1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,160 Speaker 1: Welcome to you Stuff you Should Know from House Stuff 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 3 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:17,599 Speaker 1: Josh Clark, There's Charles W. Chuck Bryant, there's Jerry and 4 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:21,160 Speaker 1: this Stuff you Should Know the podcast Tear Down the Wall. 5 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:25,239 Speaker 1: Tear down the Wall? Can you say in German? No, 6 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: it would be more authentic. Yeah, tear down the wall. Yeah, 7 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:35,159 Speaker 1: I think that's it. Yeah, that's right. I should know 8 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:39,240 Speaker 1: what that is in German. It's tear down the wall. Yeah. 9 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:41,880 Speaker 1: I remember this stuff man. That was you do too, 10 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:44,159 Speaker 1: to a certain degree. Oh yeah. We both grew up 11 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:46,839 Speaker 1: in the shadow of the Berlin Wall, but several thousand 12 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: miles west. It's crazy though to think about it now. Um, 13 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: if you're of a certain age, the concept of walling 14 00:00:54,640 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: in the city seems probably really strange and unlikely. Yeah, 15 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:03,160 Speaker 1: you know, if you're like under thirty, probably like what 16 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: one of the things that then this is a grab 17 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 1: star article, so it has the stank of quality on it. Um. 18 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: That I learned from this article was that there were 19 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: a lot of people in power at the time who 20 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 1: were very relieved when the Berlin Wall went up. Yeah, 21 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: quietly relieved because things were coming to a head between 22 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:25,360 Speaker 1: two nuclear superpowers in the city of Berlin. Yeah, even 23 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:28,160 Speaker 1: they couldn't really say it out loud, but even Western 24 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 1: leaders were like, all right, well, this maybe not the 25 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 1: worst thing for now. Ah yeah, exactly, give me a 26 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 1: scotch because world leaders drink scotch? Should they do? Yeah? 27 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:43,520 Speaker 1: And they were dark socks. What's up with that? I 28 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,039 Speaker 1: don't know. It's so you want to get down to 29 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: business here about the Berlin Wall. Um, there's a there 30 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: was long a discrepancy over how many people were killed 31 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 1: at the Berlin Wall. Yeah, trying to uh defend or escape, 32 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:03,880 Speaker 1: depending on which way you want to look at it. Yeah. Um. 33 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:07,559 Speaker 1: And the exact number stands right now at one thirty six. 34 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:11,919 Speaker 1: That so many have been confirmed, plenty have been um denied. 35 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:16,040 Speaker 1: I guess, um there were some something Some people said 36 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: like as many as three hundred were killed. Some people 37 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: said as low as ninety eight. But definitely one thirty 38 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:24,959 Speaker 1: six people were killed at the Berlin Wall, either trying 39 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:29,520 Speaker 1: to escape or that included border guards who were killed 40 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:32,960 Speaker 1: by people who were escaping, And it also sadly included 41 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: thirty people who were just trying to cross the border 42 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,239 Speaker 1: and weren't trying to escape, but we're killed accidentally. Yeah, 43 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:40,920 Speaker 1: it doesn't sound like a super high number, and I 44 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: guess it's not in the grand scheme of things, but 45 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,799 Speaker 1: it didn't need to be. Like when those first people 46 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: and we'll get to who they were. When those first 47 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: people were killed, it's in a very strong message like 48 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:53,920 Speaker 1: do so it tried it at your own risk, you know, 49 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:56,360 Speaker 1: because you might get shot in the back exactly. Um, 50 00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: And there were trials. The exact numbers for the people 51 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,800 Speaker 1: who were killed at the at the Berlin Wall came 52 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:08,800 Speaker 1: out of documents that were used in trials to try 53 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 1: people who were responsible for basically issuing shoot to kill orders. 54 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:16,799 Speaker 1: And yeah, it wasn't clear from the get go just 55 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:19,360 Speaker 1: how poors the border was, even though there was a wall. 56 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:21,520 Speaker 1: But yeah, when they started shooting people and putting in 57 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:25,359 Speaker 1: land mines, it became clear like this is a you 58 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: you try to cross this border now at the risk 59 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,679 Speaker 1: of your own life. They're not messing around. Apparently a 60 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 1: pregnant woman was shot and killed trying to defect. So yes, 61 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 1: we'll talk about them, but there's plenty of this wall, 62 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:43,320 Speaker 1: the Berlin Wall that I didn't understand. Um. And I 63 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 1: guess I didn't really understand the context. And again, the 64 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: graphs are did a really good job of like getting 65 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: down to the nitty gritty of like where the whole 66 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:52,839 Speaker 1: thing started, and it finds its roots back in World 67 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 1: War two, at the end of World War two, specifically 68 00:03:56,160 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 1: after Germany surrendered on May seven? Are we getting in 69 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 1: the way back machine? Oh? You want to? Yeah, we 70 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 1: gotta blow the dust off of this thing. This is 71 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:09,040 Speaker 1: a dangerous time we're going back to. Just before one. 72 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:11,640 Speaker 1: You have to go prime the the engine as well. 73 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 1: Pumped that little bubble because it's been a while. Start 74 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 1: her up. It sounds like it's working all right. So yeah, 75 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:29,360 Speaker 1: it is a little scary where we are and the 76 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:32,359 Speaker 1: end of World War two very uncertain time. Rememb Berlin. 77 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 1: That's right, And like you said, Germany has surrendered. Uh, 78 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:42,560 Speaker 1: but things were a little dodgy before that because Russia 79 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:46,719 Speaker 1: was initially against the Allied forces, which were the United 80 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:48,800 Speaker 1: States and France and Britain. Yeah, they had a treaty 81 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 1: with Germany. Yeah, but then Germany, like you know, Hitler 82 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:54,320 Speaker 1: was one to do, changed his minds and you know what, 83 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:57,479 Speaker 1: I'm gonna invade you guys too, which is pretty stupid, because, 84 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:00,599 Speaker 1: as everyone knows, you don't did you don't start a 85 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:03,160 Speaker 1: land war in Russia. It didn't work out too well 86 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 1: in the end. But what it did was it flopped Russia. Um, 87 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:10,160 Speaker 1: not super willingly, but it kind of flopped them over 88 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 1: the Allied side, even though things were so different in 89 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:16,159 Speaker 1: our two countries. It was a little bit weird that 90 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 1: they did that, right, we we should their hand. It 91 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 1: was one of those the enemy of my enemy is 92 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: my friend kind of thing. Yes, so so so the 93 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,599 Speaker 1: Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin was like, hey, guys, remember 94 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 1: how were just fighting on the same side. Well, my 95 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: teammate just attacked me, so can I come over and 96 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:38,000 Speaker 1: hang out with you dudes for a while? What was 97 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:41,400 Speaker 1: weird was that this is a total Terryan communist regime 98 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: asking democratic countries to come fight on their side. They 99 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: were probably like, but how about that Hitler guy? Forget 100 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 1: about us for a minute, Like we should all get 101 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 1: together and stop him. Says a lot about how much 102 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:58,840 Speaker 1: everybody hated Hitler. Yeah. Um, but like we said, in 103 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:05,239 Speaker 1: Germany did surrender and uh, oddly, and it's still strange 104 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:09,400 Speaker 1: to think about it. They decided um to divide Germany 105 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:12,719 Speaker 1: up into four zones, and then within one of the 106 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:15,840 Speaker 1: communist zones, the East German Zone, they divided the city 107 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:20,360 Speaker 1: of Berlin up into four zones. Right, such an odd idea. Well, 108 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 1: the thing is is the Soviets had a seat at 109 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:26,000 Speaker 1: the table at the Yalta conference because they were one 110 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:28,240 Speaker 1: of the victors, was one of the Allied victors at 111 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: the end of the war. And even though the Allies knew, 112 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: like this is really weird having the Soviets there, Who knows, 113 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:36,679 Speaker 1: maybe you can generate goodwill. We don't know what's gonna happen. 