Transcripts For DW DocFilm 20240713

The meeting will be held tomorrow between east german premier hans moto and west german chancellor helmut kohl normally when the chancellor arrives at 9 15 in the morning east German Television will be broadcasting live from justin. Up the days after tourist and i knew that reunification was going to happen one way or another i could see it was what the papers wanted more to. See if you could see their faces in the range of expressions people cheering but also people weeping it was deeply moving. Says close saw himself as the victor thats for sure wall. To wall the stuck up hold to it was no stronger way of expressing the will of the people than saying we belong together were going to the. Yes we will not abandon our compatriots in the german democratic republic i suspect that was what the people wanted to hear they believed the chancellor they saw him as someone whod gotten a lot done so he get this done to take die in your future peace must spring from german soil that is the goal of our unity and. I think theres probably a contribution not a new german unity but also to peace and so for her i mean once and i say that emotionally it was one of the most moving days of his life. And no one who was in dresden on the 19th of december 1909 will ever forget that day dramatic as it may sound it marked a turning point in german history im peatling book back then i was a reporter in dresden with the camera man youre going to hack we were reporting for west german t. V. From what was still communist east germany wed had it over the day the balun wall fell and witnessed the system collapse and the people we met were euphoric about my newfound freedom but also anxious those workers astonished of the common law is extraordinary was how wed show up with a camera and a microphone interviewing all these people and they take us to where they lived and show us thinks its cool there was an openness that we hadnt expected them all to do we assumed that they were all being spied on even the mothership would suit you. They didnt trust their own media sure thats true with this and that they werent worried about us because we came from the west in fact they often approached us 1st so its a thought that was before. Lord couple of dollars. We spend 6 months travelling around east germany a lot has changed since then and so have waiters and. Colored grief that was a reception with your highness wow amazing as usual. Boardman smaller. About fair enough. It was a special time we had to make up a lot as we went along. Weve been going for the fly think we were the only travelling around in a trap it was instead of. The others had flashy valda with the most looking boy also move on their way or in a trolley it almost believe theyd come over from berlin just for a day we were there all the time but we didnt have our own car. You might want to go for ross helmut coles visit to dresden was one of the highlights of that transitional period after the fall of the war jurgen and i are going back to the city to talk to others who were also that. 30 years on what exactly made the 19th of december significant. And what was going on behind the scenes in december 89. It was very quiet on the plane everyone was preoccupied with their thoughts or. We didnt know what was going to happen the atmosphere was very tense not mala am on. The whole warned us that we had to do everything in our power to avoid a volatile atmosphere explores even. In the commodore order. The mood of euphoria and apprehension wasnt limited to berlin the berlin wall had fallen on the 9th of november and after months of protests. Asked the east German Government had step down across Eastern Europe the communist regimes were collapsing. People were celebrating but the future of both germanys was uncertain. After the wall fell everyone was on the phone to one another all the time whether it was mitterrand Margaret Thatcher president bush or president gorbachev. Person push but bottom line was always keep calm. Dont let anything get out of hand dont let things get chaotic. The whole process had to be kept under control and supports this will soon to occur in total. 3 weeks after the fall of the wall helmut kohl unveiled a 10 point plan for german unity including economic aid for east germany an easing of travel restrictions and free elections then joint government committees european and german unity as a common process and redefined as no one knows today what a real unified germany will look like but i am confident that reunification will happen if thats what the german people want to see should i call camp his plan top secret until the very last minute sharing it neither with his own Coalition Partners nor his International Allies other than the americans he was shown it in german just before it was published the british and the french will wire it that bone was forging ahead with the plan without consulting them. Our national as to who was far too fast was started many many other people that are always very talking loudly about that but i think the reasons for the acceleration were. First that the idea of unified. Was legitimised in goals 10 points speech it was accepted as the goal of germany west germany in this development. Of president gorbachev reacted very negatively to the 10 point plan speech. When the west German Foreign minister hans de twitch kensho was in moscow