Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall

[Mike G.]

Kevin,

I agree the first 10 minutes or so were quite interesting from the aspect of the depiction of early uniforms. There were some inaccuracies that I find interesting, such as PT-76s and ZSU 57/2s racing to Check Point Charlie.
The various depictions of the wall, both real and re-created were interesting, I agree.

Kartofelpruesser,

I agree, 90 minutes was far too short. I earlier commented I think this type of documentary should have been one of those week long ones they on occasion do.

I'm in agreement with your observations and comments.

[adlerfan53]

I was really looking forward to the show but missed it due to coaching duties. I still plan on chscking it out. I am not at all surprised at the mixed reactions to the show. The once great history channel has been letting me and others down for a good while now.
I do agree that this period of history needs to be discussed more. So much focus is placed of the "Cuban Missle Crisis" that other standoffs between east and west have been forgotten. I am new to the DDR research and what I am learning is blowing my mind.
The story of the tanker walking over to the DDR Tanks is amazing. I would love to see footage of that.

[olivyaya]

Mike... you were quite right... here is what I have found

[Rev462]

Kevin,

That is certainly one perspective that has to be considered.

I would concur if it were shown on ABC, NCB, CBS or CNN.
But it was shown on the History Channel.

The audience makeup is less vanilla and I think if there were a way to poll the audience that actually viewed the documentary, the overall consensus would be one of disappointment.

But your observation certainly deserves consideration.

Mike,

I'm jumping in a bit late here, but I wanted to address your comment about the History Channel.

It's my feeling that The History Channel, while having done some good work in the past and still continues to do so occasionally, has in large part been in a downward spiral for the last couple of years - pandering to an audience craving "reality" based programming and woo.

Witness the proliferation of shows like "Monster Quest" and "UFO Hunters" and all the nonsense about Nostradamus & 2012.

And if that doesn't convince you, consider this: History's most popular series ever was "Ice Road Truckers". (Not that it's a bad show, but what's it doing on the History Channel?)

[Rev462]

By the way, there was an earlier History Channel production about The Wall a couple years ago that I though was quite well done and had some good shots of early DGP, Vopo & Kampfgruppen guys.

It was an hour-long show, part of an ogoing series called "Sworn To Secrecy" if I remember correctly.

"Sworn To Secrecy" dealt with a variety of topics from WWII to the Cold war to Al-Qaeda.

[Ian Richardson]

Did anyone happen to notice the reenactments within the program? I found a sense of accomplishment in my self, because I notice small and otherwise Minute defects and innaccuracies in thier 'period' unforms that were depicting early and late 60's grenztruppen and NVA. Anyone else make active use of thier 'sickness'?

-Ian

[Mike G.]

Rick,

It just isn't the History Channel.

Arguably, the single most historic and significant event to have occurred in the 20th Century was the construction and then destruction of the "Berlin" Wall.

On the 20th anniversary of the event, virtually no major media organization addressed this, other than perhaps to comment that it occurred.

I suspect 10 years from now it will not even be mentioned.
I find that profound.

Trust me ..... we will forget and more importantly, we will repeat.

Hey ..... there is one good side to it. People will be able to again start collecting new military memorabilia all over again.

[Rev462]

Mike,

I think you're absolutely right. Getting good, in-depth information on just about any historical subject is nearly impossible through mainstream sources.

Just look at WWII - if you want to go beyond "We landed in Normandy & saved the world from Hitler" or "The evil Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor so we nuked 'em" you've really got to dig - which the vast majority of people are not willing to do.

And I'd bet a significant portion of the people don't even know where Normandy or Pearl Harbor are!

[Kartofelpreußer]

Rick,

It just isn't the History Channel.

Arguably, the single most historic and significant event to have occurred in the 20th Century was the construction and then destruction of the "Berlin" Wall.

On the 20th anniversary of the event, virtually no major media organization addressed this, other than perhaps to comment that it occurred.

I suspect 10 years from now it will not even be mentioned.
I find that profound.

Trust me ..... we will forget and more importantly, we will repeat.

Hey ..... there is one good side to it. People will be able to again start collecting new military memorabilia all over again.

Mike,

While I'd have trouble arguing the Berlin Wall as the "single" most significant event of the 20th, thanks to incidents like a certain Archduke getting popped, the signing of a very flawed peace treaty, a former corporal getting elected to public office, and (most of all) a very special bomb being detonated over a Japanese city, it certainly should make any serious history student's top 10 list, and your broader point about such a profoundly important piece of history being all but forgotten is as spot-on correct as it is deeply disturbing.

Part of it may be that we are only able to fully view the significance of these events, especially the collapse, as they pertain to events before. Take a look at some interpretations of "the Great War" from the 1920's or 30's... it was already widely seen then that the old order of things had been swept away (although the societal changes had not yet been fully appreciated). But no one could have fully forseen what the aftermath of that conflict would lead to (although some certainly made incredibly prescient predicitions).

We know how the Cold War ended, and we know how those events played into that endgame. What we are still learning is what has come, and what is going to come, of the political shifts and rise of non-state-actors that has been the result of the collapse of the relatively stable US-Soviet power balance.

Maybe once that story is written, the Berlin Wall will find a stronger place in history.

[Ralph P]

Well for those who missed the Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall can program it into their DVR to see it in five or ten years - that show could have been shown at anytime other than the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall. Either the show or the History channel did not do much for the 20th anniversary event that changed history.

[Guardian 5]

Genossen - I recently came across this picture clipped from the local newspaper back in 1999 in an old notebook. It was published on the tenth anniversary of "the fall of the wall."

I remember being thrilled at the time because it portrayed a GT officer wearing a dress cap and brown leather belt with winter combat dress. With the lack of information available at the time, this amounted to somewhat of a revelation to me.

I remember paying my first visit to East Berlin in July 1989. I had absolutely no inkling that the wall would come tumbling down a mere four months after my visit. I guess it goes to show how politically unaware I was at the time.

All the best - TJ