed. Countries from Warsaw Pact couldn't produce on the same level, because of horrible technology. the worst thing was, that decydents seems to believe in system?...

[esh325]

A person who had been to East Germany back in the 80s told me once that it was so poor compared to West Germany that he didn't think that he was in Europe.

[tjw1963]

We went shortly after the wall came down. It was a different like night and day. Very run down. For months there was people moving west to Germany in their little "Trabant" cars. When we would be out driving on the Autobahn, the traffic would be heavy in the westward direction with all the people fleeing from the former eastern block countries. That included the former Czech Republic.

[Edenglaender]

Beware Investors!

Be very careful when considering the Eastern part of Germany. If you appear to be of a more comfortable means than the local people, they tend to make massive efforts to alter that fact - Often this incorporates a total stranger claiming to police that you have "done something". It seems the resulting lawyers fees and "fines" are viewed as a vaild source of income, to help rebuild this mess and keep this very peculiar place afloat. Beware!

[tjw1963]

Are you an investor?

[Edenglaender]

Was!

[tjw1963]

Someone scammed you?

[Edenglaender]

No not a scam; (A scam to me is somekind of light-hearted trick or swindel, to gain an advantage in some way). What is going on here is a lot lot darker than that.

[Canada0446]

My family is all Soviet and I have an aunt from the DDR. As soon as the USSR collapsed, she moved right to Moscow....don't know why....

[dragster178]

lol that makes alot of sense XD

[thewolf32]

Amazing vid.

[EisenbahnfanMuenchen]

what was written on the exit sign, after the border???

Rudolphstein???

[tjw1963]

No, The top looks like Ziel and the bottom looks like it starts with a W. I am going to pull it into my editing program and see if I can see what it says. It was near Hof on the Autobahnh. I would love to know the name of the checkpoint.

[EisenbahnfanMuenchen]

The Border was called "Hirschberg" and that means at English "deer Mountain"

[nekoj12345]

such a classic. Very nice!

[tjw1963]

Thank you. :)

[EisenbahnfanMuenchen]

Have you a longer version of this video, or have you other pictures of the border?

[tjw1963]

What you see in the video is what I have for video and pictures.

[EisenbahnfanMuenchen]

Nice, nice nice 5*

I wonder why that was demolished?

That would can be a museum.

I often go on the A9 Munich Berlin,

therefore it is a pity

[tjw1963]

Thank you. I would have thought that parts of it would have been put back up in some museum.

[alanheath]

There is very little of this control point to see today - much more at Helmstedt - Marienborn for example.

Therefore this is really interesting and an important historical document!

[AndyTrinh247]

Youtube law has changed. Any age allow to have an account. I sharing with my 14 yrs old bro.

[AndyTrinh247]

How old is your son and daughter? I am 8 years old.

[tjw1963]

You parents must be assisting you with Youtube since they don't allow anyone that young to have an account. My two oldest are 24 and 25 now. My youngest is 16.

[AndyTrinh247]

How many years have you live there and can you now speak German or you don't want to learn?

[tjw1963]

My husband at the time was in the United States military. We are both American citizens. We lived in Germany from 1988-1991 and then again from 1996-1999 for a total of 6 years. We no longer live there. I would have loved to learn how to speak German but didn't know of anyone teaching it. I learned a few individual words. My kids had "Host Nation" class in school so they learned a lot.

[tjw1963]

My youngest son was born in Germany and was 10 weeks old when he saw America for the first time. He remembers some of the second tour in Germany but was still pretty young. Now he studies German in high school and is taking advanced classes.

[AndyTrinh247]

So it was easy to get out of East Germany and when you and your husband came there did you know how to speak German. Does any of the German know how to speak English?

[tjw1963]

Neither one of us spoke any German. Most of the younger Germans did know English. It was a requirement in the German schools at that time, for them to take English.

[Hannibal0001]

My grandfather espaced from a concentration camp in Belgium by the Nazis...he was checked and found to be circumsized thus put in a jail albeit him being not Jewish but he said they wouldn't believe him.

[AndyTrinh247]

At the time of communism was East Germany like North Korea which you cannot exit your country?

[tjw1963]

I was an American living there with my military husband at the time. There was a lot of red tape to go from one country to the next. We drove up to the border of West Germany and Czechoslovakia and he showed me where they patroled the border. He said there were land mines placed on the border of the former West Germany. You could see the guard towers like in the video. There were a lot of German and American border camps along the border.

[tjw1963]

It was unbelievable once the people could travel freely. The East Germans started pouring into the West in their little paper cars(Trabants). It was amazing to be living there while it happened.

[AndyTrinh247]

Which side of germany was the freedom?

[tjw1963]

West Germany was the the free part of the country. At timedcode :10 seconds in the clip, we were heading back to West Germany.

[encorra2]

the northern part

[proprtofluvgdess]

Yeah I remember this too, wow...seems soooo long ago.

[Audinos]

I remember crossing near Hof on the train before the DDR collapsed. First there was a line of bright lights going up into the forest, then a huge gate that could stop a train marked the border. Guards came out and stood in front of the engine while others with dogs looked under the carriages with mirrors on long poles. Everything looked as though time stopped in 1968. A real blast from the past, and great music too!

[WINSTANLEYOBXa]

I like the music..

[jawa90guy]

Nice time capsule footage. THanks for posting!

[BluesBrian]

Hey! That checkpoint looked like the one in "Stripes"!