gorbachev said very clearly that he opposed it he started to include that it was a dictate he couldnt accept its important to see what if you look at the plan there was no timeframe it was basically just an attempt to create a road map not against the others but with them. If gore had 1st gone around trying to shore up support for what he had in mind both on the domestic and the International Stage nothing would have ever happened nothing i think it was very brave of him to have shot at the responsibility by himself. On the 11th of december the ambassadors of the 4 and i powers came together in berlin for the 1st time in 18 years they made it abundantly clear that german reunification could only happen with their approval. This alarmed the west German Government they couldnt believe that the allies were discussing germany without their involvement with their minds. Youre going and i have a arrived in dresden it feels strange to be here like a trip back in time 30 years ago traveling to the east was a lot more complicated there were barely any train connections between east and west germany even chancellor coles plane needed the allies permission. The west german delegation wasnt sure how their visit to dresden would be received by the east german public not by the rest of the world the chancellor was acutely aware. The trick would be a high wire act with the world watching but then they were matter of the apple by hundreds of people just mentioning these as most people didnt want the east german system anymore they wanted reunification and they wanted it as soon as it seemed in reach. The wall fell on the 9th of november because it was brought down from within it wasnt opened up by the east german leadership as is often said the people wanted an end to communism and they wanted reunification. On the plane he was unsure of what he would experience but when he saw the cheering crowd still on top of the stairs he turned to rudolph minister of the chancellery and said its a done deal. In the field. On the 1st. Gulf war the Israeli Government is where else i recalled never comes so a lot was also at stake behind small to east germanys new primary reunification was not on his agenda what he wanted was Financial Aid for his badly run down country. But is unusually. The point of the talks was to voice the demands and expectations we had of east germanys democratization. And how it could be tied to economic and Financial Aid from the west. We didnt know that things would go in a completely different direction that day for. The men didnt know one another motto was taken aback to realize that calm had prepared meticulously for the meeting yet. To be king we talked in the car that took us into town meeting you know by the bush talks. Of mission vosh and i was surprised the call had been briefed in detail on my biography 30 quid down to my childhood in the village of yas and thats in western pomerania time. In the end though feels and thats gotten for pullman inform your thoughts. And i thought to myself. I could have told my own people to prepare is it better for the time. Goes too far to do starts to turn to when people were lining the street on the drive into town because we couldnt go very fast we could only crawl along a street in quantity if you could see the peoples faces. And the range of expression there is east people cheering but also people weeping. To flee through it was deeply moving and. These germans had chosen to hold the meeting and a hotel for foreign visitors contact with the public was to be kept to a minimum. But they hadnt bargained with the crowds who gathered ahead of the meeting between cold and multiple thousands of people wanted to catch a glimpse of the west german chancellor many were pinning down hopes on. This is a device to which then its what we want more than anything us yet still we hope that the talks between more drawing call will make it happen still. Dimensions us to what we want is for the barriers that exist to be brought down today and that we can take major steps towards german reunification closer shouldnt get into an issue all the months issue i hope that the talks are calm and objective and on the push to a serious i think were 2 very Different Countries and we cant just be reconciled in a sudden fit of emotion than i would soon and to film can be what we want things to change here we want our lives to improve and you have all of us i want to see immediate steps taken toward german reunification with no further delay. You know going and i were among the crowd. This one was soon as i remember there was a lot of jostling it was almost impossible to push your way through and ask a question and move the call gave a few brief interviews which made matters worse. Is a crush got worse when he got out of the car as all the reporters from the west were used to elbowing their way to the front. But the whole situation was insane for sure it was fulfill to show us a bunch of mistreated been packing blanks but it didnt make a difference there was such euphoria for 04 people were there in droves yet in shock they were calling out helmets helmets they moved it musta been very hard for multiples i knew i could tell you reasons he was the countrys leader but he was completely ignored. And goes to a well i gleefully it was all about the powerful man from the west. But in fact hans multiple remembers it very differently to. Gruesome