All language subtitles for Cold War - S01E04 - Berlin (1948–1949) (480p x265 EDGE2020).eng

NARRATOR I
In 1945,

British and American pilots
had rained death and destruction

on Germany.

Now in 1948,
they were flying again

to Berlin.

This time, they were
keeping the city alive.

D ♪

BRANAGH: Berliners were
a beaten people in 1945.

Their fate was
in the hands

of the Russians, Americans,
British, and French --

their conquerors.

Germany was divided into four
occupation zones --

Soviet, American,

British, and French.

Three and a half million
Berliners lived in a city

110 miles
behind the Russian lines.

Berlin was linked
to the West

by a highway and a railway

which rah
through the Soviet Zone.

The city itself was divided
into four sectors,

Soviet, American,
British, and French.

[speaking Russian ]

INTERPRETER: Berlin and
Germany were the only places

where the two sides
came into contact,

that is Soviet troops

and troops from
the Allied countries.

In other places
we didn't have direct contact

between our two
armed forces.

That was one
of the reasons

why Berlin became a battlefield
for the Cold War.

BRANAGH: Berliners had
lived a precarious existence

for years.

Food was at near starvation
levels

and currency was worthless.

The Black market was king.

[Speaking German ]

INTERPRETER:
We bartered everything.

A non-smoker who got
cigarettes with his ration cards

would gladly take them
because he could barter them

for something
more useful.

Naturally, we all did it.

Cigarettes were
our currency.

The black market was the only
thing that kept us alive.

BRANAGH: British Foreign
Secretary Ernest Bevin

had a plan
for Germany.

He didn't like
the Germans,

but believed that European
recovery depended on them.

We have to try
and recreate Germany

on a democratic basis,

give her a chance
to live,

at the same time make sure

that the security
of the rest of Europe

is preserved

and that aggression cannot
take place again.

BRANAGH: Soviet military
maneuvers near Berlin.

By 1948, the honeymoon
among the Allies

was long over.

The Soviets wanted
a weak Germany

under Four Power control.

America, Britain, and France
were secretly planning

a new German state in their
occupation zones.

Spies told
the Soviet military governor,

Marshal Vassily Sokolovsky,
about the plan.

[speaking Russian ]

INTERPRETER:
He gathered all of us together

and read out
an intelligence report.

The report stated that a secret
conference about Germany

was held in London.

He read out everything
that was discussed in London.

BRANAGH: Sir Brian Robertson,
the British Military Governor,

and his American counterpart,
General Lucius D. Clay,

had to implement
the western plans.

MAN: General Clay was
the hardest working man

I've ever
encountered.

No vacation.

He skipped lunch because he
considered that a waste of time.

Instead, he had 20 cups
of coffee

and two packs
of cigarettes a day.

What impressed me
particularly

was his fantastic ability

to absorb
difficult questions

that were quite outside of the
framework of his experience.

After all, he was
a professional soldier.

BRANAGH: The Allied Control
Council met regularly in Berlin.

Usually, as here,

the proceedings followed
a well-worn path.

The American General Clay
and his Western partners

exchanged routine information
with their Soviet counterparts.

But on March 20, 1948,

Sokolovsky wanted more.

[speaking Russian ]

INTERPRETER: He spoke in
a very tactful and polite fashion,

in a very
restrained way.

He said, "Could you please
fill us in,

tell us what happened
at the meeting in London."

[ Koval speaking Russian ]

Clay replied that they weren't
going to look into it.

Sokolovsky then asked
what was the point

of having a Control Council
if they were not

going to tell us
what went on in London

and if they kept secret
from us

the various issues
concerning Germany.

"Have we or haven't we got
a Control Council?"

The Russian just stood up

and he had about five
or six of them

on the left
and on the right of him

and they just walked out,

which was not called for

because when
they closed the meeting,

it was always done
in a professional manner

and the General just told
everybody to stay put

'cause the meeting
wasn't over.