114 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:39,320 Speaker 1: So they get an even piece of the pie. And 115 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:42,240 Speaker 1: that's what they did. They divided Germany up into four zones, 116 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:46,720 Speaker 1: and France, Britain and the US eventually merged their zone 117 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:50,160 Speaker 1: and that became the Federal Republic of Germany also known 118 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 1: as West Germany UM. And the Soviets said, we're just 119 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:58,600 Speaker 1: gonna keep total and complete control over our side of Germany. 120 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 1: We'll call it the German Democratic Republic UM, and we're 121 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,159 Speaker 1: going to start a puppet stayed in there. I think 122 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:08,240 Speaker 1: the thing that really surprised the Allies though, was that 123 00:07:08,279 --> 00:07:11,720 Speaker 1: the Soviets took the chaos at the end of World 124 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:15,560 Speaker 1: War Two as an opportunity to invade and occupy a 125 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:19,840 Speaker 1: bunch of other formerly independent countries. That's what really caught 126 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:24,040 Speaker 1: everybody by surprise. Yeah, and that uh they basically formed 127 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 1: what was to be known as the Iron Curtain, this 128 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:31,120 Speaker 1: isolation that they UH basically put on all these countries 129 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:33,160 Speaker 1: that they invaded. They just cut them off from the 130 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 1: rest of the world. And that was the Eastern Block 131 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:40,320 Speaker 1: and American everyone else was like, huh, I didn't see 132 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:43,320 Speaker 1: that coming. Yeah, but there was an anomaly to the 133 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: Iron Curtain, like it was sealed, like all the borders 134 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 1: and all of the Eastern Bloc countries were closed and guarded, 135 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:53,280 Speaker 1: and so there was this Iron curtain between the Soviet 136 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: Block and the West. But there was this one little 137 00:07:56,680 --> 00:08:00,320 Speaker 1: pocket like as part of the Yalta Conference, Berlin, which 138 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:04,679 Speaker 1: is totally in East Germany, was also divided up into 139 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:08,720 Speaker 1: four quadrants, and the in Britain, France and the US 140 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 1: merged there together, and that was West Berlin, and there 141 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:16,160 Speaker 1: was also East Berlin. Soviet controlled East Berlin. So within 142 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 1: Soviet controlled East Germany was a little island called West 143 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:25,000 Speaker 1: Berlin that was controlled by the UH. Well, the West 144 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:28,800 Speaker 1: German government, the Allies, and there you have it. I 145 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:32,280 Speaker 1: don't think it wasn't a recipe for long term success, No, 146 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 1: And I don't think anyone thought it would be. I 147 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:36,800 Speaker 1: don't know. I mean, why would you go to the 148 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 1: trouble if you thought it wouldn't be I don't know, 149 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 1: maybe just a temporarily quell things. I mean, surely they 150 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:44,559 Speaker 1: didn't think that would be like that forever. Well, it's 151 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:48,760 Speaker 1: almost like they went in after yalta whistling with the 152 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:51,600 Speaker 1: powder keg and just set it down in the middle 153 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:55,800 Speaker 1: of East Germany and paid out some fuse and lit 154 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:58,560 Speaker 1: it and whistled as they walked away. That's what they 155 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:01,400 Speaker 1: did when they divided East in West Berlin. Yeah, and 156 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:06,520 Speaker 1: there wasn't um Like the Western nations weren't thrilled with 157 00:09:06,559 --> 00:09:08,680 Speaker 1: all this, but there wasn't much we could do because 158 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:12,000 Speaker 1: they had nuclear bombs and we had nuclear bombs, and 159 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:14,120 Speaker 1: no one wanted that to happen. So there was a 160 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:16,559 Speaker 1: lot of spying and a lot of name calling, a 161 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 1: lot of speeches and rhetoric. There was also a lot 162 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 1: of kidnaps, a lot of bureaucratic delays, a lot of 163 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,960 Speaker 1: feet dragging, but in the end, there was no it 164 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:28,960 Speaker 1: wasn't going to lead to another war. No, because like 165 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:32,839 Speaker 1: you said, both sides had nukes, so nobody could step 166 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:35,959 Speaker 1: up and provoke one another militarily, right, No, I mean 167 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:38,839 Speaker 1: not to that degree. So life was really weird in 168 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:42,280 Speaker 1: um Berlin, in West Berlin, in particular, in East Berlin 169 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:45,040 Speaker 1: it was just part of the rest of East Germany. 170 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: But again, West Berlin was this little island in East 171 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:55,960 Speaker 1: Germany and there was rail and UM highway, um connections 172 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:59,720 Speaker 1: to the west. Well, they shared an infrastructure. Yeah, it's 173 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 1: a weird thing to do, like a mail system, trains, 174 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:06,320 Speaker 1: it's it's like, it's very you can't it's a hard 175 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:09,720 Speaker 1: thing to divide a country like that city within the country, right, Yeah, 176 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:12,760 Speaker 1: that made it even weirder. Um, And I guess it 177 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:14,360 Speaker 1: carried on like that for a little while, and then 178 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:17,240 Speaker 1: the Soviets were like, yeah, we really didn't mean anything 179 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:19,679 Speaker 1: when we agreed to this, so we're gonna cut off 180 00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:23,360 Speaker 1: all this transportation in and out of the city and 181 00:10:23,559 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 1: um they basically blockaded West Germany from being helped by 182 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:34,840 Speaker 1: the West through rail and through car. But the Allies 183 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:40,000 Speaker 1: could still land planes in and out of West Berlin. Yeah, 184 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:42,319 Speaker 1: whether they were trying to choke them out basically and 185 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:45,520 Speaker 1: just say good luck without food and supply. Yeah, we're 186 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,280 Speaker 1: going to take over the city now. And the Americans said, 187 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:50,920 Speaker 1: oh yeah, how about the Berlin Airlift, buddy, how about 188 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 1: sorties landing every two minutes, twenty four hours a day, 189 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:57,840 Speaker 1: bringing in all the supplies you need, the very tight corridor. 190 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:00,840 Speaker 1: It's difficult, but whether you essay, and we can do 191 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 1: it because we can fly planes. And it worked. Yeah. 192 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:09,600 Speaker 1: Apparently the Allied forces who were supplying West Germany just 193 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 1: enough to keep the city going. We're bringing in more 194 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:15,120 Speaker 1: than two hundred thousand tons of cargo a month at 195 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:17,360 Speaker 1: the peak of the airlift, and they kept it going 196 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:20,280 Speaker 1: for it almost a year. They were basically like, you're 197 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:23,240 Speaker 1: not gonna You're not taking over West Berlin. Yeah, we 198 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:26,360 Speaker 1: had planes and we got lots of gas, lots of pilots. 