Boy drowns in the Spree

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Cetin Mert was born on 11 May 1970. He lives with his Turkish parents and two brothers in the West Berlin district of Kreuzberg. The day of his fifth birthday is a sunny one. Cetin goes outside to play with a ball, but ends up falling into the river Spree. Rescuers arrive quickly, but they aren’t allowed to intervene because they are from West Berlin and this stretch of the river is under GDR control. All they can do is watch as Cetin drowns. He is the youngest person to die at the Wall.

locations

May-Ayim-Ufer (ehemals Gröbenufer), 10997 Berlin

showtime
5

latitude
52.501943

longitude
13.443151

date

February 27, 1975
Peter Lorenz kidnapped

In the run-up to the 1975 West Berlin elections, Peter Lorenz, a CDU politician standing for the second time as the party’s leading candidate for Mayor of Berlin, is kidnapped by a group called Bewegung Zweiter Juni. On 27 February 1975, three days before the election, the terrorists use a truck to block the road. Lorenz’s driver has to stop, and Lorenz is taken. The group say they will release him if six prisoners are freed and allowed to leave the country. The German government decides to agree to the kidnappers’ demands, and Lorenz is released on 4 March.

Politics, West

02:05
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1975
Schöneberg's last cowshed

The last courtyard cowshed in Schöneberg, West Berlin, has to close. Berliners must say goodbye to the days when they could get farm-fresh milk just by walking down the street.

Everyday Life, West

00:40
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1975
Turkey comes to Kreuzberg

Numerous foreign workers from Southern Europe and Turkey come to West Berlin, attracted by the prospect of jobs and the extra pay that comes with living in the city. Many of them move into cheap flats in pre-war buildings in Kreuzberg. Eva Sarioglu talks about how the buildings were often in very poor condition. Over time, Kreuzberg becomes known as Little Istanbul and develops its own unique identity: “The air was different there,” says Eva.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, West

01:31
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1975
Buying freedom

West Germany has been buying political prisoners out of the GDR since 1962. In 1975, GDR citizens file 16,000 applications for exit visas - more than ever before. The same year, West Germany breaks its own record by spending more than 100 million Deutsche marks on freeing detainees. Although the GDR has signed the Helsinki Final Act, it is still putting people on trial for political reasons. West Berlin lawyer Reymar von Wedel helps the prisoners on behalf of the protestant church.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, East

01:33
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November 01, 1974
Tegel Airport opens

A new, modern airport opens in West Berlin. Tegel is designed to take over from Tempelhof as West Berlin's “beachhead” to the Federal Republic. But in its first few months in operation, its modern jet bridges barely dock with a single aircraft. The allied airlines are reluctant to leave Tempelhof because of the high costs involved. Many West Berliners continue to fly from Schönefeld. Robert Grosch, the director of Tegel Airport at the time, describes the difficulties the airport faced in its first years in operation.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, West, East

02:23
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1975
Jacob the Liar competes at the Berlinale

This is the first year that filmmakers from East Berlin have participated in the Berlinale, West Berlin’s international film festival. Director Frank Beyer and writer Jurek Becker enter their film, Jacob the Liar, in the competition section.

Culture, West, East

00:44
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August 01, 1975
Helsinki Final Act

After two years of negotiations, 35 states gather in Helsinki to sign the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. The GDR is among them. The act focuses on peaceful cooperation and, most importantly, obliges the signatories to respect human and civil rights. By signing the act, the countries commit to regard frontiers as inviolable, to settle disputes peacefully, to not intervene in the internal conflicts of other countries, and to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Helsinki gathering is the first time that General Secretary Erich Honecker and Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt have met.

Politics, West, East

01:00
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1976
The Wall turns white

Work on the Wall never seems to end. Money keeps getting ploughed into what was already a very expensive structure. The fourth-generation Wall, as its latest incarnation is known, is designed to last longer and make it harder for people to escape. But the rows of gleaming white slabs turn out to have an unwanted side effect: they are the perfect blank canvas. Artists from all over the world come to unleash their creativity on the West Berlin side of the Wall.

Border, West, East

00:24
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January 17, 1976
Concorde lands in Tegel

Concorde, Air France’s supersonic airplane, travels from Paris to Berlin for the first time in 1976. Some 15,000 West Berliners brave the cold at Tegel airport to witness history in the making.

Everyday Life, West

00:43
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April 23, 1976
Palace of the Republic opens

The Palace of the Republic opens in East Berlin with a celebration for its builders, technicians, engineers, architects, and anyone else who was involved in its construction. Two days later it opens to the public. The building is home to the People’s Chamber (the parliament of the GDR) and is also a conference and events centre. Built on the site of the old city palace, the imposing structure is the new jewel in East Berlin’s crown. Caretaker Bernd Wolfgang spent weeks preparing everything for the grand opening. In this film he talks about his first days on duty in the palace.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, East

02:49
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location

August 13, 1961
Cross-border business at the paper stand

Lothar Kensbock ran a newspaper stand on Oberbaum Bridge in Kreuzberg. Up until 13 August 1961 he sold papers and puzzle books to commuters from the East, who smuggled them over the border on their way home after work. In 2011, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Wall going up, the rbb interviewed Berliners to find out what the division of the city meant to them. The Wall had a profound impact on the way each person went about their daily lives - no matter what side they found themselves on. Overnight people were cut off from their friends and relatives, from their offices, factories and schools, and from places where they enjoyed spending their leisure time. The division of the city tore families apart, ruptured biographies and claimed many lives.