BRANAGH: The former
Allies provoked each other.

The West had no intention
of budging from Berlin,

but knew the Soviets
wanted them out.

They feared Stalin might risk
war to achieve it.

The Western Allies planned
a currency reform

in their zones.

It would wipe out
black market profiteers

by making old currency
valueless,

and it would tie Germans
to the west.

The Russians weren't
told.

May Day 1948.

In the Soviet zone,

Stalin had merged the Socialist
and Communist parties.

The new grouping,
the Socialist Unity Party,

was out in strength.

There was even a side swipe
at Winston Churchill.

For the demonstrators,

the real target was
the city council,

the Magistrat,

which wanted to run
all Berlin on western lines.

[Speaking German ]

INTERPRETER: The majority
of the Berlin City Council,

supported by
the Social Democrats

and the Christian
Democrats,

believed that
with currency reform

there would be an immediate
upturn in the economy.

In particular,
there would be

increased investment by
entrepreneurs.

On the other hand,

the Socialist Unity Party
councillors saw it as a threat

to the still incomplete
nationalization of property

which had belonged
to the big companies,

to war criminals,
and to Nazi party members --

generally to all those

whom the Socialist Unity Party
blamed

for supporting Hitler
in 1933.

BRANAGH: The stage
was set for confrontation

between
the Socialist Unity Party

and their pro-western
opponents.

These were led
by Ernst Reuter,

whose family had once been
forced to flee from Hitler.

His election as mayor
of all Berlin

had been vetoed
by the Russians.

It was a very
tense atmosphere again

full of possibilities

that the Russians
would try

to enforce their power
in that part of the country,

in the city of Berlin,
of course,

that maybe the family again

would have to flee
from dictatorship.

BRANAGH: West Germans
lined up for their new money --

the Deutsch Mark.

Each person could exchange
40 Marks

and only 40 Marks.

All other old money
was worthless.

The Soviets retaliated by
issuing their own new currency,

which, they insisted,
would include all of Berlin.

Currency and political power
were synonymous at that time.

And therefore
it was so important

that the western currency,
the D-Mark,

had to be introduced
into West Berlin

and not the eastern
German currency.

BRANAGH: General Clay
and the Western Allies were

persuaded by Ernst Reuter
to issue the new Deutsch Mark

in West Berlin.

The new Deutsch Mark,
stamped with a B for Berlin,

was introduced
in the Western sectors

on June 23.

There were now two currencies
in the city.

Berliners discovered
that the western D-Marks

were worth more.

[Speaking German ]

INTERPRETER: Many people from
the West frequently travel led to the East

and, of course,
bought up what they could.

East Marks and West Marks,
if you can call them that,

were usually one to seven
or one to five.

That is, we got seven or five
East German Marks

for one West Mark.

And, as we found out later,

it was a sell-out,
at least around Berlin.

BRANAGH: The introduction of
the new western currency in Berlin

infuriated the Soviets,

who debated
what to do next.

[speaking Russian ]

Sokolovsky picked up
the special phone

and rang Molotov.

He said, "We're discussing
these matters.

What shall we do?"

We all understood the
seriousness of the situation.

Molotov replied, "You're not
planning to bring

tanks out into the streets,
are you?"

Sokolovsky said,
"No, not in the streets,

but I'll move them closer
to Berlin."

"No, don't do that!"
Molotov said.

"Let's wait a bit.

If you bring in the tanks
you will be accused

of planning to seize
the whole of Berlin

and they will bring out
their tanks.

It's better to resolve
this issue

by using diplomatic language."

BRANAGH: The Soviets blocked
all major road, rail and canal links

between West Berlin
and Western Germany.

They made no concerted effort
to seal every route,

but delivery of the 12,000 tons
of food and coal

normally supplied
by the west to Berlin every day

was now impossible.

The Soviets out
electricity supplies

to factories
and offices.

West Berliners could
do little.

Their only large power station
had been dismantled

for reparations
by the Soviets in 1945.