and old. There was a very mixed reception at the hotel all clues people werent just there to greet her. But to greet hans too long id worked in dresden for many years they had faith in clans i had a home advantage in the in the home for time. As i was by the sea that was the 1st time we saw the germany united fatherland slogan. What it was the message the world was getting in those danks we debated us with this book not only germans saw this image the whole world did i look as if. Its what. I remember him this i just thought incredible. At the press conference the distance between the 2 leaders was immediately obvious. I had no reason to foster a special friendship with helmut kohl he seemed i wasnt Boris Yeltsin as must go to later all those stories emerged about gorbachev and meetings held in the sauna you know we werent friends not even close. And was a cautious man and this was a very new situation for him for 40 years the soviet union had kept the east german leadership on a short leash and 50 these people went used to using their own judgment. Even though their positions were poles apart cold trying to keep the mood upbeat. About chancellor kohl you said you wanted to see if you could find Common Ground can you believe so but just think human hearts i believe that one to one talks have given us an opportunity to get to know one another and so its possible that we will go on to find Common Ground on the way that can. The expectation was that more doable would lay out the political and Economic Reforms he intended to launch and thats not what he did if he read out a speech on improved relations disarmament peace love and understanding as are a lot or little no one cared. What should have been said was chancellor kohl we need to initiate reforms in east germany these are the priorities and we need your help to start. The talks lasted longer than planned both sides agreed to facilitate contact between east and west. But cole was aware that model was not going to support. His reunification plan. And. Their different positions on the question were impossible to overlook. It often almost as well i am working on the premise that we have 2 independent sovereign states and their continued existence is in the interests of european peace so its an older. Cold disagreement his aim was to give the east germans what they wanted reification but he also had to assure his International Allies that germany would not be going it alone. All this was for you too but also youre going to have to be everything that changes here will have an effect on developments in europe as we are acutely aware. When we consider our own interests we must also consider the interests of others not least the security interests as we know here in the middle of europe in the middle of germany the interests of many are at stake the interests of all of our neighbors i love. Them of course was the cannot call knew he was on very very thin ice and this he expressed at the press conference he said i understand there is a nice i can see it i see the impatience that we have to be very careful that we dont destroy what we have just achieved just because we are too impatient. 30 years later theres not much left of that stuffy room in a call to a past president where the press conference took place. Cloquet this looks totally different totally. This is incredible. Today the venue is one of the citys top architectural attractions it houses a concert hall the home of the dresden film monic. We were quite near the front. Close to the balustrades dome weve only had one camera we had to make sure wed be able to get out easily. There was a lot of time pressure. Or the one if you were at the back you had a better chance of getting a quote when they left. For steve. But we didnt manage that. The report we shot that day just about made it into the afternoon news. Was a big video showing its concrete benefit cuts through much of 500 years ago with the George George of bush of course your you know i would offer you any this you tube should go on t. V. For the day i realized that it is these other countries to be defining while the press conference was underway growing numbers of east germans gathered in front of the rubble of dresden style in cash at the church of our lady destroyed in the 2nd world war they followed the press conference on the radio oh. According to the official shantel comas tonight flowers at the ruins of the church his last appointment of the day. A day earlier the room had begun to spread like wildfire that cone would take the opportunity to give a speech. Crowds began to flood into the scrap. Wood all wouldnt he address the people. I was. The speech had been announced by this man cabot bachner he was one of the organizers of the nonveteran derry monday demonstrations against the east german leadership that were taking place that altar. Boy guns i had been bombed us consulate hats a mission of common highs we want to give the west german chancellor welcome i know enough my own care to share and listen to what he has to say when he lays a wreath at 4 oclock at the church through it. Was at once does our heart. Of the. After rain if occasion have a volcano served as man of dresden for several years. How had he known that code would give that momentous speech for your target for didnt know and. For days earlier the deputy mayor had approached me and said it was possible that