New pandas for the zoo

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The Chinese government gives the West German Chancellor, Helmut Schmidt, two pandas. Bao-Bao and Tien-Tien take up residence in the zoo in West Berlin, and soon win hearts throughout the city.

locations

Zoo Berlin, Hardenbergplatz 8, 10787 Berlin

showtime
1

latitude
52.506897

longitude
13.334214

date

October 1980
Cost of visiting the East rises

The GDR raises the amount of money that Westerners have to change when they visit East Berlin. It now stands at 25 Deutsche marks per day. That makes the trip too expensive for many West Berliners who, until now, have regularly visited friends and relatives in the East.

Border, Politics, West, East

01:08
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September 1980
S-Bahn strike

East Berlin’s Reichsbahn operates West Berlin’s S-Bahn network. That means Reichsbahn owns all tracks and stations in the West, and employs all S-Bahn staff regardless of which side of the Wall they work on. West Berlin Reichsbahn employees go on strike in September 1980. They want better wages and working conditions. The Reichsbahn management won’t negotiate, so freight trains and the S-Bahn come to a halt and workers occupy signal boxes. Elfriede Dube is working the day this happens. She decides to side with her colleagues and becomes one of over 200 strikers to lose their jobs in the aftermath.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, Politics, West, East

02:10
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May 21, 1980
Congress Hall collapses

The roof of the Congress Hall in West Berlin collapses. Faulty construction work is to blame. The accident leaves one person dead and a number of others injured.

Everyday Life, West

00:31
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1980
Musicians dig Berlin

In May 1980 the Tempodrom on Potsdamer Platz begins staging offbeat shows in a circus tent. Numerous West Berlin artists appear on the programme, including Annette Humpe and her group, Ideal. Their song, Ich steh auf Berlin (I dig Berlin), is an anthem to the city. Ideal were an important part of the Neue Deutsche Welle and played a crucial role in shaping the genre.

Culture, West

00:59
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February 1980
Solo Sunny

East and West both participate in the Berlin International Film Festival. The GDR has entered the DEFA film Solo Sunny in the competition section. East Berlin actress Renate Krössner surprises everyone by winning the Silver Bear for her performance in the title role. Renate has director Konrad Wolff to thank for being able to collect her award in person. She talks about the trip and how she never expected to be able to travel to West Berlin.

Contemporary Witnesses, Culture, West, East

02:06
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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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1981
Daily life in the divided city

The Wall has been part of Berlin life for 20 years now. People on both sides have done their best to get used to it, and the death strip and hostile barriers on either side have become almost normal. In fact, a lot of people in the West no longer find the Wall much of a threat.

Border, Everyday Life, West, East

00:53
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1981
Christiane F.

The film Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo tells the story of Christiane Felscherinow from Gropiusstadt in Berlin. Christiane became addicted to heroin after coming into contact with drugs for the first time through friends in 1974. The film is based on the book Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, and features harrowing scenes of life as a young drug addict in West Berlin.

Culture, West

00:54
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March 20, 1981
SEZ complex opens in East Berlin

The SEZ sports and leisure complex opens in Friedrichshain, East Berlin. It attracts 16 million visitors in the first five years alone. The complex, which had swimming pools, sports halls, an ice rink and several restaurants, was designed to welcome up to 22,000 visitors a day. Heide-Maria Heyde used to work there and recalls the long queues that were a daily sight outside the complex.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, East

01:56
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May 01, 1981
Elections in East and West Berlin

The early parliamentary elections held in West Berlin on 10 May 1981 herald a major turning point in the city’s post-war history. The SPD are forced out of government for the first time, Richard von Weizsäcker of the centre-right CDU becomes Mayor of West Berlin and appoints Heinrich Lummer (CDU) as Senator of the Interior, and the Greens win seats for the first time ever. The GDR is also going to the polls in a general election. Unsurprisingly, the SED led by General Secretary Honecker wins 99.86 percent of the vote.

Politics, West, East

01:07
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location

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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1969
Migrant workers in West Berlin

Due to the shortage of skilled labour in West Berlin, workers are recruited from other countries in the 1960s. Many of Berlin's new residents come from Turkey. Hairdresser Suleyman Ilkan works in a salon at Zoo Station and learns German on the job, allowing him to act as an interpreter for his fellow countrymen when they arrive at Zoo Station.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, West

02:18
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1981
Christiane F.

The film Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo tells the story of Christiane Felscherinow from Gropiusstadt in Berlin. Christiane became addicted to heroin after coming into contact with drugs for the first time through friends in 1974. The film is based on the book Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, and features harrowing scenes of life as a young drug addict in West Berlin.

Culture, West

00:54
Video versions:
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- MD
February 1980
Solo Sunny

East and West both participate in the Berlin International Film Festival. The GDR has entered the DEFA film Solo Sunny in the competition section. East Berlin actress Renate Krössner surprises everyone by winning the Silver Bear for her performance in the title role. Renate has director Konrad Wolff to thank for being able to collect her award in person. She talks about the trip and how she never expected to be able to travel to West Berlin.

Contemporary Witnesses, Culture, West, East

02:06
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1966
Deadbeats at the Church of Remembrance

Young people are lazing around the Church of Remembrance and getting Berliners hot under their collars. They have long hair and are known as deadbeats. These young people are trying out a new way of living that goes beyond merely working and consuming. Meinhard Schröder looks back at those times. He believes that a lot of born-and-bred West Berliners had forgotten how to think and a Wall had formed in their heads. Meinhard recalls one of the standard arguments back then: "Why don't you just go over to the East?"

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, West

01:44
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October 1980
Cost of visiting the East rises

The GDR raises the amount of money that Westerners have to change when they visit East Berlin. It now stands at 25 Deutsche marks per day. That makes the trip too expensive for many West Berliners who, until now, have regularly visited friends and relatives in the East.

Border, Politics, West, East

01:08
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April 1972
Entry permits over Easter

For the first time since 1966, West Berliners will be allowed to travel to East Berlin over Easter. Applying for a visitor's permit is a complicated process. Nevertheless, over three days nearly 60,000 people submit travel applications at five specially set-up offices. The applications are processed by undercover Stasi agents from East Berlin. Gert Knecht remembers the situation in the offices only too well, but also recalls the joy of seeing friends and relatives again for the first time in six long years.

Border, Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, West, East

02:48
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May 1974
Willy Brandt steps down

Günter Guillaume, a close aide of Willy Brandt, is exposed as a Stasi agent, prompting Brandt to step down as Federal Chancellor on 6 May 1974. Berliners are dismayed: Brandt symbolises the policy of easing tensions which has led to significant improvements to everyday life in the divided city. The day of his resignation, they come out onto the streets to demonstrate their support.

Politics, West

00:39
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November 1989
East Germans go West

In November 1989, East Berliners pour over the border in their Trabants, or Trabis as they are affectionately known. West Berlin has never seen anything like it. Every GDR citizen gets 100 Deutsche marks as a welcome gift. After queuing up at the bank, the new arrivals take their money and crowd into shopping centres around West Berlin. Some West Berliners are quick to complain about the shops being so full, but most people are very understanding.

Everyday Life, West, East

00:57
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April 02, 1965
The Europa-Center opens

The grand opening of the Europa-Center on Breitscheidplatz. A new landmark for West Berlin, located next to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Towering 86 metres, the "showcase of the golden West" was the tallest building in the city back then. Today it is a listed building. Karl Heinz Pepper oversaw construction of the complex. Before the Second World War, the site was home to the Romanische Café, a legendary meeting place for writers, painters and theatre actors.

Everyday Life, West

00:25
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