The Western allies imposed
a counter-blockade

on the Soviet zone.

Workers throughout
the whole of Berlin

faced unemployment
and hardship.

[Speaking German ]

INTERPRETER: First of
all, it was a terrible shock.

Wherever you went,
everyone asked,

"Oh, my God!
What will happen to us now?"

[ Man speaking German
on PA]

BRANAGH: Stalin's
purpose was clear --

to force the Western allies
to change their policies

or quit Berlin.

In 1945,

the Western allies had made
a written agreement

with the Soviets.

Planes could fly
along three air corridors

20 miles wide
to two Berlin airfields,

Tempelhof and Gatow.

Seaplanes could also set down
on Lake Havel.

The British responded
to the challenge.

They planned
an airlift.

Foreign Secretary Bevin
put his weight behind the idea.

The physical suffering

of two and a half million
people in Berlin

to try and influence
the Allies --

the Western powers --

in their treatment
of the Germans

and try to force us out

is one which
we are unable to accept.

BRANAGH: General Clay,
the American commander,

didn't believe
an airlift would work.

He had wanted
to test Soviet resolve

by running an armed convoy
through the blockade.

Reluctantly, he agreed
to pursue the airlift idea

with Ernst Reuter.

LOCHNER: Clay had said that
this would mean extreme hardship

and how little we could
bring in at first.

And he asked Reuter
point-blank,

"Do you think the Berliners
will be able to take it?"

Reuter quietly replied,

"You take care of
the airlift.

I'll take care
of the Berliners."

And Clay said
that was good enough.

He'd call up General LeMay
and said,

"General we're going
to haul coal into Berlin!"

"Coal?"
General LeMay said.

He said, "Yeah, we're going
to keep this city alive."

BRANAGH: The Berlin airlift
began at the end of June.

The Americans called it
"Operation Vittles,"

the British
"Plainfare."

The airlift had to deliver
2,000 tons

of supplies a day.

Without it, West Berliners
couldn't survive.

They had coal for only
45 days

and food
for only 36.

[ Barovvsky speaking German ]

INTERPRETER:
The airlift began,

which was welcomed with
incredible enthusiasm.

People had such
confidence in it.

It was really remarkable.

People thought,
"Why shouldn't it work?

They dropped so many bombs
on Berlin,

they should be able
to drop potatoes!"

[ laughs ]

BRANAGH: Thousands
of Berliners found jobs --

and one hot meal a day --

working for
the airlift.

[Speaking German ]

INTERPRETER: We were
divided into work gangs

supervised
by an American overseer.

Each gang was ordered
one by one

to the planes
as they came in.

"Go to the next plane."

BRANAGH: Each of the
larger planes carried nine tons.

[Weber speaking German ]

INTERPRETER: We could unload
each plane in roughly seven minutes.

That was nine "short tons"
of coal.

BRANAGH: The British
hired civilian operators.

There weren't many people in
England that had any airplanes

but I was very lucky at the time

in as much that I actually owned

12 converted Halifax bombers.

The government came along
and said,

"Oh, can we do something
with these airplanes?"

I said, "Of course."

But, remember, we all thought
that the Berlin airlift

was only gonna
last two or three weeks

or there would
have been a war.

BRANAGH:
America now raised the stakes

by sending 5-29 bombers,

capable of carrying
atom bombs

to Britain.

The move was
highly publicized.

NARRATOR: These are the men
whose nerve-wracking job it may be

to fight their way through
weather and Red obstruction.

So grave is the crisis

that General Clay is recalled
to Washington

to report
on the situation.

He is greeted by
Secretary of the Army, Royall

and then is welcomed
by Chief of Staff, Omar Bradley.

On his shoulders may rest
the responsibility

for peace or war

and the Commander-in-Chief
at the White House

awaits his appraisal of
the most explosive situation yet

in the struggle
between East and West.

BRANAGH: Clay argued
once again that he be allowed

to confront the Soviets
with an armed convoy.