the chancellor would be giving a speech and that he was known to make last minute decisions. So we needed to get ready for action for. No one could get ready for action better than the people who organized the monday demonstrations but then cole speech simply wasnt mentioned again. To talk affecting board for the days went by and there was no mention of the speech. But i had the impression that his speech could still happen. Thats the shrunk so i grabbed the opportunity at the very last minute at the start of the monday demonstration to announce his appearance. The information spread like lightning everyone wanted to be there you stuck your neck out. In those days we were very full of hope to these outside 200 did you expect the crowds the atmosphere. The hope i had no expectations i just wanted people to be their eyes that i had of calls visit to dresden phone had rejected a proposal that the chancellor give a speech but the mood in dresden changed everything. Wrote in his memoirs that he jumped down ideas that afternoon in his hotel room. That i would have to such as a this is just this image. Today those notes belong to his widow mike had told. I think that was really an extraordinary day for my husband let me just think what happened in the morning there were the people chanting unity unity helmet helmet and as a politician if you dont have an answer for the people if you dont talk to them then id say you missed your calling. In fact cohen had prepared for the speech in advance this washer and im opting for the evening before dog situs comes the chancellor and i sat down together in the chancellery for a brainstorming session if you will. Move into the warm brainstorming of mart. We came up with a few ideas and he made brief notes feel worse to him. No firm that was on a 4 paper with a felt tip pen and foodstuffs. Memoirs he said that he wrote his notes in his hotel room that same day. I wouldnt set much store by memoirs. If. It wasnt definitely go. Going to happen the idea was to wait and see how things developed there was no fixed script. The excitement was mounting at the tchotchke tens of thousands of people had gathered to see cole some of whom longed for unity alongside others who still believed in the communist regime including public servants. Youll have to work for the 1st time in your life would you say i was going to. Not just collect your salary. But you got regular training. You took regular holiday got a new medal every year we paid for that and were still paying. The atmosphere is volatile are you worried that the situation could escalate so its. Church its no one can predict what will happen i certainly hope it doesnt. Have a fear as both among coal supporters and his critics that the opposite side would town nonstick. Their left wing extremists and theyre everywhere if we cant get rid of them you have to help us. Listen here my friend i was in the middle of the crowd and the ones calling for unity with the worst still the i 95 feet and thats 150 s. My job here is just to keep the peace but i almost got a thrashing from a couple of guys think thats not ok the punks ran off and those guys ran after them getting you read pics it was like being back in the nazi era i mean if thats how they want to go about unity thats not ok we dont want any kinds of radicals. Out. There were plenty of people who said be careful with reunification its not what we want what we want is a democratic east germany but they were in the minority it was a few courts worst. Does cools biggest concern was that the crowd would have wraps. Up after that they would be aggression on fights nationalistic out bests you know. Flay im not sure like this to show that could have easily shaken up the 2nd world wars for victorious powers but very quickly the syrian air hawkish liked it and. Supporters of the east German Peace Movement was shocked to see that the majority of the people wanted reunification. And about the moolah was not celebrating with the jubilant crowds on the day of culls physics she had believed that east germany would survive the fall of the berlin wall. In october in october i cofounded the east German Social Democratic Party i remember at the 1st events held here interest in that same year people were already talking about reunification. I couldnt believe it because i hadnt been thinking along those lines and it wasnt what i wanted most of the spittle was. I. Was i. Was. I was up for in the us ive never been afraid but there i realized the goodness if i speak out im going to be without this there was such euphoria but there was simply no room for discussion they wanted one thing and one thing only reunification as soon as possible. And the deutschemark as soon as possible. The best. We witnessed widespread anxiety off to the war found in the autumn of 89 more and more east germans were packing up and leaving for the west they didnt trust their government they thought the. Border might close again. When helmut kohl visited the fallen cash he knew that with his speech he had to allay their fears and gain that trust without whipping up further frenzy among the crowd i. Assume in politics feelings are never a good advisor even though a politician needs to know how the people feel that apply to this day it was a day of deep emotions that it was the rational thought which told him if you act wrongly now the door will shut before it even opens