The fall of the Berlin Wall - The beginning of the end of the GDR

The Berlin Wall divided Germany for almost 30 years. It tore families apart and destroyed lives. Both the construction and the fall of the Wall were key moments in German history -- and beyond. The film explores the history of this important structure.

The construction of the Wall was preceded by a veritable countdown. The supporters of the Wall defended it as an "anti-fascist protective rampart” and a bulwark against capitalism. Nearly three decades later, the Wall’s supporters were taken by surprise, unable to prevent it from coming down without risking a global crisis.

Back in 1961, it was just as hard to believe that a political system would imprison its own people as it seemed impossible, 28 years later, that the Wall could fall peacefully. The fall of the Wall was also preceded by a countdown. The film recounts the milestones that, starting with the autumn of 1988, culminated in the historic fall of the Wall in November 1989.