199 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:30,199 Speaker 1: And eventually the Soviet England was like, all right, well, 200 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:32,920 Speaker 1: I guess that didn't work, so let's go ahead and 201 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:36,520 Speaker 1: open up those uh the rail traffic in the roads again. Right, 202 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:40,240 Speaker 1: They lifted the block hayde Um, so things were cool 203 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:43,800 Speaker 1: for a little while, but the Soviets hadn't really forgotten anything, 204 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:47,880 Speaker 1: and UM tensions were just increased more and more after 205 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:53,880 Speaker 1: the Berlin Airlift UM, and I think things were getting 206 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:57,840 Speaker 1: just more and I get the impression that we were 207 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:01,760 Speaker 1: getting closer and closer to the threat of nuclear war 208 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:06,080 Speaker 1: right there in the middle of East Germany UM, and 209 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:08,360 Speaker 1: apparently no one knew what to do about it. One 210 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:11,200 Speaker 1: of the biggest things that was provoking these tensions was 211 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:15,400 Speaker 1: the UM massive amounts of defection from East Germany to 212 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:19,280 Speaker 1: West Germany, because if you were an East Berliner or 213 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:22,960 Speaker 1: in East German, all you did was trot right into 214 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:26,600 Speaker 1: West Berlin. There's nothing to stop you catch a plane 215 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:29,680 Speaker 1: out of West Berlin and fly out to wherever you wanted. 216 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:32,240 Speaker 1: And a lot of people did it, Yeah, and it 217 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:35,080 Speaker 1: was a real divide between the old Guard and the 218 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:37,840 Speaker 1: New Guard. It was mostly young professionals that saw the 219 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:41,560 Speaker 1: riding on the wall. UM. East Germany finally realized they're 220 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:43,840 Speaker 1: in big trouble when they started looking at the number 221 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:47,200 Speaker 1: of doctors leaving and realized they couldn't train enough doctors 222 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:52,160 Speaker 1: UH to support the country that were there that we're exiting. 223 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:55,480 Speaker 1: So by n more than two hundred thousand East Germans 224 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:59,680 Speaker 1: had left, and uh, East Germany knew they were in 225 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:02,400 Speaker 1: trouble because in West Germany didn't love it either, because 226 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:05,400 Speaker 1: there was a big economic strain put on them by 227 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 1: having all these people to show up all of a sudden, 228 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:11,000 Speaker 1: say hey, we're here now, like help us out, take 229 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:13,120 Speaker 1: care of us, right exactly, and you know, not just 230 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:16,520 Speaker 1: take care of us, but help us take care of ourselves. Yeah, 231 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:18,600 Speaker 1: some of them wanted to stay in Berlin. I'm sure 232 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:21,680 Speaker 1: plenty of them wanted to just leave Germany altogether. But 233 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,959 Speaker 1: the point is in the West you have this infrastructure 234 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:29,480 Speaker 1: that's being tested by the number of defections, and then 235 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:32,240 Speaker 1: in the East you have this huge brain drain going on, 236 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:36,200 Speaker 1: and so it was causing more and more tension because 237 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:39,720 Speaker 1: the Western forces, the United States and all weren't doing 238 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:43,199 Speaker 1: anything to stop these defections. And probably we're being a 239 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:47,080 Speaker 1: little smug about the whole thing because it suggests like, well, 240 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:50,520 Speaker 1: why do all of your people want to leave in droves. 241 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:53,760 Speaker 1: Maybe you're doing something wrong, Maybe you should just give up. 242 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:56,959 Speaker 1: And the Soviets said, we're not going to give up. 243 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:01,080 Speaker 1: Nice try, uncle Sam, but we're not going to do that. Instead, 244 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:05,880 Speaker 1: we're gonna wait till nightfalls on August twelfth, nineteen sixty one, 245 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:09,280 Speaker 1: and we'll get to what happened there right after this 246 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:15,920 Speaker 1: break all right, Josh, It's auguste code name Wall of 247 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:22,200 Speaker 1: China from the orders of Nikita Kruschev Um but spoken 248 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:26,280 Speaker 1: by what some call a puppet leader, Walter ulbrick Um. 249 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:28,320 Speaker 1: Other people say he wasn't so much a puppet and 250 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:30,840 Speaker 1: it was his idea. I'm not really sure what the 251 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:34,480 Speaker 1: truth is there that actually, but at any rate, they said, 252 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:36,560 Speaker 1: you know what we're gonna do. We are going to 253 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:39,560 Speaker 1: in the dead of night turn off all the street 254 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:42,400 Speaker 1: lights and we're gonna start building the wall out of 255 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:45,680 Speaker 1: concrete post and barbed wire. And when people wake up 256 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:48,400 Speaker 1: all over the world, they're going to be surprised to 257 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:54,880 Speaker 1: see about five miles of wall through central Berlin. And 258 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:59,680 Speaker 1: everyone was surprised, including President Kennedy. Was like a wall, right, 259 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:02,680 Speaker 1: And at first it was kind of a skimpy wall. 260 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:06,080 Speaker 1: It was, I mean not not just symbolic like there 261 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 1: were coils of um razor wire and that kind of thing, 262 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:11,280 Speaker 1: like it was intended to block people, but it was 263 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,880 Speaker 1: nothing like the construction that would follow. And a lot 264 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:18,160 Speaker 1: of East Berliners, um saw the writing on the wall 265 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:22,360 Speaker 1: and said, if we have now have a narrow chance 266 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,560 Speaker 1: of escaping, so we're gonna try it. Yeah, and um, 267 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:28,400 Speaker 1: at that point, the initial few days, they closed sixty 268 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:32,280 Speaker 1: eight one checkpoints, seal bows off, put armed guards at 269 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:36,440 Speaker 1: the rest of them, and uh, they closed the train stations. Yeah, 270 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:38,880 Speaker 1: close the train stations. And then they began in earnest 271 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:43,040 Speaker 1: what was called the first generation wall was the initial phase, 272 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:47,440 Speaker 1: and it was crude and it didn't even have the foundation. 273 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:53,960 Speaker 1: They basically used bricks from bombed out buildings and mortar 274 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 1: and just kind of started putting up whatever they could 275 00:15:56,880 --> 00:15:59,360 Speaker 1: to form the initial wall. Right. And then how long 276 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:02,160 Speaker 1: after that until they started to build what we came 277 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 1: to understand as the Berlin Wall, I think a few years. 278 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:08,920 Speaker 1: I mean they had to get that first initial phase 279 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:12,080 Speaker 1: fully built, and then I think they a few years 280 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:14,760 Speaker 1: later they started work on fortifying it and making it 281 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:18,240 Speaker 1: like a real wall. So, um, like when we say 282 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 1: this happened overnight, it literally happened overnight. And there were 283 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:25,040 Speaker 1: some unfinished parts here there in some pockets that you 284 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:28,400 Speaker 1: could consumably like make a run for it, a literal 285 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:33,360 Speaker 1: last ditch attempt to run through UM, but it was 286 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:36,280 Speaker 1: put up fast enough in in a substantial enough amount 287 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:40,800 Speaker 1: that people were trapped on either side, Like overnight, if 288 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:43,400 Speaker 1: you had a one night stand with a lady on 289 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:44,960 Speaker 1: the other side of the wall, and you woke up 290 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:46,680 Speaker 1: and you're like, I gotta do the walk of shame 291 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:49,160 Speaker 1: back over to my apartment, you were met with barbed 292 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:51,640 Speaker 1: wire fence and guns like and that was that, and 293 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:54,240 Speaker 1: you married that lady. There was a there was a 294 00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:58,320 Speaker 1: woman who gave birth to a son and UM ended 295 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:01,840 Speaker 1: up on different sides a few weeks after her son 296 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:04,480 Speaker 1: was born, and he was basically raised in West Germany 297 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,640 Speaker 1: and she was thrown into a prison in East Germany 298 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:10,880 Speaker 1: for a while. UM. There were a lot of stories 299 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:14,600 Speaker 1: of people who were just just separated overnight from their families. 