all the way by toughness. Ladies and gentleman my dear young friends dear fellow countrymen. I. Lets not here fellow countrymen is this what that gave me goosebumps asked it was the 1st time that a west german politician described us as country madsens not as a soviet satellite like a baltic state where people happened to speak german that was how he began the god thats against us and she wasnt sure id like to start by sending you warm greetings on behalf of your fellow citizens in west germany the business will be dark so i the 2nd thing id like to say. Id vote still is a word of appreciation and admiration for this peaceful revolution in the german democratic republic i feel it is a demonstration in for democracy and. They will khaki for peace to feed and for freedom if i write. To them for the selfdetermination of our people i live it and selfdetermination also. Theres night that we in the federal republic respect your opinion as well i just speak here and we dont want to patronize anyone would be if they had any money to default on you. He was trying to show that they were. Equal he was trying to pacify them to show them that they could benefit and they would had it have been for us in the United Kingdom and. Yet unless we wont abandon our countrymen and the german democratic republic. Divided by we want to Work Together as closely as possible especially regarding the economy i see you with a clear goal to improve the quality of living in east germany as quickly as a person i feel. We want people to feel comfortable here. We want people to be able to stay in their homes and find their happiness didnt i i think. Its 100. 00 quotes and few there wasnt only cheering crowds there were lots of people towards the back of the crowd who just stood there frozen im not believing what was happening after the took a skiff others were just overwhelms the t. V. Reports didnt show that there was a mixed reactions the only showed the applause was done in fans and it will become a coveted no to you but. I. Shop is over you know its on the pro bought by so his speech as a diplomatic mass to pay us i know he spelled out the we are one people message we belong together. And we need to see what the future holds none of us knew. You get that on the other hand there was the reality. Obviously on off the reality the reality of 2 states 2 system was just so i stopped its rises to a human being we want to enter a world with Greater Peace and greater freedom which sees more cooperation with each other than opposition against each other in the house of germany our house must be built under a european roof that must be the goal of our policy with theists into you know we stand for the basic law and we share your goal german unity if one day of us what we wanted to be agreed to by our neighbors and the soviet union in particular because europe must not be destabilized it is he and off those were the messages. That was what the people wanted to hear and they believed the chancellor cons they saw him as someone who gotten a lot done so he get this done too its now it is up to us to continue peacefully along this path in the time ahead of us to proceed with patience sound judgment and together with our neighbors summit winds of the nothe done by decade fish let us Work Together toward this goal. Letters health each other in a spirit of solidarity to check to see and hear from here in dresden i send my greetings to all of our compatriots in the german democratic republic and the federal republic of germany should the need for what god bless our german fatherland the the i was i was. Void of money fest it was manifestly obvious that the east. People as represented in dresden didnt want to try a 3rd way. They wanted german unity. Year going and i almost missed the speech there was no mention of it on the official agenda we were busy finishing up our t. V. Report fortunately when we were done we ended up walking back into central dresden. This exhibit we went past the square. And you could see the crowds arriving from afar. It was already dark so any call to speech from far off. Was there was no mistaking the peoples message to cold they wanted rain if occasion to happen fast the east german leadership had no support. And the interest that evening in dresden when we sat down together we knew there was no point negotiating further agreements with madrasa government the only thing to do was get the ball rolling with free elections as quickly as possible if you can do you feel injured some bruised him and thats why for clearly our mistake was based on our expectation that the treaties we agreed on serve as a foundation that made both states viable during that phase. Fear by it is damaged and therefore and they give us a tut the kind of plane that was pushed aside by cole very quickly they can show visitors what it was one of the most difficult speeches of my political life its given the people who are waiting for a statement not only there on the square but across the country in west germany and in east germany millions of people abroad or where their own concern is that had to be taken into consideration were also watching and listening i sense that you have. Decades on the square where code. His speech looks very different. Today its dominated by the following catch up rebuild after reunification. Financed by german and International Donors from all denominations. Its considered