Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

dw.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 95 posts

Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#11

Post by inglor_cz »

codeulike wrote: post #3

The idea of a city split into two by ideologically opposing factions, and the split being marked by a big wall, sounds like sci-fi now. Also, the idea that a physical barrier could affect the spread of information. Its interesting how much of 20th century history centers on Berlin. There's a wall museum in Berlin, well worth visiting. Edit: thanks for the reminders about contemporary split cities, sobering to think a…

"sounds like sci-fi now"

Sci-fi is usually about future. With 8 billion people in the world and growing, I can definitely see some other places divided by walls so that hostile factions do not mix.

There are "peace lines" in contemporary Belfast and Derry still in existence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_lines

Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#12

Post by usr1106 »

perihelions wrote: post #6
codeulike wrote: post #3

The idea of a city split into two by ideologically opposing factions, and the split being marked by a big wall, sounds like sci-fi now. Also, the idea that a physical barrier could affect the spread of information. Its interesting how much of 20th century history centers on Berlin. There's a wall museum in Berlin, well worth visiting. Edit: thanks for the reminders about contemporary split cities, sobering to think a…

"The idea of a city split into two by ideologically opposing factions, and the split being marked by a big wall, sounds like sci-fi now." Current reality in Nicosia (capital of Cyprus, a EU nation). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Buffer_Zone_in_... > "The Turkish army has built a barrier on the zone's northern side, consisting mainly of barbed-wire fencing, concrete wall segments, watchtowers, anti-tank…

Korea. While it's not in the middle of the capital, it's not that far. And the border is much tighter than the Berlin wall has ever been.

Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#13

Post by inglor_cz »

xx511134bz wrote: post #8

Odd/amusing point, the Stasi referred to the wall as the "antifascist defense border". Although these days, I'm a bit torn on the term as I see rent prices jacked up across the world by whomever can borrow money at the lowest rate. The Stasi and the Berlin Wall | DW Documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haxkWC6MgcQ

I suspect that real estate prices are dragged up by fear of inflation. People in my country buy whatever has a roof, because they do not want their savings to go to waste.

Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#14

Post by keewee7 »

The East German authorities called the wall "Anti-Fascist Protection Border".

>The Eastern Bloc portrayed the Wall as protecting its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" from building a socialist state in East Germany.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall

Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#15

Post by flohofwoe »

codeulike wrote: post #3

The idea of a city split into two by ideologically opposing factions, and the split being marked by a big wall, sounds like sci-fi now. Also, the idea that a physical barrier could affect the spread of information. Its interesting how much of 20th century history centers on Berlin. There's a wall museum in Berlin, well worth visiting. Edit: thanks for the reminders about contemporary split cities, sobering to think a…

> Also, the idea that a physical barrier could affect the spread of information.

It didn't, radio waves didn't stop at the wall ;)

My dad told stories of communist youths tearing down people's "west antennas" and there were also attempts to jam western TV and radio stations, but this was in the early 60's or so. Later it was more or less tolerated (to watch western TV and listen to western radio), even though officially a taboo.

Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#16

Post by bosie »

zwieback wrote: post #9

Berlin had the most memorable wall but the entire country was divided by a wall as well. My mom's family abandoned their house and factory and fled to the west when the Russians took their property and punished them for being capitalists. Since the wall wasn't up yet they left through Berlin, which was like a porthole to the west at the time.

if the wall wasn't up by then, why did they have to go through berlin?

Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#17

Post by est31 »

flohofwoe wrote: post #15
codeulike wrote: post #3

The idea of a city split into two by ideologically opposing factions, and the split being marked by a big wall, sounds like sci-fi now. Also, the idea that a physical barrier could affect the spread of information. Its interesting how much of 20th century history centers on Berlin. There's a wall museum in Berlin, well worth visiting. Edit: thanks for the reminders about contemporary split cities, sobering to think a…

> Also, the idea that a physical barrier could affect the spread of information. It didn't, radio waves didn't stop at the wall ;) My dad told stories of communist youths tearing down people's "west antennas" and there were also attempts to jam western TV and radio stations, but this was in the early 60's or so. Later it was more or less tolerated (to watch western TV and listen to western radio), even though officia…

Yeah they could send to most of the east except for a few regions that got dubbed "valley of the clueless".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tal_der_Ahnungslosen

Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#18

Post by mattr47 »

perihelions wrote: post #6
codeulike wrote: post #3

The idea of a city split into two by ideologically opposing factions, and the split being marked by a big wall, sounds like sci-fi now. Also, the idea that a physical barrier could affect the spread of information. Its interesting how much of 20th century history centers on Berlin. There's a wall museum in Berlin, well worth visiting. Edit: thanks for the reminders about contemporary split cities, sobering to think a…

"The idea of a city split into two by ideologically opposing factions, and the split being marked by a big wall, sounds like sci-fi now." Current reality in Nicosia (capital of Cyprus, a EU nation). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Buffer_Zone_in_... > "The Turkish army has built a barrier on the zone's northern side, consisting mainly of barbed-wire fencing, concrete wall segments, watchtowers, anti-tank…

Big difference between Berlin and Nicosia/Lefkoşa. I lived for 2 years (2010-2012) in the North as a westerner and while the division certainly affects the Island, it is nothing like Berlin in the Cold War.

Healing and forgiveness, on both sides, must occur before reunification.

Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#19

Post by zwieback »

bosie wrote: post #16
zwieback wrote: post #9

Berlin had the most memorable wall but the entire country was divided by a wall as well. My mom's family abandoned their house and factory and fled to the west when the Russians took their property and punished them for being capitalists. Since the wall wasn't up yet they left through Berlin, which was like a porthole to the west at the time.

if the wall wasn't up by then, why did they have to go through berlin?

It was a shorter path, they would have had to travel much farther to get to West Germany than to West Berlin. At the time the commuter trains in Berlin were still going back and forth between the sectors and too busy to be checked thoroughly.

Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#20

Post by tylersmith »

flohofwoe wrote: post #15
codeulike wrote: post #3

The idea of a city split into two by ideologically opposing factions, and the split being marked by a big wall, sounds like sci-fi now. Also, the idea that a physical barrier could affect the spread of information. Its interesting how much of 20th century history centers on Berlin. There's a wall museum in Berlin, well worth visiting. Edit: thanks for the reminders about contemporary split cities, sobering to think a…

> Also, the idea that a physical barrier could affect the spread of information. It didn't, radio waves didn't stop at the wall ;) My dad told stories of communist youths tearing down people's "west antennas" and there were also attempts to jam western TV and radio stations, but this was in the early 60's or so. Later it was more or less tolerated (to watch western TV and listen to western radio), even though officia…

Slightly off topic but the German band Rammstein, whose members prodominately grew up in East Berlin, have a great song called "Radio" about how the information leakage from the west to the east over radio helped encourage the cultural changes required to unify Germany. It's interesting to me to hear from the source how valuable it was/is.
Post reply on HN