300 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:19,000 Speaker 1: A lot of parents suspected that this that some sort 301 00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:22,040 Speaker 1: of border enforcement was going to be put up at 302 00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:24,000 Speaker 1: some point, so they're like, well, we need to get 303 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:26,480 Speaker 1: over to West Germany. But they tried to do it right. 304 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:29,520 Speaker 1: They went over and they rented an apartment, left their 305 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:32,840 Speaker 1: kids back there, got jobs, started to save money until 306 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:35,680 Speaker 1: he could move their kids over. And some families were 307 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:39,280 Speaker 1: cut off because they didn't get their kids over in time. Yeah, 308 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:42,879 Speaker 1: and again this was all um violated. They alto agreement. 309 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:46,160 Speaker 1: I mean it was all these treaties were completely violated 310 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:50,800 Speaker 1: and it was illegal. But um once again quietly a 311 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:54,679 Speaker 1: lot of like it was a burning kettle, a boiling kettle, 312 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:58,840 Speaker 1: burning and boiling kettle, and things were not looking good. 313 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:00,840 Speaker 1: So everyone was kind of like, all right, maybe this 314 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:03,879 Speaker 1: will at least quell things for now. And it's not 315 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:06,639 Speaker 1: the worst idea in the world, because don't quote me 316 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:10,000 Speaker 1: on that. No, And if you were West Berliner or 317 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:12,640 Speaker 1: an East Berliner, but especially at West Berliner, you did 318 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:15,200 Speaker 1: think it was the worst idea in the world. And 319 00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:19,320 Speaker 1: when it became clear that America and NATO weren't going 320 00:18:19,359 --> 00:18:22,040 Speaker 1: to do anything about this, there was a deep sense 321 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:27,320 Speaker 1: of betrayal by West Berliner's. They were like, but this, 322 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:30,560 Speaker 1: this spot in East Germany where the Soviets had been 323 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:35,760 Speaker 1: hemorrhaging face had been cauterized for now, and like you say, 324 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:39,679 Speaker 1: the West was secretly relieved. One of the things about 325 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:42,800 Speaker 1: this wall that I didn't know until this article was 326 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:46,960 Speaker 1: that it wasn't just a straight line. It was a circle. Yeah, 327 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:50,879 Speaker 1: the actual the one that enclosed Berlin enclosed fully in 328 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:54,040 Speaker 1: a circle of West Berlin. Yes, And the reason why 329 00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:56,840 Speaker 1: is because remember West Berlin was an island in the 330 00:18:56,880 --> 00:18:59,040 Speaker 1: middle of East Germany. So you couldn't just cut off 331 00:18:59,359 --> 00:19:01,800 Speaker 1: East Berlin from West Berlin. You had to cut off 332 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:04,560 Speaker 1: all of each Germany from West Berlin. And the only 333 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:07,399 Speaker 1: way to do that was to encircle West Berlin with 334 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:12,639 Speaker 1: the wall. That's right, like a prison almost. Um. All right, well, 335 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:14,520 Speaker 1: I guess we should talk a little bit about the wall, 336 00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 1: the physical wall, and what it was like. Um. Eventually 337 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:24,280 Speaker 1: when they got to the fine well, it evolved over 338 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:27,119 Speaker 1: the course of you know, many many years. But the 339 00:19:27,119 --> 00:19:30,280 Speaker 1: second phase was when they had the legit twelve to 340 00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:35,680 Speaker 1: fifteen foot concrete uh studded rebar walls with guard towers 341 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:39,320 Speaker 1: and guns. Uh. They were topped with the tubes so 342 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:42,119 Speaker 1: make it hard to get ahold. There are really two 343 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:46,359 Speaker 1: walls there was. There was the first uh run of 344 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:50,080 Speaker 1: barbed wire and these tank traps. If you saw saving 345 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:53,159 Speaker 1: Private Ryan, you've seen those those big like jaggedy things 346 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:59,400 Speaker 1: like on the beach. Tank traps and they're like huge jacks. Yeah, 347 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:03,120 Speaker 1: that's why, yeah, pretty much. Uh, and thanks can't run 348 00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:05,440 Speaker 1: over him, which is I think is a key. It's 349 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:09,119 Speaker 1: like all traps um. So there was that area, and 350 00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:12,800 Speaker 1: then there was about thirty to forty yards depending on 351 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:16,720 Speaker 1: where it was of just They called it the what 352 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:20,280 Speaker 1: the death strip where they put chemicals on the ground 353 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:23,280 Speaker 1: to kill all the vegetation. They got German shepherds and 354 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:28,800 Speaker 1: put them on um extra long leaders that basically brought 355 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:31,120 Speaker 1: them nose to nose but didn't allow them to get 356 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:33,320 Speaker 1: into it with each other. But there were no gaps, 357 00:20:33,359 --> 00:20:35,520 Speaker 1: you know, you had to encounter a German shepherd and 358 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:37,960 Speaker 1: then if you got through all that junk, you got 359 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:40,600 Speaker 1: to the actual concrete wall, and then on that wall 360 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:44,359 Speaker 1: the actual At some part there were guard towers with 361 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:50,240 Speaker 1: searchlights and they were crafty little um communists. They had 362 00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:54,000 Speaker 1: um They would use like standard gravel for the walkways. Well, 363 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:57,760 Speaker 1: Germany is stand, so they would just use the ground, 364 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:01,480 Speaker 1: but they would keep it very well raked um smoothly 365 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:04,199 Speaker 1: rake so that you could see footprints very easily. And 366 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:07,760 Speaker 1: everything was painted a bright white so anything would show 367 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:10,600 Speaker 1: up against it very clearly. Yeah, and that's on the 368 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:13,399 Speaker 1: east side. On the west side it was painted with 369 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:18,120 Speaker 1: graffiti and art. And because they were just crazy free people, well, 370 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:20,360 Speaker 1: they could walk right up to the wall too. They 371 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:22,640 Speaker 1: didn't have to go through German shepherds or razor wire 372 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:25,000 Speaker 1: tank traps. They just walked right up to the wall 373 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:28,560 Speaker 1: and show their disdained for it by using graffiti or 374 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:31,040 Speaker 1: peeing on it. Probably, I'm sure the Berlin Wall was 375 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:33,560 Speaker 1: paid on more than once. I guess that Ronald Reagan 376 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:38,760 Speaker 1: famously did. Uh. There were trip wires that were hooked 377 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:42,479 Speaker 1: up to automatic uh machine gun fire for a while. 