Now if the Soviets
stepped aside

and the convoy
went through,

then peace would continue.

If they chose not
to let the convoy through,

then it meant war.

It was
just that simple.

And the last thing
in the world

President Truman wanted
to do was see our country

get into another
great war.

We had just
come out of one.

BRANAGH:
So, no armed convoy,

but more planes
for the airlift.

Since I have been
in Washington,

I have been assured
of an additional supply

of C-54s,

which carry 10 tons,

to replace the C-47s.

And this will enable us
to build our airlift up

to 4,500 tons a day.

This tonnage will enable us

to maintain Berlin
indefinitely

while we try to find
a peaceful solution

to the Berlin problem.

BRANAGH:
In August,

Stalin visited
an air show near Moscow.

He was confident
that the Soviet blockade

of Berlin's western sectors
would be enough

to force the allies back
to the negotiation table.

But time wasn't necessarily
on his side.

The West's counter-blockade
of coal,

steel,
and machine tools

was beginning
to bite.

When Western diplomats
asked for talks,

he agreed.

[speaking Russian ]

INTERPRETER:
Stalin was very calm.

He smoked.

He didn't walk about
like he usually did.

Normally he would
pace around

like a cat
in his soft boots

but this time
he stayed seated.

He had no notes
next to him.

He said, "The question
is very important

from an economic
point of view.

But this is not
the most important issue.

What is more important
are the decisions

you have taken in London.

We insist that you should revoke
these decisions

or at least postpone
their implementation

until we get together again
to discuss the question

of Germany.

He saw that Germany was
going to be divided,

with a strong
Western Germany

supported by America
and the West

and anyway being three quarters
of the total part of Germany

which would become
an independent country.

And he wanted
to stop that.

BRANAGH:
In Berlin,

the Western allies
and the Soviets returned

to the negotiating table.

The Russians demanded
the withdrawal

of the Western Deutsch Mark
from the city.

They also applied pressure
in the air corridors.

There was
plenty of provocation.

They used to carry out
aerial maneuvers

in the corridor
or right alongside it.

They'd be above you because we
had a maximum altitude

and they'd go off
firing military equipment.

Being buzzed
and all that sort of thing.

We'd come up and have
a Yak come head on with you

right nose to nose

and at the last minute
would peel off.

Or come up behind you
so you couldn't see him

and then come up
over the wing.

But they didn't shoot.

BRANAGH: Bad weather
caused delays and accidents.

The airlift was not delivering
enough food

and virtually no coal had been
stockpiled

for the harsh winter
to come.

I“ [woman singing in German] I“

I“ [singing continues] I“

Berliners knew they were
living on the edge.

Electricity came on
for only four hours a day.

I“ [singing continues] I“

[Speaking German ]

INTERPRETER:
We did the washing at night.

Because I had
a small baby,

I had to boil the nappies
and do the cooking.

If we didn't
have an electric iron

then we'd go to a neighbor
and do the ironing together.

It's always the same
in bad times.

People stick together
through thick and thin.

BRANAGH: The Soviet blockade
didn't prevent West Berliners

from moving about freely
within the city.

The eastern sector
behind the Brandenburg Gate

could be very enticing.

[Speaking German ]

INTERPRETER: I often
went across into East Berlin.

If you wanted
to go out,

you had to go
into the eastern sector.

There were dance halls,
there was music,

there was electric
lighting.

The rooms were heated

and normal peacetime conditions
prevailed.

D ♪

[cheers and applause]

BRANAGH: The Russians
offered West Berliners the chance

to buy food
in the Soviet sector.

Nearly one in ten
accepted.

The Soviets didn't impose
a complete blockade.

But West Berliners
who went to East Berlin

were harassed.

[ Herrberger speaking German ]

INTERPRETER:
We could get out by train

but we were constantly checked
here, there, and everywhere

by the Russians.

They came into the station

and either demanded
our identity papers,

or searched our bags
and rucksacks.

