Berlin is celebrating 25 years since the fall of the wall that once divided the capital, and East and West Germany.
8000 lighted balloons are marking a 15 kilometer path where the wall once stood and several events are drawing millions of visitors to mark the occasion.
But part of the commemorations have also included an element of nostalgia, especially for many East Germans who's country was dissolved when the wall came down and who's people faced new economic challenges.
Our Europe correspondent Sandra Gathmann has this report.
IN: "At an.."
OUT: SOC
DUR: 3'00 seconds
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SCRIPT:
VO:
At the East Berlin Ring mall, a pop-up display of makeshift rooms are transporting shoppers back in time..retro kitchens with 1960's appliances are drawing smiles from elderly women… young kids are flocking to have a go on the old typewriters.
All over the capital, Berliners are celebrating 25 years since the fall of the city wall and the peaceful reunification of East and West Germany. 8000 balloons now light up the historic route where the concrete wall once stood. Live concerts and art galleries have sprung up too. …but there are many East Germans with a sense of pride about their former nation…
One shopper observing the East German display says the 25 year commemorations have been a bit overblown…
TAKE BITE: I mean of course it couldn't continue like it was in the East but it's not that everything is great in the West. The East did much more for the kids for instance…. it was easier for women to go to work because the kids were taken care of by the state. Yes, we didn't have everything they had in the west but we were ok."
VO:
It's what many are referring to as "Ostalgie" - A nostalgia for all things Ost - or Eastern…These days, a whole range of new and old goods can be found that hark back to life under soviet rule…all sorts of businesses are responding to fresh demand to taste those times again.
Wolfgang Kunzer is the owner of the Ostpaket pop up shop… selling products originally designed or manufactured in East Germany
TAKE BITE: "For 40 years the border did not allow us to buy Western products. Then with the opening of the border people started buying Western products, leading to a closure of businesses in East Germany. But now, they're running again because many people began remembering the products they loved, and started asking that they be produced again."
VO:
The challenges that came with West Berlin's economic takeover of the East are still fresh in many minds.
Thorsten Benner is director of the Global Public Policy Institute.
TAKE BITE: "For West Germans nothing much changed…For East Germans of course it was a transformative event, because they were migrants in their own country. Confronted with a new system, they had to adjust. Some managed to adjust really well and managed to thrive in the social market economy that came to them."
VO:
For those that lived the wall - commemorating its fall is an opportunity to reflect, and be reminded of tougher times… For a new generation of Berliners who haven't, now is a time to learn….It's why one old man came to leave his vintage beard trimmer on the table of the retro living room inside the East Berlin mall… for everyone to share in his Ostalgie… Sandra Gathmann, XXX Berlin.
But part of the commemorations have also included an element of nostalgia, especially for many East Germans who's country was dissolved when the wall came down and who's people faced new economic challenges.
Our Europe correspondent Sandra Gathmann has this report.
IN: "At an.."
OUT: SOC
DUR: 3'00 seconds
AIR: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1109berlinwallpkg-sg-air.mp3
ARN: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1109berlinwallpkg-sg-arn.mp3
FM4: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1109berlinwallpkg-sg-fm4.mp3
GENERIC: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1109berlinwallpkg-sg-generic.mp3
ICRT: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1109berlinwallpkgl-sg-icrt.mp3
NIGERIA: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1109berlinwallpkg-sg-von.mp3
RNZ: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1109berlinwallpkgl-sg-rnz.mp3
SRN: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1109berlinwallpkg-sg-srn.mp3
VATICAN: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1109berlinwallpkgl-sg-vatican.mp3
ZIZ: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1109berlinwallpkg-sg-ziz.mp3
SCRIPT:
VO:
At the East Berlin Ring mall, a pop-up display of makeshift rooms are transporting shoppers back in time..retro kitchens with 1960's appliances are drawing smiles from elderly women… young kids are flocking to have a go on the old typewriters.
All over the capital, Berliners are celebrating 25 years since the fall of the city wall and the peaceful reunification of East and West Germany. 8000 balloons now light up the historic route where the concrete wall once stood. Live concerts and art galleries have sprung up too. …but there are many East Germans with a sense of pride about their former nation…
One shopper observing the East German display says the 25 year commemorations have been a bit overblown…
TAKE BITE: I mean of course it couldn't continue like it was in the East but it's not that everything is great in the West. The East did much more for the kids for instance…. it was easier for women to go to work because the kids were taken care of by the state. Yes, we didn't have everything they had in the west but we were ok."
VO:
It's what many are referring to as "Ostalgie" - A nostalgia for all things Ost - or Eastern…These days, a whole range of new and old goods can be found that hark back to life under soviet rule…all sorts of businesses are responding to fresh demand to taste those times again.
Wolfgang Kunzer is the owner of the Ostpaket pop up shop… selling products originally designed or manufactured in East Germany
TAKE BITE: "For 40 years the border did not allow us to buy Western products. Then with the opening of the border people started buying Western products, leading to a closure of businesses in East Germany. But now, they're running again because many people began remembering the products they loved, and started asking that they be produced again."
VO:
The challenges that came with West Berlin's economic takeover of the East are still fresh in many minds.
Thorsten Benner is director of the Global Public Policy Institute.
TAKE BITE: "For West Germans nothing much changed…For East Germans of course it was a transformative event, because they were migrants in their own country. Confronted with a new system, they had to adjust. Some managed to adjust really well and managed to thrive in the social market economy that came to them."
VO:
For those that lived the wall - commemorating its fall is an opportunity to reflect, and be reminded of tougher times… For a new generation of Berliners who haven't, now is a time to learn….It's why one old man came to leave his vintage beard trimmer on the table of the retro living room inside the East Berlin mall… for everyone to share in his Ostalgie… Sandra Gathmann, XXX Berlin.