378 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:48,080 Speaker 1: Eventually they um agreed to take those down. Um. And 379 00:21:48,119 --> 00:21:51,359 Speaker 1: apparently it was tough to even get guards on this 380 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:54,080 Speaker 1: thing because they first had to weed out they didn't 381 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:56,199 Speaker 1: want any guards that had ties to West Germany at all. 382 00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:58,760 Speaker 1: A lot of a lot of guards defected in the 383 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:02,000 Speaker 1: early days. Yeah, they realized we got to get guards 384 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:05,080 Speaker 1: that have no family over there, no affinity over there, 385 00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:08,680 Speaker 1: and that really narrowed the pool down. And then, uh, 386 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:10,600 Speaker 1: I'm sure there were some guards that were GungHo, but 387 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:13,879 Speaker 1: a lot of them were alcoholics and did not like 388 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:16,920 Speaker 1: their post and didn't want to be there and didn't 389 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:19,000 Speaker 1: want to have the orders to shoot to kill. They're 390 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:22,080 Speaker 1: what they might have seen is still their fellow countrymen. Yeah, 391 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:24,080 Speaker 1: I'm sure, a lot of them did. And we should 392 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:28,400 Speaker 1: say also that not everybody was trapped in East Germany. 393 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:31,080 Speaker 1: There were There was a strong sentiment after the war, 394 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:36,639 Speaker 1: especially that um, West Germany was the part that was 395 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:40,440 Speaker 1: much more associated with the Nazi regime, the some of 396 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:42,840 Speaker 1: the worst atrocities were carried out and what was now 397 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:47,080 Speaker 1: West Germany and in the East there was a perceived 398 00:22:47,359 --> 00:22:54,240 Speaker 1: separation from that physically and now historically. Um, that was 399 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:56,760 Speaker 1: one reason some people like to stay in East Germany. Yeah, 400 00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:59,240 Speaker 1: and I got the impression that definitely was a sort 401 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:02,480 Speaker 1: of a divide between the old and young. Yeah. Um, 402 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:04,840 Speaker 1: as far as the older people thinking, you know, maybe 403 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:07,520 Speaker 1: this communism thing will take care of everybody, right, and 404 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:09,399 Speaker 1: the young were like, no, no, no, no, freedom, that's 405 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:12,320 Speaker 1: where it's at. So there was a socialist bent among 406 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:15,000 Speaker 1: some people. So there were people who were UM, at 407 00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:18,919 Speaker 1: least at first and probably throughout, but definitely at first, 408 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:24,120 Speaker 1: UM happy to be living in a Soviet Bloc country. Yeah. 409 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:26,600 Speaker 1: What struck struck me as super weird was that as 410 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:30,800 Speaker 1: a western, uh West German, you could travel into East 411 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:34,920 Speaker 1: Germany pretty much freely back and forth, which I never 412 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:37,040 Speaker 1: knew that. I thought it was just completely sealed off. 413 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:39,800 Speaker 1: If you were West German, Yeah, yeah, you were. You 414 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:44,600 Speaker 1: were supposed to be allowed passage through pretty simply. Yeah. 415 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:48,399 Speaker 1: And back to West Germany. There were special plates for 416 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:52,400 Speaker 1: people who lived in West Germany. Oh yeah, I feel 417 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:56,080 Speaker 1: like there. I don't care what operas in East Germany. 418 00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:59,720 Speaker 1: I'm not going over. I'll get a new dentist um. 419 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:02,680 Speaker 1: And there were actually some standoffs. There was a there 420 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:05,600 Speaker 1: was a really big standoff in nineteen sixty one because 421 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:10,520 Speaker 1: the East Germans didn't allow uh egress like they were 422 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:14,840 Speaker 1: supposed to. Two people with plainly marked cars. Actually American 423 00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:17,960 Speaker 1: diplomats and tanks ended up on either side of the 424 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:21,119 Speaker 1: border at Checkpoint Charlie for a full day, Soviet tanks 425 00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:24,520 Speaker 1: and American tanks just facing one another, and luckily everybody 426 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:28,400 Speaker 1: stood down um and called the whole thing off. But 427 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:30,919 Speaker 1: it was it was tents there for a little bit, 428 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:34,840 Speaker 1: and the Americans were intentionally testing the Soviets to see 429 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:38,840 Speaker 1: if they would let them let them pass without stopping, 430 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:41,159 Speaker 1: and the Soviets didn't. Like four or five times in 431 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:43,800 Speaker 1: the two day period tank showed up and at the 432 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:46,280 Speaker 1: checkpoint Charlie was the main gate there at Berlin, right 433 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:49,840 Speaker 1: by NATO in the west. Right. That was the gate 434 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,760 Speaker 1: between West Berlin and East Berlin. But it wasn't the 435 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:57,200 Speaker 1: only gate. There were other ones. So going from West 436 00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:00,760 Speaker 1: Germany into East Germany it was checkpoint Alfa, yeah, and 437 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:05,400 Speaker 1: then from East Germany into West Berlin was checkpoint Uh 438 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 1: was it Beta? I think it's Baker Alpha, Bravo, char 439 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:15,040 Speaker 1: thank you. And that's where I get lost. Well, yeah, 440 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:17,800 Speaker 1: I think it may It might have stopped after Charlie. No. 441 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:21,400 Speaker 1: I used to know that alphabet though, Oh the what's 442 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:23,480 Speaker 1: it call? I can't remember the name of the alphabet. 443 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:27,119 Speaker 1: Now we'll have to ask Jeff Tweetie what. Oh remember 444 00:25:27,119 --> 00:25:30,200 Speaker 1: Wilco in the numbers stations? Yeah, yeah, do you know 445 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:34,080 Speaker 1: Jeff Tweetie. I've met him before, Oh, at the rally 446 00:25:34,119 --> 00:25:36,440 Speaker 1: to restore Yeah, that's right. Yeah, he's a nice guy. 447 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:40,280 Speaker 1: That's awesome. I thought to meet Jeff Tweete. He's a 448 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:42,920 Speaker 1: good guy. Look at you. And that wasn't even a 449 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:46,320 Speaker 1: name drop because I asked, actually did drop the name, 450 00:25:46,359 --> 00:25:47,639 Speaker 1: but you didn't drop it in the way that you 451 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:51,280 Speaker 1: knew him exactly, and that doesn't count. Uh. So there 452 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:56,680 Speaker 1: are lots of awful stories about um people trying to 453 00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:58,919 Speaker 1: get across and getting killed. But we talked about and 454 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:07,240 Speaker 1: I will highlight a few of those right after this break. 455 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:14,920 Speaker 1: So one of the problems with UM building a wall 456 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:18,600 Speaker 1: is that it's not necessarily going to follow the you know, 457 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:22,280 Speaker 1: the easiest path. So there was a street called barn 458 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:26,399 Speaker 1: Our Street where there were literally apartments that we're straddling 459 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:29,760 Speaker 1: the Berlin Wall. So like, if you were standing in 460 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:32,480 Speaker 1: your window and like you leaned your head out the window, 461 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:35,679 Speaker 1: your head was hovering above airspace of West Germany and 462 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:39,280 Speaker 1: your feet were in East Germany. And eventually they evicted 463 00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:41,720 Speaker 1: all those people living in the apartments and sealed up 464 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:44,680 Speaker 1: the windows because people would go in the front door 465 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:47,520 Speaker 1: and leave the back door. And the fact, yeah, like, hey, 466 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:50,520 Speaker 1: that was pretty easy. So they made it a multi 467 00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:56,000 Speaker 1: pronged uh. They addressed the issue of multi pronged fashion. UM. 468 00:26:56,040 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 1: They bricked up the first story stuff and I guess 469 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,960 Speaker 1: vastly underestimate needed the will of people who wanted it effect, 470 00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:04,520 Speaker 1: because they quickly found out that people were willing to 471 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:07,320 Speaker 1: jump out of second and third story windows. And what's 472 00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:13,359 Speaker 1: cool is Westboro Winners UM would frequently help defectors UM 473 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:16,879 Speaker 1: and so sometimes they would stand there with blankets like pulled, 474 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:19,720 Speaker 1: taught to catch somebody jumping from a second or third 475 00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:22,359 Speaker 1: story windows so they could defect more easily. Yeah, there 476 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:24,480 Speaker 1: was this one lady and this you can actually watch 477 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:27,120 Speaker 1: footage of this. It's startling. A seventy six year old 478 00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:32,440 Speaker 1: woman named Frieda Schultz. There's footage of her being pulled. 