You had the feeling
that if a Russian

didn't like the look
of a German

he would take him away.

BRANAGH: Tension among
the former wartime allies

was increasing.

The city was
splitting apart.

On September 6,

Communist-led activists
converged

on a full meeting
of the city council

in East Berlin.

They were looking
for trouble.

[Speaking German ]

INTERPRETER: Those were
not spontaneous outbursts

from the people.

They were,
on the contrary, demonstrations

which Party members
and sympathizers

had been ordered
to attend.

Their aim was to break up
the old city council.

[Speaking German ]

INTERPRETER: We
wanted to begin the session.

But Speaker Suhr
couldn't get it started

because communist gangs
had made it their business

to be there.

Word got around.

We couldn't work there.

Some people had already
been beaten up.

So we had to leave.

BRANAGH: Councillors
driven out of the City Hall

met in the safety
of West Berlin.

With them was Ernst Reuter,

who now appealed
to all Berliners

to gather
at the Reichstag to protest.

RIAS -
Radio in the American sector -

spread the news.

Because of the lack
of electrical power,

we had loud speaker wagons
going through the streets

giving the news
several times a day.

We had a fine actor
make a tape.

"Berliner und Berlinerrin,

ihr Stadt ist in gefahr!"

"Your city
is in danger!"

The people came.

Hundreds of thousands
of them came.

[Speaking German ]

INTERPRETER:
This was a show of unity

by the people
of Berlin.

There was nothing else
in our heads

but the thought --
"We stand united,

we are against
the Russians,

and we support
the western Allies."

BRANAGH:
Nearly 300,000 Berliners,

many from the East,

assembled at the Reichstag.

EDZARD REUTER: The
view of the Berlin politicians,

there was a possibility that
western allies might be ready

to come to a compromise
with the Russians

which would be
a detrimental compromise

for Germany.

They rallied that meeting
to demonstrate

that the population of Berlin
was decided

to stand for their freedom
and for democracy.

[ Applause ]

BRANAGH:
When the rally was over,

the Soviet flag
on the Brandenburg Gate

was torn down.

East sector police
and Soviet soldiers opened fire.

Twelve people were injured.

One young Berliner
was killed.

And the day was
not yet over.

A delegation went
to the Allied Control Council

where they feared
a deal with Stalin

to withdraw the Western D-Mark
from Berlin

was being hatched.

The Allies got
the message.

The D-Mark stayed.

NARRATOR: Rhein-Main field
was busier than ever this week

as airlift traffic was
suddenly bolstered

by fresh squadrons.

Here, a group
of valiant young pilots

talk over
the day's operations.

BRANAGH: The blockade
and the airlift went on.

We flew everything.

I mean, medical supplies,
news print.

But the coal was
the biggest thing

and it was the biggest
problem, too.

The coal dust would seep in
under the floors

and control cables

and make it difficult
to control the airplane

so we flew
with our escape hatches out

at the back
to suck out the dust.

GROUND CONTROL: Big Easy
Six-Four, I have you in contact

over the Tempelhof range.

If you pick up a heading now
to get you over...

Coming down
very nicely now.

You're starting to go a little
bit above your giidepath.

LEONHARD:
Every 45 seconds,

airplanes
from the West came

over Kleinmachnow
over the high party academy

in order to land
in Tempelhof.

GROUND CONTROL:
268 Degrees.

You are now one and one half
miles from touchdown.

You are approaching the trees
and the buildings.

You are now on course
and on your glidepath.

Very nice...

We were sitting around.

The teachers
of the history department

and of others said,

"The Americans understand
historical materialism

better than we."

And so we were looking --

historical materialism
better than we?

"Yeah, they understand
that you have to have

a basis of food
and help

before you can begin
party education.

The Americans understand
historical materialism."

BRANAGH: Airlift pilots could
fly up to three missions every day.

An American pilot brought
his own 8-mm movie camera.

