DATE=11/5/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=BERLIN WALL ANNIVERSARY - OVERVIEW
NUMBER=5-44703
BYLINE=GIL BUTLER
DATELINE=BERLIN
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Ten years ago (11/09/89), a defining symbol of
the Cold War began to be demolished. The infamous
Berlin Wall, constructed by Communist authorities to
keep their citizens from escaping to the West, came
down without a shot being fired. Less than a year
later, Germany was officially united in a huge
celebration at the Brandenburg Gate that featured the
music of Beethoven, conducted by Kurt Mazur, a hero of
the peaceful revolution. Correspondent Gil Butler
traveled to Berlin to see what remains of the Wall and
how German unification has progressed since the
euphoria of those heady days in November 1989.
/// Opt. Here is the first in a series of reports on
the anniversary. End Opt.///
/// CHORAL ODE TO JOY UP, THEN OUT ///
TEXT: /// ACT. SOUND OF WALL DESTRUCTION ON NOV.
9,1989 (UP AND FADE/KEEP UNDER TEXT)///
They were called "woodpeckers", the East Germans who
began the demolition piece by piece until the
authorities completed the job with heavy machinery.
The infamous Berlin Wall started coming down on
November 9th, 1989, when East German authorities,
pressed by increasing demonstrations, announced that
the border would be open for private trips. That led
to a flood of East Berliners heading for the West.
/// BRING UP SOUND OF DEMONSTRATION ///
The Berlin Wall was a 100 kilometer-long concrete
contrast between the Communist East and the democratic
West. For 25 years it was a very effective barrier to
freedom of movement. Little remains of the Wall now,
but in these remnants, you can see what it looked like
in 1989. The four-meter high concrete wall, the
watchtowers, the killing zone where automatic machine
guns would open fire. At least 100 people were killed
over the years trying to escape across the wall.
Now, where the wall cut through the city, construction
cranes have replaced watchtowers. It is the largest
urban construction project in Europe and when it is
finished, there will be a new center of Berlin in
place of the grim no-man's land that had once
separated East from West.
The 10th anniversary of the fall of the Wall is a time
for reflection about how it came about and what
progress has been made since 1989.
How it came about is clear. The German Democratic
Republic -the G-D-R - was failing. Under Mikhail
Gorbachev, the Soviet Union was adopting liberalizing
policies -- policies the East German leader, Erich
Honecker, rejected. During the official celebration
of the G-D-R's 40th anniversary, which the Soviet
leader attended, democracy demonstrators hailed Mr.
Gorbachev and chanted "Gorby-help us."
/// DEMONSTRATION ACT, FADE UNDER ///
Erich Honecker's fate was sealed when Mr. Gorbachev
simply said, "He who lags behind events, loses." That
was a clear signal Moscow had no intention of coming
to the East German leader's aid.
The Protestant Evangelical church was at the forefront
of the demonstrations that eventually brought an end
to the totalitarian German Democratic Republic.
Evelyn Zupke was one of the organizers at the
Gesthemene Church in East Berlin.
/// ACT. ZUPKE (IN ENGLISH) //
I couldn't believe it. I saw thousands of
people there out on the streets and this was
really unbelievable and exciting.
/// END ACT //
The Wall may have fallen but people in both eastern
and western Germany say there are still mental walls
separating them. Germans say it may take more than a
generation to demolish that kind of wall.
Unification has come with a great price. Eastern
Germany still lags behind. Unemployment is high.
Many West Germans resent the burden represented by the
East - especially since the German economy is having
difficulties supporting high levels of social welfare.
But to an outsider, seeing Berlin for the first time
without a dividing wall, it seems worth the price.
(Signed)
/// OPT. MUSIC UP AND OUT ///
NEB/MGB/SP/KL
05-Nov-1999 14:16 PM EDT (05-Nov-1999 1916 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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