479 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:36,200 Speaker 1: She's hanging from a window, uh well not from a window. 480 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:39,520 Speaker 1: She's hanging from out of a window by East German 481 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:44,560 Speaker 1: policeman and there's Western Germans West Germans pulling her by 482 00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:47,359 Speaker 1: the feet. So the East German cops are trying to 483 00:27:47,359 --> 00:27:49,000 Speaker 1: pull her up into the window of the West Germans 484 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:51,320 Speaker 1: are trying to yank her down, the seventy six year 485 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:54,399 Speaker 1: old lady, and she was eventually yanked down, which is 486 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:57,600 Speaker 1: the goodness, I guess. But you can like watch that. 487 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:02,520 Speaker 1: It's file footage exists. It's creepy. She's what's her name, 488 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:06,080 Speaker 1: Frieda Schultz. There's I mean, there's a ton of great 489 00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:08,760 Speaker 1: documentaries on this, but I'll watch one from History Channel. Well, 490 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:13,040 Speaker 1: it's a pretty nutso event in world history, not so 491 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:19,560 Speaker 1: several decades long event, you know. Um so once the 492 00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:23,920 Speaker 1: border was really kind of sealed and the East German 493 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:28,320 Speaker 1: guards had shown like no, you're you're gonna you're we're 494 00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:30,520 Speaker 1: gonna shoot at you to try to kill you if 495 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:33,640 Speaker 1: we catch you trying to cross. People kind of settled 496 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:37,399 Speaker 1: into UM, I guess, a pretty dreary existence from what 497 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:42,120 Speaker 1: I understand, which it's probably true because you remember when 498 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:46,320 Speaker 1: we were being raised, and we were raised in the 499 00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:50,360 Speaker 1: Cold War, and we were fed a boatload of propaganda 500 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:53,600 Speaker 1: on a daily basis, and then once Iron Curtain fell, 501 00:28:53,920 --> 00:28:56,280 Speaker 1: we were able to see like, oh wait a minute, 502 00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:59,000 Speaker 1: those people aren't like they are not all coming over 503 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:00,640 Speaker 1: to kill us. They never to kill us in the 504 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:03,240 Speaker 1: first place. There's just other people. And there we were 505 00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:05,480 Speaker 1: lied to a lot, and the Red Scare was just 506 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:07,840 Speaker 1: it's crazy when you think about it. But the fact 507 00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:10,600 Speaker 1: that history still in the twenty one century, long after 508 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:13,880 Speaker 1: the Cold War and we're all adults now, UM still 509 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:17,719 Speaker 1: stands up that living in the Democratic Republic of UM 510 00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:24,360 Speaker 1: Germany UM was a really drabbed, dreary, hard existence. It 511 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:27,200 Speaker 1: must have actually been that way, Yeah, I mean, that's 512 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:30,200 Speaker 1: why someone would risk their life too to get out 513 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:33,440 Speaker 1: the first person that was killed we mentioned, you know, 514 00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:35,840 Speaker 1: how many people do you say it confirmed d thirty six. 515 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:40,080 Speaker 1: The first one was going to Litwyn Litvin and he 516 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:42,680 Speaker 1: tried to swim over canal and was shot and that 517 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:46,640 Speaker 1: sent a message, um. But the big one was Peter 518 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:50,640 Speaker 1: Fecht nice do you like that? In nineteen sixty two 519 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:53,000 Speaker 1: he was shot in the back climbing the wall and 520 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:57,680 Speaker 1: he was just a boy maybe yeah. And he was 521 00:29:57,760 --> 00:29:59,920 Speaker 1: right there at Checkpoint Charlie and shot in the back 522 00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:03,880 Speaker 1: and uh laid there on the ground crying out for 523 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:08,160 Speaker 1: help for hours and American soldiers are right there, German 524 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:12,040 Speaker 1: soldiers are right there, and both of them feared gunfire 525 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:14,120 Speaker 1: if they tried to do anything to just let this 526 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:17,680 Speaker 1: guy die screaming in the streets, bleeding out, and it 527 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:20,520 Speaker 1: took They left him there for an hour before the 528 00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:24,120 Speaker 1: um East German guards came and dragged his body away. 529 00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:27,400 Speaker 1: And there's still a memorial to this day, like almost 530 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,480 Speaker 1: immediately when I was put up and it was installed permanently, 531 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:34,440 Speaker 1: UM years later, but it's been ongoing ever since. There's 532 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:36,920 Speaker 1: a memorial to him on that wall where he died. 533 00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:39,640 Speaker 1: I'm dying to go to Berlin, I mean neat, Yeah, 534 00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:42,520 Speaker 1: I've never been. UM, I did Munich but um, I've 535 00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:45,160 Speaker 1: heard Berlin. It's just awesome. It hurts a lot of fun. 536 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:48,200 Speaker 1: Just a history there, it must be crazy. Yeah, And 537 00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:51,120 Speaker 1: I would love to hear um from people over there, 538 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:54,840 Speaker 1: like the lasting repercussions. I'm sure it's I mean, it 539 00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:57,120 Speaker 1: wasn't that long ago. I'm sure things are still strange 540 00:30:57,160 --> 00:30:59,800 Speaker 1: in some ways. Well yeah, plus I mean even be 541 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:03,560 Speaker 1: on strange, it's it's I think still Germany would probably 542 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:06,720 Speaker 1: be a lot further along today had it not been 543 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:13,440 Speaker 1: divided between UM Soviet and Allied rule. It said it 544 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,520 Speaker 1: back quite a bit. Apparently the drag on the East 545 00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:20,560 Speaker 1: German economy UM was enough that when the two did 546 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:23,760 Speaker 1: reunite eventually we'll talk about that in a minute. Um, 547 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:30,000 Speaker 1: the West had to assume this beleaguered economically devastated half 548 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:34,080 Speaker 1: of its former country. And that kind of kind of 549 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:37,240 Speaker 1: like Homer Simpson, like adding water and then salt to 550 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:40,120 Speaker 1: keep pinching, and the goldfish alive and the aquarium tank 551 00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:44,240 Speaker 1: we're both just kind of floating there, half alive. That's 552 00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:48,800 Speaker 1: what happened with Germany after reunification. That that is the 553 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:51,440 Speaker 1: reference that I've gone to more than any other. I 554 00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:55,080 Speaker 1: think that just that kinchy one. Yeah, I don't think 555 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:58,080 Speaker 1: I've ever remember using that. Wow, that's like the fifth time. 556 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:03,760 Speaker 1: All right, that's my fault. Um. So by nineteen sixty three, actually, 557 00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:06,560 Speaker 1: that have your answer from earlier. That's when the second 558 00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:10,200 Speaker 1: phase solid wall was fully complete. Uh. And that's when 559 00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:15,360 Speaker 1: they also had like grills through the rivers and canals, uh, 560 00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:19,560 Speaker 1: and metal grills in like sewer systems, and when they 561 00:32:19,560 --> 00:32:22,600 Speaker 1: really ratcheted up to the point where there was no 562 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:26,120 Speaker 1: way to get out unless you tunneled. So people tried 563 00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:28,320 Speaker 1: to tunnel. Dude, there's a guy who killed the guard 564 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:33,280 Speaker 1: for trying to stop him evacuating his family out. Yeah, 565 00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:37,560 Speaker 1: through a tunnel between an empty lot in West Berlin 566 00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:41,560 Speaker 1: into somebody's house in East Berlin. Yeah. The guy made 567 00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:44,080 Speaker 1: it and then came back for his family and some 568 00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:47,120 Speaker 1: guards tried to stop him, and dude shot him. Man, 569 00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:50,840 Speaker 1: he got a year suspended sentence years later after reunification. 