Hötensleben is a small town around 15km to the south of Helmstedt just inside the border of Middle Saxony. No trouble getting there today but before 19 November 1989 it was much more difficult.
This was a border town but not a border crossing and the remains of the wall that divided Germany for more than forty years can clearly be seen here.
This is the first part of a film I made on 1 May 2008.
Duration : 0:9:40
The Road To The Wall / Berlin Wall Documentary Film Video. Public domain video.
Directorate of Armed Forces Information and Education. The Road to the Wall. 1962. The Road to the Wall is a 1962 short documentary film produced by Robert Saudek. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. This program has been declared obsolete for use within the sponsoring agency, but may have content value for educational use. Producer: Department of Defense. Creative Commons license: Public Domain.
The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a physical barrier completely encircling West Berlin, separating it from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) (East Germany), including East Berlin. The longer inner German border demarcated the border between East and West Germany. Both borders came to symbolize the Iron Curtain between Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc.
The wall separated East Germany from West Germany for more than a quarter of a century, from the day construction began on 13 August 1961 until the Wall was brought down on 9 November 1989. During this period, at least 98 people were confirmed killed trying to cross the Wall into West Berlin, according to official figures. However, a prominent victims’ group claims that more than 200 people were killed trying to flee from East to West Berlin.[2] The East German government issued shooting orders to border guards dealing with defectors, though such orders are not the same as shoot to kill orders which GDR officials denied ever issuing.
When the East German government announced on 9 November 1989, after several weeks of civil unrest, that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin, crowds of East Germans climbed onto and crossed the wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, parts of the wall were chipped away by a euphoric public and by souvenir hunters; industrial equipment was later used to remove almost all of the rest of it.
The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification, which was formally concluded on 3 October 1990.
By the early 1950s, the Soviet approach to controlling national movement, restricting emigration, was emulated by most of the rest of the Eastern Bloc, including East Germany. The restrictions presented a quandary for some Eastern Bloc states that had been more economically advanced and open than the Soviet Union, such that crossing borders seemed more natural—especially between where no prior border existed between East and West Germany.
Up until 1952, the lines between East Germany and the western occupied zones could be easily crossed in most places. On April 1, 1952, East German leaders met the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in Moscow; during the discussions Stalin’s foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov proposed that the East Germans should “introduce a system of passes for visits of West Berlin residents to the territory of East Berlin [so as to stop] free movement of Western agents” in the GDR. Stalin agreed, calling the situation “intolerable”. He advised the East Germans to build up their border defenses, telling them that “The demarcation line between East and West Germany should be considered a border and not just any border, but a dangerous one … The Germans will guard the line of defense with their lives.”
Consequently, the Inner German border between the two German states was closed, and a barbed-wire fence erected. The border between the Western and Eastern sectors of Berlin, however, remained open, although traffic between the Soviet and the Western sectors was somewhat restricted. This resulted in Berlin becoming a magnet for East Germans desperate to escape life in the GDR, and also a flashpoint for tension between the superpowers–the United States and the Soviet Union.
In 1955, the Soviets passed a law transferring control over civilian access in Berlin to East Germany, which officially abdicated them for direct responsibility of matters therein, while passing control to a regime not recognized in the west. When large numbers of East Germans then defected under the guise of “visits”, the new East German state essentially eliminated all travel to the west in 1956. Soviet East German ambassador Mikhail Pervukhin observed that “the presence in Berlin of an open and essentially uncontrolled border between the socialist and capitalist worlds unwittingly prompts the population to make a comparison between both parts of the city, which unfortunately, does not always turn out in favor of the Democratic [East] Berlin.
Duration : 0:33:11
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DDR border at Marienborn – Die Grenze von der DDR an Marienborn – Восточногерманская граница на западе
The inter German border control post at Helmstedt – Marienborn was the largest border point within the entire Soviet empire.
The point controlled the motorway leading to Berlin and beyond from West Germany.
Whereas there were few problems for people getting in if they were going to Berlin, it was a different story for those going to any other destination.
And of course it was designed to stop people getting out.
Most of the frontier fence is no longer there and in places it is no longer obvious where it was. However many remains are still evident and in some places have been preserved. In other places they are still standing, but abandoned and the broken glass and chipped paintwork demonstrates their fate.
There is an excellent museum at the former Helsmstedt – Marienborn border crossing which does not take much of a detour for those travelling along this road.
This film also shows photographs of Hötensleben, 12km south of Marienborn where the wall has been preserved. Here the wall was breached on 23 November 1989 and traffic allowed to run both ways for the first time in many years. However the locals preserved the wall in many places.
I crossed the border point at Marienborn several times from 1982 – 1987 both by train and by car. It was extremely interesting to see it from the other side.
I have now posted a three part film of the border control post at Marienborn which may also be of interest.
Some other information as well as my blog about this and other visits can be found on www.pbn.com.pl
Duration : 0:4:55
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http://www.pbn.com.pl
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This is the journey through the Polish – German border at Zgorzelec – Goerlitz and may well be the last time I film this part of the route in Poland. The A4 motorway is close to completion which will now link up the German border at Goerlitz and Kraków (via Wroclaw and Katowice) with wall to wall motorway!
This is my one thousandth film on you tube which is a first for Polish you tube as far as original amateur films are concerned!