a symbol of peace and reconciliation. Destroyed by allied bombs in 1945 it now attracts countless visitors every year locals are proud of dan said his lambach. Pastor sebastian fight says that coles speech and the events of 30 years ago are inextricably linked with a frown catcha the man who bit of it is even when you look at the images today there he is standing in front of the rubble of the church nor laying out the path to a new europe the middle and will instantly today i think he laid the foundation for the rebuilt church to become not only a symbol of german reunification but also of european unity idols. Which are better suited to the slogan style would say that for the people addressed and its a symbol of the change that came so they associate it with the change that they themselves made happen of that cut. But not everyone is pleased with that change. In the past 5 years there have once again been demonstrations in front of the frown kasher they are organized by picky eater a Movement Began in eastern germany that is nationalist anti islam and far right supporters feel left behind and blame the way reunification happened. In ferguson way mustnt forget that these people had to really learn everything as a result of the laws new regulations and a new type of economy the good. To see some people see reunification as a gift others as dictated and. Offered so of course some people felt left behind them both unison with guns mccomb them these discussions play with mention obviously there hasnt been enough of a dialogue with these people these are wounds not wanting unification wasnt automatically a statement of support for a democratic system quinces team given his and they didnt know what that was. That process needs to be reappraised you know if all these people are saying that maybe they want to different system. Or that there are unhappy with todays germany to flee to the. Sustained winds will be the actual and the number of people attending the picky eater demonstrations hash trunk but the success of the far right in Eastern States suggest there is still a significant number of people who are angry some say that these people feel their contributions to communist east German Society are not respected doesnt thats the underlying feeling and its come to the boil these days i dont know why exactly after 30 years. But they dont feel taken seriously in their own country they dont feel theres any acknowledgment of what they achieved in their lives. Thats the perspective of. The monday due to the way the east German Government that i was a part of was treated after night 290. 00 was pretty shocking. And they acted as though the german reunification was up to the chancellor alone. As a result east germany was completely sidelined. For. This you cant do that and then be surprised by the f. T. One things for sure in that postwar period the message calling was given by the people of east germany was unmistakable they wanted him to negotiate reunification and to do it fast 1st that fateful evening in dresden in front of the ruins of the frown cache and again when it came to elections he delivered a reification 9 months after his tightrope act in dresden. The dresden that youre going and i revisited is thriving but weve met people who experience that day in 1009 and germanys rapid reunification as a profound shock the process had its disappointments but hopefully dresden will find a way to deal with populist looking to instrumental lines those disappointments 30 years ago in front of the ruins of the found capture east germans made a choice they chose a Free Democratic society. My let me say that my goal should the historical our permit it remains the unity of our nation the i and dear friends i know that we can achieve this goal and that the hour will come when we will work. Gathered towards it provided that we do it with reason and sound judgement in a sense for what is possible given the path there will be difficult but its the right path that leads to our shared future. These days people meticulously planned everything to work on days off differently all for the sake of fishing. As a result many people feel stressed out. What is the optimal time management and do we even need in the 1st place. Made in germany in 30 minutes spawn d w. Conflicts and sebastian. Chinas recent celebrations for his 70th anniversary one quite the Public Relations trial phase was supposed to be my guest this week here in london is a victim golf charges he justified. Time is come to a log of human rights abuses out of a continuing pressure on hong kong conflicts over. 90 minutes on g. W. Plaing in crisis. Dutch abella editor in chief in his pool interviews the chairman of the Chinese Telecommunications giant leon who are in hong kong. Jan huawei survive the turmoil caused by the trade war between china and the us. The interview. Today on t. W. Sure you see the people of the world over to g. W. On facebook and twitter up to date and in touch and follow us. This is d. W. News and these are our top stories the u. S. House of representatives has voted to impeach President Donald Trump Majority Democrats won the vote which split along party lines the articles of impeachment needs now to be passed to the senate where republican majority is expected to vote to keep President Trump in office and amends for. Training state of New South Wales has declared a state of emerged