570 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:54,240 Speaker 1: Who the soldier, No, the soldier was killed. Oh I 571 00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:56,240 Speaker 1: thought you meant, you know, the guy who was getting 572 00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:58,520 Speaker 1: his family out shot and killed. The soldier was trying 573 00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:01,280 Speaker 1: to stop him. Oh that's great. Yeah, and that's what 574 00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:03,680 Speaker 1: I'm saying. He got a year suspended sentence for murder 575 00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:07,000 Speaker 1: after reunification. Wow, it's a nice little slap on the wrist. 576 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:13,840 Speaker 1: All right, Well, speaking of unification, I guess we're there, right, Yeah, 577 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:18,400 Speaker 1: things were just kind of going along and seemed totally intractable, 578 00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:22,480 Speaker 1: not just in Germany, but but but between throughout the 579 00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:25,080 Speaker 1: whole world. It was an utterly polarized world between the 580 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:27,760 Speaker 1: USSR and the US, and I think by the mid 581 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:32,040 Speaker 1: eighties to the idea of the wall coming down was 582 00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:34,840 Speaker 1: in a lot of people's heads on both sides. Well, 583 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:39,400 Speaker 1: thanks to a dude named Gorby, Remember him, Yeah, there 584 00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:41,480 Speaker 1: was a point in time where he was more popular 585 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:45,160 Speaker 1: than the Pope and Ronald Reagan. Yeah, there's some time 586 00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:48,960 Speaker 1: survey or pole and uh, Gorby was at the top 587 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:51,280 Speaker 1: of the list because everybody like the cut of his 588 00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:54,320 Speaker 1: jim because he was saying, you know what, this whole strangle, 589 00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:56,240 Speaker 1: whole thing we have on people's lives, like maybe we 590 00:33:56,240 --> 00:33:59,200 Speaker 1: should rethink that. He started talking about reform, which was 591 00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:01,160 Speaker 1: I don't know if he meant it that way, but 592 00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:03,640 Speaker 1: it was the beginning of the end. If he didn't 593 00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:07,600 Speaker 1: mean it, sure got away from him. He instituted something 594 00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:12,239 Speaker 1: called glass Nows which is openness, which basically says, you 595 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:14,840 Speaker 1: know what we want to hear from you. That's not 596 00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:16,880 Speaker 1: a very Russian thing to do. We're putting a giant 597 00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:19,840 Speaker 1: suggestion box outside of all your local government office and 598 00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:21,480 Speaker 1: we want you to tell us how you really feel 599 00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:26,040 Speaker 1: about your life and your life underneath our author authoritarian rule. 600 00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:28,480 Speaker 1: And it's not a trap, it's not a bomb. When 601 00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:30,480 Speaker 1: you dropped the thing in the suggestion box, a lot 602 00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:34,080 Speaker 1: of people thought it was Yeah, but um glass noos 603 00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:37,560 Speaker 1: went over very well, and um, people on the western 604 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:39,600 Speaker 1: side had a lot to say. People on the Eastern 605 00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:42,840 Speaker 1: side were still a little reticent for obvious reasons. And 606 00:34:42,880 --> 00:34:45,160 Speaker 1: then they set up the Sinatra Doctrine, which I hadn't 607 00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:51,080 Speaker 1: heard of until basically the the Soviet Union said this 608 00:34:51,160 --> 00:34:54,920 Speaker 1: is what we've decided, So all of you Eastern Bloc governments, 609 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:57,480 Speaker 1: this is your decision to like, you have to do 610 00:34:57,520 --> 00:35:00,560 Speaker 1: exactly what we say. And the Sinatra Doctor, which was 611 00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:03,759 Speaker 1: named after the my Way song. Um, it could also 612 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:06,319 Speaker 1: call it the sid Vicious Doctrine, which would have been 613 00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:10,120 Speaker 1: pretty cool. Yeah that's true. Have you heard his his rendition? Yeah, 614 00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:13,440 Speaker 1: it's great. Yeah, I'm a sinatraca. Um well, you can 615 00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:18,800 Speaker 1: like both anyway. The Sinatra doctrine, UM said, you Eastern 616 00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:21,640 Speaker 1: Block governments, you have a lot more authority in deciding 617 00:35:21,640 --> 00:35:25,440 Speaker 1: what you want to do. And so that led UM Hungary, 618 00:35:26,520 --> 00:35:29,480 Speaker 1: because they, like all Eastern Block nations, had a close 619 00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:33,080 Speaker 1: border with their neighbor to the west, which was Austria. 620 00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:36,359 Speaker 1: They said, you know what we're it's we're gonna start 621 00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:40,160 Speaker 1: allowing people UH to get into Austria. And if you 622 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:42,759 Speaker 1: could get into Hungary, then you could go to Austria 623 00:35:42,880 --> 00:35:45,680 Speaker 1: and presumably anywhere else you wanted to and you could 624 00:35:45,719 --> 00:35:49,040 Speaker 1: get into Hungary because it was an Eastern Block country. 625 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:52,040 Speaker 1: It basically was a passageway all of a sudden, and 626 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:55,600 Speaker 1: it worked, and they went, oh, it's things are starting 627 00:35:55,640 --> 00:35:59,240 Speaker 1: to deterior right now. Yeah, because people by the trainloads 628 00:35:59,239 --> 00:36:03,879 Speaker 1: were leaving every day to Austria through Hungary and so 629 00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:07,760 Speaker 1: UM things started to crumble. People started to feel a little, 630 00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:14,160 Speaker 1: a little close, a little less fearful of assembling, and 631 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:17,160 Speaker 1: they started to this UM. This group in East Germany, 632 00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:23,120 Speaker 1: UM formed the new forum, the newest Forum Neius Forum UM, 633 00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:25,759 Speaker 1: and they basically started demonstrating in the streets of East 634 00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:30,239 Speaker 1: Berlin and they ran up against the East German chancellor. 635 00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:34,400 Speaker 1: His name was Eric Hohenecker and he was a hard liner. 636 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:38,160 Speaker 1: He said, you can take years in Gorby's reform and 637 00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:42,840 Speaker 1: shove it. We're not changing anything. And the German Communist 638 00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:45,160 Speaker 1: Party said, we're going to replace you with the Liberal 639 00:36:45,800 --> 00:36:48,840 Speaker 1: because the rallying cry was strong at that point, like 640 00:36:48,920 --> 00:36:51,920 Speaker 1: hundreds of thousands of people shouting tear down the wall 641 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:55,200 Speaker 1: in German Yeah, and in the streets at the same time, 642 00:36:55,760 --> 00:36:58,240 Speaker 1: not one at a time over the course of many years, 643 00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:02,000 Speaker 1: all at once in one place. Yeah, And the writing 644 00:37:02,560 --> 00:37:06,759 Speaker 1: was on the wall. It was and uh, in a 645 00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:10,839 Speaker 1: very unceremonious way. Um. In fact, they didn't even tell 646 00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:14,480 Speaker 1: the guards that they were doing this, which was led 647 00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:17,319 Speaker 1: to a lot of chaos and they're lucky it didn't 648 00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:20,560 Speaker 1: lead to people getting shot and killed. But they didn't 649 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:26,720 Speaker 1: even inform the guards that they On November nine nine announced, um, 650 00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:29,080 Speaker 1: you know what, you can start traveling abroad. You're gonna 651 00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:31,960 Speaker 1: be allowed permanent departure. People like, wait a minute, are 652 00:37:31,960 --> 00:37:34,480 Speaker 1: you saying what I think you're saying. It sounds like 653 00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:36,760 Speaker 1: we can leave now, and they all went and assembled 654 00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:39,160 Speaker 1: at the gate in the same official was like wait, 655 00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:42,960 Speaker 1: I haven't read off the poor futures prices yet. That 656 00:37:43,080 --> 00:37:46,279 Speaker 1: was my next announcement. And the guards that they did 657 00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:48,360 Speaker 1: gather at the gates like en mass and the guards 658 00:37:48,440 --> 00:37:51,399 Speaker 1: were like, what's going on here? We didn't get any 659 00:37:51,640 --> 00:37:55,040 Speaker 1: memo of any free passage um, but at that point 660 00:37:55,080 --> 00:37:58,080 Speaker 1: it was kind of too late, and people basically stormed 661 00:37:58,080 --> 00:38:01,600 Speaker 1: the gates and took out their little hammers and started 662 00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:06,640 Speaker 1: tearing that thing down themselves. And I remember freshman in college, man, 663 00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:10,959 Speaker 1: it was huge and awesome, like I had no stake 664 00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:13,440 Speaker 1: in this fight other than believing in freedom, and it 665 00:38:13,560 --> 00:38:16,600 Speaker 1: was a powerful thing to watch. That was amazing. I 666 00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:18,799 Speaker 1: watched the two was begging my mom to like hop 667 00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:21,359 Speaker 1: a flight to Berlin that I was like, let's go. 668 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:24,359 Speaker 1: This is so huge, said maybe let's wait a little bit. Well, 669 00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:26,600 Speaker 1: you know what was cool was if you were an 670 00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:30,479 Speaker 1: East Berlin or who came over to West Berlin that day, 671 00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:33,840 Speaker 1: you were greeted with a welcoming gift of a hundred marks, 672 00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:39,120 Speaker 1: and they gave out eight million marks. The no eighty 673 00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:42,520 Speaker 1: million marks, because there were eight hundred thousand people who 674 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:46,920 Speaker 1: were each given marks. They gave out eighty million marks 675 00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:48,880 Speaker 1: to people coming over there and they went to the 676 00:38:48,920 --> 00:38:53,080 Speaker 1: first spear garden they could. They reinvested it right back 677 00:38:53,080 --> 00:38:56,200 Speaker 1: into their new economy, and shortly after that, within a 678 00:38:56,239 --> 00:38:59,759 Speaker 1: couple of years, the Soviet Union collapsed. And if this 679 00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:03,439 Speaker 1: rang your bell, you should continue things on by going 680 00:39:03,440 --> 00:39:07,400 Speaker 1: and listening immediately to the Who Won the Cold War episode. 