My channel is one of the most prolific from Poland, although not amongst the most visited. With almost one film per day, one may be forgiven for thinking I do nothing else but I do have a day job as well. I have produced around 1,000 original films, most in English but also in Polish, French, Italian, Spanish and the occasional hint of German and Hebrew. My big interest in life is travel and history but I have also placed films on other subjects
Please feel free to ask questions in the public area or to comment on things you disagree with. Sometimes there are mistakes because I speak without preparation. If I see the mistakes myself, I make this clear in the text. Please also leave a star rating!
There are a number of films here on the packaging industry. This is because I am the publisher of Central and Eastern European Packaging — http://www.ceepackaging.com – the international platform for the packaging industry in this region focusing on the latest innovations, trends, design, branding, legislation and environmental issues with in-depth profiles of major industry achievers.
Most people may think packaging pretty boring but it possibly effects your life more than you really imagine!
Central and Eastern European Packaging examines the packaging industry throughout this region, but in particular in the largest regional economies which are Russia, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Ukraine and Austria. That is not to say that the other countries are forgotten, they are not, but obviously there is less going on. However the fact that there are so many travel related films here is not from holidays but from business trips attending trade fairs around the region. Every packaging trade fair is a new excuse to make another film!
In 1997 I founded Polish Business News http://www.pbn.com.pl .There are a number of business related films here and I intend to do many more on CRM (customer relations management).
My blog can be found via http://www.ceepackaging.com and http://www.pbn.com.pl and contains background information and more details of many of my films. This information is in English.
Duration : 0:10:38
Former East Germany officer Klaus-Peter Renneberg defended the border for almost a decade. He speaks to Telegraph TV in Berlin about those that got across and the careless joke that cost him his commission.
Duration : 0:2:44
The Wall (1962) / Berlin Wall Documentary Film Video. Creative Commons license: Public Domain. Government film about the erection of the Berlin Wall. From the holdings of the National Archives.Sponsor: United States Information Agency. The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a physical barrier separating West Berlin from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) (East Germany), including East Berlin. The longer inner German border demarcated the border between East and West Germany. Both borders came to symbolize the Iron Curtain between Western and Eastern Europe and, ultimately, between USA and the Soviet Union. The wall separated East Germany from West Germany for more than a quarter-century, from the day construction began on August 13, 1961 until the Wall was opened on November 9, 1989. During this period, at least 136 people were confirmed killed trying to cross the Wall into West Berlin, according to official figures. However, a prominent victims’ group claims that more than 200 people were killed trying to flee from East to West Berlin. The East German government issued shooting orders to border guards dealing with defectors; such orders are not the same as shoot to kill orders which GDR officials denied ever issuing. When the East German government announced on November 9, 1989, after several weeks of civil unrest, that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin, crowds of East Germans climbed onto and crossed the wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, parts of the wall were chipped away by a euphoric public and by souvenir hunters; industrial equipment was later used to remove almost all of the rest of it. The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification, which was formally concluded on October 3, 1990. On Saturday, 12 August 1961, the leaders of the GDR attended a garden party at a government guesthouse in Döllnsee, in a wooded area to the north of East Berlin, at which time Ulbricht signed the order to close the border and erect a wall. At midnight, the police and units of the East German army began to close the border and by Sunday morning, 13 August 1961, the border with West Berlin was closed. East German troops and workers had begun to tear up streets running alongside the border to make them impassable to most vehicles, and to install barbed wire entanglements and fences along the 156 km (97 miles) around the three western sectors and the 43 km (27 miles) which actually divided West and East Berlin. The Soviets were not directly involved. The barrier was built slightly inside East Berlin or East German territory to ensure that it did not encroach on West Berlin at any point, and was later built up into the Wall proper, the first concrete elements and large blocks being put in place on August 15. During the construction of the Wall, NVA and KdA soldiers stood in front of it with orders to shoot anyone who attempted to defect. Additionally, chain fences, walls, minefields, and other obstacles were installed along the length of the inner-German border between East and West Germany. Due to the closure of the East-West sector boundary in Berlin, the vast majority of East Germans could no longer travel or emigrate to West Germany. Many families were split, while East Berliners employed in the West were cut off from their jobs; West Berlin became an isolated enclave in a hostile land. West Berliners demonstrated against the wall, led by their Chancellor Willy Brandt, who strongly criticized the United States for failing to respond. Allied intelligence agencies had hypothesized about a wall to stop the flood of refugees, but the main candidate for its location was around the perimeter of the city.
Duration : 0:9:20
This is the checkpoint near what was Hof, West Germany at the time. It was not long after the wall came down so we were free to pass between West and East Germany. The images at the end of the video were taken as we were going in to East Germany. September 1990.
We were living in Germany at the time the wall fell in 1989 and were stationed in Amberg, Pond Barracks, not far from the Czech border in Bavaria. 10 months later we took a trip and crossed over the border to the former East Germany. It was quite a moving experience to cross the border freely, considering the long history and blood shed over the years. Just that quick, the mission of the American military changed. There was no longer a need for border patrol.
Duration : 0:1:16
The former border crossing of “Bornholmer Strasse” was the first point of the “DDR” that opened it’s gates to the West on 9th of november 1989. Shortly after the news the first “Trabi” rolled into the west.
Duration : 0:9:23