HALVORSEN:
I went back to Berlin

to get this picture
inside the barbed wire.

Kids came up on their side
of the barbed wire

and look at me
in uniform.

They came up
and start talking to me.

"How many sacks of flour
you got?

How's it going
to be tomorrow?"

They got off the subject
of flour very quickly

and on the subject
of freedom.

They said, "Look,"

they said, "Some day we'll have
enough to eat.

Just give us
a little.

Just don't give up on us
when the weather gets bad.

We'll have enough
but if we lose our freedom,

we may never
get it back."

And these kids were
8 to 14 years old.

They blew my mind
with their maturity

and understanding
of what was important.

BRANAGH:
Halvorsen promised the children

that we would return
with chewing gum and chocolate

dropped from
tiny parachutes.

[Speaking German ]

INTERPRETER: It was amazing
all the things they brought over

in their planes.

I still remember
my youngest boy was there

when American soldiers dropped
little parachutes

with sweets,
chewing gum and chocolate.

BRANAGH: Word of Halvorsen
the Candy Bomber spread quickly.

He was summoned
to see his commanding officer.

He really chewed me up.

And then he reached
under the counter,

pulled out a newspaper
and there on the front page

was an airplane with parachutes
coming out of it.

He said, "You almost hit
a German newspaperman

on the head
with a candy bar

in Berlin yesterday.

He's got this story
all over the world."

He said,
"The General read it

and called me to find out
what was going on.

I didn't know
anything about it!

I'll never
get promoted!

Why didn't you tell me?"

I said, "I didn't think
you'd approve it, sir."

He said, "You're right!

But the General thinks
it's a good idea.

Keep doing it!"

BRANAGH:
For both East and West

radio was an important weapon

in the propaganda war.

Radio in the American Sector-
RIAS --

was run
by William Heimlich.

HEIMLICH: I introduced
American broadcasting techniques

on the theory that
if the audience isn't there,

you can't convince them
of anything.

So my number one priority
was get people to listen.

How do you get
people to listen?

You give them good
entertaining programs,

solid news that
they could depend on.

[ Radio announcer speaking German ]

BRANAGH: A young Berlin
dancer called Christina Ohlsen

became a popular
RIAS performer --

and later Mrs. Heimlich.

I read the headlines

and then I would make fun

of whatever the Russians
or East Germans did.

I Da' versfehe /ch n/chz' I

I Da' versfehe
/ch n/chz' I

I dazu b/n noch zu k/e/n I

I Doch 0'/e Grossen I

I doch 0'/e Grossen I

I D/e mussen doch dass
e/genfich verstehen I

Which means,
"I am too little

to understand
these happenings

but the public
could certainly get it."

And it became a very famous
slogan in Berlin

and so I became
the Voice of Berlin.

BRANAGH:
In December 1948,

West Berliners voted
for a new council

to run their half
of the city.

The Socialist Unity Party,

which dominated the old council
in the Soviet sector,

boycotted
the elections.

[Speaking German ]

INTERPRETER: For the
moment, we are a divided city.

There is nothing
we can do about it.

Our survival now
depends on developing

extremely strong ties
with West Germany.

BRANAGH:
Ernst Reuter was now mayor,

with Luise Schroeder
as his deputy --

but only
in one half of Berlin.

For the American garrison
in Berlin

and for General Clay,

Christmas entertainment was
provided by Bob Hope

and by the great
Tin Pan Alley composer,

Irving Berlin.

No, you got the name wrong.
It's Irving Jones!

- Irving Jones?
- Yes, I changed it!

Anything over here
named Berlin

they out up
into sectors.

[ laughter and applause]

D ♪

I“ Not long ago I“

I“ a group
we call the Air Corps I“

I“ helped win the vvar
and took a bow I“

I“ Not long ago I“

I“ we cheered
the fighting Air Corps I“

I“ Let's see what's happened
to them now I“

I“ Operation Vittles I“

I“ we'll soon be
on our way I“

I“ with coal
and wheat and hay I“

I“ and everything's okay I“

I“ Operation Vittles I“

I“ as in the sky we go I“

I“ we won't forget to blow I“

I“ a kiss to Uncle Joe I“

BRANAGH:
Operation Vittles --

the American code name
for the airlift --

was working at last,

thanks to an unusually
mild winter.