681 00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:09,120 Speaker 1: Yeah it's a good one. Yeah, we got a nice 682 00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:13,000 Speaker 1: little batch of that time period, nice batch of podcasts. Yeah, 683 00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:15,719 Speaker 1: it's good. We should do keeping Missile Crisis at some 684 00:39:15,760 --> 00:39:19,839 Speaker 1: point and Bay of Pigs. Okay, that time period is 685 00:39:19,840 --> 00:39:24,680 Speaker 1: so fascinating to me. I just read maybe definitely in 686 00:39:24,719 --> 00:39:28,160 Speaker 1: the top five, but maybe the best magazine article I've 687 00:39:28,200 --> 00:39:32,600 Speaker 1: ever read about elevators. No, that's the best one about elevators. 688 00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:34,360 Speaker 1: This one again is in the New Yorker. You know, 689 00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:36,800 Speaker 1: The New Yorker has its archives open through the summer. 690 00:39:37,600 --> 00:39:39,400 Speaker 1: They're trying to get you hooked so that when they 691 00:39:39,440 --> 00:39:43,280 Speaker 1: put up a paywall, you'll subscribe. I subscribe for a while. 692 00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:48,000 Speaker 1: But they started stacking up, and itidated with the Economist. Man, 693 00:39:48,080 --> 00:39:51,600 Speaker 1: those things that they they started accumulating quick because you 694 00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:53,319 Speaker 1: can't it's not a quick read, but you can get 695 00:39:53,320 --> 00:39:56,759 Speaker 1: a digital subscription. Um but The point is, I've been 696 00:39:56,760 --> 00:39:58,480 Speaker 1: reading a lot of New Yorker lately and I read 697 00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:01,880 Speaker 1: this one article called The Yankee Commandant, and it's about 698 00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:05,280 Speaker 1: an American who traveled to Cuba to fight along Castro 699 00:40:05,520 --> 00:40:09,480 Speaker 1: as this idealist freedom fighter and just his plight. It 700 00:40:09,560 --> 00:40:12,399 Speaker 1: was amazing. But he was there for like the Bay 701 00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:16,040 Speaker 1: of Pigs and like it just it was pretty amazing stuff. 702 00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:18,279 Speaker 1: We're totally worth reading, and it's free right now. That's 703 00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:21,000 Speaker 1: a movie waiting to happen. I can't believe it's not 704 00:40:21,040 --> 00:40:23,399 Speaker 1: a movie yet, because this is the sixties that we're 705 00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:26,399 Speaker 1: talking about, late fifties, early sixties. Whoever wrote that needs 706 00:40:26,440 --> 00:40:29,879 Speaker 1: to talk to Josh Bierman, say how do you do this? Buddy? Yeah, 707 00:40:29,920 --> 00:40:32,120 Speaker 1: I can't believe it's not in the works already. It 708 00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:33,680 Speaker 1: might have, bet it is. What was his name? Do 709 00:40:33,680 --> 00:40:37,800 Speaker 1: you remember? His name was? William Morgan? Bill Morgan? Interesting 710 00:40:38,080 --> 00:40:45,680 Speaker 1: Yankee Commandant, Leo DiCaprio perhaps maybe, yeah, maybe, I guess? 711 00:40:45,719 --> 00:40:48,360 Speaker 1: So who did you cast in your head? I cast 712 00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:51,239 Speaker 1: Bill Pullman for a second because he kind of looked 713 00:40:51,239 --> 00:40:54,600 Speaker 1: like him. With Bill Pullman's he's just too old. This 714 00:40:54,640 --> 00:40:57,560 Speaker 1: guy was like late twenties, early thirties. Yeah, so who's 715 00:40:57,560 --> 00:41:00,680 Speaker 1: the twenties Bill Pullman? That's a tough one. You mean 716 00:41:00,719 --> 00:41:03,560 Speaker 1: Pullman or Paxton Pullman Pullman? Okay, I know the difference 717 00:41:03,560 --> 00:41:06,280 Speaker 1: between the two bills. Yeah, I was just making sure. Um, 718 00:41:06,960 --> 00:41:09,040 Speaker 1: why don't you guys let us know. Well, we'll do 719 00:41:09,080 --> 00:41:12,480 Speaker 1: a call on in a minute, which one? Which one? Who? Who? 720 00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:18,120 Speaker 1: Who plays Bill Pullman as a late twenties early thirties? Okay? Uh. 721 00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:19,799 Speaker 1: If you want to know more about the Berlin Wall, 722 00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:22,000 Speaker 1: you can look up this article on how stuff works 723 00:41:22,040 --> 00:41:24,759 Speaker 1: dot com by typing those words into the search bar. Uh. 724 00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:26,919 Speaker 1: And since I said search far, it's time for listener mail. 725 00:41:28,920 --> 00:41:31,359 Speaker 1: I'm gonna call this Favorite Day Stories. Remember you put 726 00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:33,759 Speaker 1: out a call for that people's best day and this 727 00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:37,400 Speaker 1: was pretty good. This from actually immediately thought of the 728 00:41:37,520 --> 00:41:40,080 Speaker 1: day that I met my best friend. Was in the 729 00:41:40,080 --> 00:41:42,200 Speaker 1: fifth grade and my parents were building a pool in 730 00:41:42,239 --> 00:41:45,239 Speaker 1: the backyard. We hadn't filled it yet, though, and the 731 00:41:45,560 --> 00:41:48,520 Speaker 1: lots of new friends show up those circumstances. Oh no, 732 00:41:48,680 --> 00:41:51,920 Speaker 1: this sticks of a sad turn here. We hadn't yet 733 00:41:51,920 --> 00:41:53,439 Speaker 1: filled it though, and the cats that we had would 734 00:41:53,760 --> 00:41:56,360 Speaker 1: have a nasty habit of falling in at the empty 735 00:41:56,360 --> 00:41:58,359 Speaker 1: pool and not being able to get back out without 736 00:41:58,400 --> 00:42:00,800 Speaker 1: our help. One night, it aimed a lot filled the 737 00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:04,520 Speaker 1: pool up. Some My cat, my childhood companion, ran into 738 00:42:04,520 --> 00:42:07,759 Speaker 1: the pool and drowned. Oh no, I know. I was 739 00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:10,279 Speaker 1: reading this thinking, how's this your best day? Be some 740 00:42:10,360 --> 00:42:14,520 Speaker 1: kind of a sick sick person? She continues, I didn't 741 00:42:14,560 --> 00:42:17,320 Speaker 1: really like the cat and necessarily really handled the problem 742 00:42:17,360 --> 00:42:20,160 Speaker 1: that I had had for a while. She does say parenthetically, 743 00:42:20,160 --> 00:42:22,000 Speaker 1: trust me, the story gets a lot better, I promise. 744 00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:24,120 Speaker 1: I woke up to my dad telling me not to 745 00:42:24,160 --> 00:42:27,400 Speaker 1: go outside because Rosie had drowned. I went to school 746 00:42:27,400 --> 00:42:29,560 Speaker 1: not really knowing how to feel, and as my teacher 747 00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:33,040 Speaker 1: was giving the morning announcement, I burst into tears. She 748 00:42:33,080 --> 00:42:36,400 Speaker 1: asked what was wrong. I told her what happened. She 749 00:42:36,440 --> 00:42:38,440 Speaker 1: didn't know what to do with me, and none of 750 00:42:38,480 --> 00:42:40,799 Speaker 1: the other kids would even make eye contact with me. 751 00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:43,720 Speaker 1: I had never felt so alone in my entire life. 752 00:42:44,200 --> 00:42:47,320 Speaker 1: That is, until someone reached out and held my hand. 753 00:42:48,040 --> 00:42:50,359 Speaker 1: It was this girl in my class, but I've never 754 00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:52,360 Speaker 1: really noticed before, but she took my hand and said 755 00:42:52,719 --> 00:42:55,759 Speaker 1: it's gonna be okay. Uh, And that has been my 756 00:42:55,800 --> 00:42:59,440 Speaker 1: best friend for eleven years now. That is very sweet. 757 00:43:00,239 --> 00:43:01,920 Speaker 1: So that was my all time favorite day. Guys, keep 758 00:43:01,960 --> 00:43:05,040 Speaker 1: up the fantastic work. And that is from that is 759 00:43:05,040 --> 00:43:08,040 Speaker 1: from Harry. I'm sorry, and Ashley is the best friend 760 00:43:08,480 --> 00:43:14,799 Speaker 1: got so Harry, uh Jankie, Well you're really This took 761 00:43:14,840 --> 00:43:17,200 Speaker 1: a weird twist at the end. I just don't know 762 00:43:17,200 --> 00:43:19,040 Speaker 1: how to pronounce it. J A h n k E 763 00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:25,080 Speaker 1: Harry Johnka Honka Honka. Who knows Harry Harry j I 764 00:43:25,080 --> 00:43:26,960 Speaker 1: think Harry Honka is the best name ever. So that's 765 00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:29,080 Speaker 1: what I'm gonna go on up. Okay, Well, thanks a lot, Harry. 766 00:43:29,120 --> 00:43:33,200 Speaker 1: We appreciate you writing in and letting us know. And Ashley, 767 00:43:33,239 --> 00:43:35,200 Speaker 1: that was very very nice thing you did. It really 768 00:43:35,280 --> 00:43:36,839 Speaker 1: is you got a best friend out of it. That's 769 00:43:36,880 --> 00:43:40,759 Speaker 1: a that's a great story. Um well again, if you 770 00:43:40,760 --> 00:43:43,240 Speaker 1: could tell us who is the late twenties early thirties 771 00:43:43,239 --> 00:43:46,120 Speaker 1: Bill Pullman, We want to know? You can tweet to 772 00:43:46,200 --> 00:43:48,080 Speaker 1: us at s Y s K podcast. You can join 773 00:43:48,160 --> 00:43:50,200 Speaker 1: us on Facebook dot com slash stuff you Should Know. 774 00:43:50,480 --> 00:43:52,759 Speaker 1: You can send us an email to Stuff Podcast at 775 00:43:52,760 --> 00:43:55,560 Speaker 1: Discovery dot com, and as always, you can join us 776 00:43:55,600 --> 00:43:57,279 Speaker 1: at our home on the web, Stuff you Should Know 777 00:43:57,360 --> 00:44:05,240 Speaker 1: dot com For more on this and thousands of other topics. 778 00:44:05,440 --> 00:44:12,800 Speaker 1: Visit how stuff Works dot com. MHM,