Border, Contemporary Witnesses, West

04:48
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1969
The women's movement and anti-authoritarian kindergartens

The advancement of women is a growing priority in the GDR. The Action Committee on the Liberation of the Woman and anti-authoritarian kindergartens are founded in West Berlin. Film director Helke Sander recalls how she, too, needed a kindergarten place back then. She was still a student and made use of one of the new childcare facilities set up in empty shops. However, some of the committee's plans to promote women's lib and an anti-authoritarian approach to raising children fall by the wayside.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, West, East

02:40
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August 13, 1961
A Sunday outing that was not to be

Each time Ursula Rahn visits the Brandenburg Gate, it brings back memories of her personal story 50 years ago. On 13 August 1961 she has organised a Sunday outing. That morning Ursula and her friend meet in front of the Brandenburg Gate, planning to go for a cycle ride. In 2011, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Wall going up, the rbb interviewed Berliners to find out what the division of the city meant to them. The Wall had a profound impact on the way each person went about their daily lives - no matter what side they found themselves on. Overnight people were cut off from their friends and relatives, from their offices, factories and schools, and from places where they enjoyed spending their leisure time. The division of the city tore families apart, ruptured biographies and claimed many lives.

Border, Contemporary Witnesses, East

04:54
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1981
Squatting in Kreuzberg

Housing in West Berlin is scarce, but whole streets in Kreuzberg and Schöneberg are being cleared of tenants. Once empty, the old buildings are to be torn down and new ones put up in their place. This destructive approach to urban development makes sense because the projects qualify for government subsidies. Young families, unemployed people, non-conformists and students are hit especially hard by the lack of housing. Some decide to fight back by occupying empty buildings. Anette Schill was one of them. In 1981 she and some friends occupy an old chemicals factory in Kreuzberg. She tells us about the early days of what would become known as the Rainbow Factory.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, Politics, West

02:16
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May 01, 1987
Rioting in Kreuzberg

Kreuzberg stages an alternative celebration marking International Workers’ Day on 1 May 1987. What begins as a peaceful event during the day descends into rioting that night. A supermarket burns to the ground, whole streets are set on fire and 250 police officers are injured. The next morning, parts of Kreuzberg lie almost in ruins. It is the start of a cycle that will see the district erupt into violence on 1 May for many years to come. Helmut Sarwas describes what it was like being a police officer on duty that night.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, West

02:04
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1980
Life in Kreuzberg

1980 becomes the year of the citizens’ initiative in West Berlin. Squatters in Kreuzberg are demanding rental contracts for the nineteenth-century buildings that they have occupied in an effort to stop the senate from tearing them down. Affordable housing is hard to come by, and investment in Kreuzberg stopped a long time ago. As immigrants, artists and old-timers gather among the crumbling buildings, a colourful, vibrant community comes alive in the shadow of the Wall.

Everyday Life, West

01:09
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August 13, 1961
Light to build the Wall

There are no traces left of the border that once ran between the districts of Mitte and Kreuzberg – right along the banks of Engelbecken pond. Wolfgang Gerhardt, an electrician at VEB Volksbau, was sent to work at this location. On 13 August 1961 he is contracted to light up a big new building site on the border. In 2011, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Wall going up, the rbb interviewed Berliners to find out what the division of the city meant to them. The Wall had a profound impact on the way each person went about their daily lives - no matter what side they found themselves on. Overnight people were cut off from their friends and relatives, from their offices, factories and schools, and from places where they enjoyed spending their leisure time. The division of the city tore families apart, ruptured biographies and claimed many lives.

Border, Contemporary Witnesses, East

03:11
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October 07, 1974
The GDR's 25th anniversary

The GDR is turning 25. In October 1974, the Republic's birthday is marked in a fitting manner: a military parade through the centre of East Berlin. State-owned enterprises have exceeded their targets.

Politics, East

00:32
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January 01, 1980
Teen fashion

The choice between being a popper or a punker can be a highly divisive issue in 1980s West Berlin, where fashion is a huge part of young people’s lives. Poppers haven’t really caught on in East Berlin, but clothes from the West are extremely popular. The GDR’s “teen fashion” doesn’t stand a chance against the much hipper alternatives from across the Wall.

Everyday Life, West, East

00:47
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1978
Airplane hijacked

A passenger plane belonging to Poland’s LOT airline lands in Tempelhof, bringing to an end a hijacking that began in Gdansk. Ingrid Maron is on board – not as a passenger but as one of the hijackers. She was planning to use forged papers to flee from Gdansk to the West by ferry. When the plan fell apart, she and an acquaintance, Detlev Tiede, decide to escape by hijacking a Polish plane. In this film, Ingrid talks about how the incredible situation came about.

Border, Escaping, Contemporary Witnesses, West, East

03:43
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