On Easter Sunday 1949,

a record 13,000 tons
was airlifted in 24 hours.

The gamble had worked.

Berlin could be supplied
indefinitely by air.

[speaking Russian ]

INTERPRETER:
We lived at Karlshorst

and could hear
the noise of the airplanes

which delivered everything

including chocolate
and Christmas presents.

We couldn't match it.

We were poor
and the West was rich,

and, of course,
this crazy blockade

was bound to fail.

I“ [woman singing ”Das /nsu/aner//e0”'] I“

BRANAGH: The
Soviets had failed to drive

the British, Americans,
and French out of Berlin.

The Allied counter-blockade
was hurting

the Soviet zone.

On May 12, 1949,

Stalin called it quits.

NARRATOR: As midnight
nears, tension mounts

at the British frontier
control post.

Familiar with the old
Russian habit

of changing their minds
when it suits them,

seasoned campaigners could not
quite grasp

this new mood
of co-operation.

As on the stoke of 12:00

the barrier goes up

and a British jeep leads
the race into Berlin.

I“ [singing continues] I“

BRANAGH: Many people thought
the ending of the Berlin blockade

meant an end
to the Cold War.

D ♪

[Speaking German ]

INTERPRETER: I returned
home after midnight,

having taken the S-Bahn
from Ostkreuz to Neukolln.

When we crossed the boundary
between the two sectors

everything was
bathed in light.

It was like
a dream!

[Speaking German ]

Sheer joy,
nothing else.

We had done it!

It does work
with the West!

That was so very
important.

The West has won!

BRANAGH: It was General
Clay's time to go back home.

After a goodbye parade,

he paid
a final visit to Berlin.

So then he asked me
to go with him

to the final farewell
ceremony at City Hall.

And Adenauer and all
the top German officials

had been flown in.

There was a very impressive
farewell ceremony

and, as so often,

nobody had thought
of providing

a separate microphone
for the interpreter.

This happened to me
time and again.

Which meant I had
to lean over

practically cheek to cheek
to General Clay

to speak
into the microphone.

And in the strong light

I could see that
there were tears in his eyes.

I shall not use
the English word, "goodbye,"

but rather try to say
to you, ”auf w/edersehe/fl”

BRANAGH: The day General
Clay said, ”auf w/edersehen, ”

the head of the future
West German Republic,

Konrad Adenauer,
addressed Berliners.

[cheers and applause]

EDZARD REUTER: The
Cold War period in Berlin was

really the core,
the root of post-war democracy

in Germany.

There was
a growing feeling

that the Germans after all

can be satisfied
to accept democracy

as their own ways of living

and to become
part of the western world.

[speaking Russian ]

INTERPRETER: The
Berlin crisis, on reflection,

resulted
in a division of Europe.

The government in West Germany
was created

and two weeks later
on our side,

the German Democratic Republic
was born.

That division went
right across Germany.

BRANAGHI
In April 1949,

British Foreign Secretary
Bevirfs dream

of a strategic alliance
between Western Europe

and North America
came true

with the signing
of the North Atlantic Treaty.

ROBERTS:
The overall success of the Berlin Airlift

was first of all,
it persuaded

a lot of very frightened people
throughout Europe

that they had to come
into the Atlantic Alliance,

which provided
the security

or the general feeling
that we are safe,

in spite of these very
much larger Russian forces

which were next door.

BRANAGH:
August 29, 1949

the Soviets detonated
their first atomic bomb.

The American nuclear monopoly
was over.

The world was now
split down the middle

by two competing
superpowers.

At its heart
lay a divided Germany

and a divided Berlin.