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WWW.MY-SUBS.CO
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Russia is building up troops
along the border with Ukraine,
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and conducting massive military drills.
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- Glory to Ukraine!
- Glory to the heroes!
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At ease.
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We'll have another training now.
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We all came together.
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{n8}People, military, government, everybody.
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People were ready for it
on a genetic level.
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This was not the first time in our history
we were at risk of losing our statehood.
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And I understood that this was the war.
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The moment has come.
This was the war for independence.
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The war for Ukraine.
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This weakness,
which we'd had for many years,
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it was gone.
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We started fighting back.
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Contact from the left.
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Contact from the right.
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A lot of people
who took up arms to defend Ukraine,
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they never pictured themselves
with a gun in their arms.
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{n8}So many people who are,
you know, just artists, uh, activists, uh...
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IT managers who just took up arms
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and... and, uh,
volunteered to go to the army.
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We were waiting for this, and we're ready.
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I knew it would happen because it's been
going on for more than a century.
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Seeing how passionate everyone is
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to defend their country,
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{n8}Ukraine is definitely not going down
without a fight.
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- And how old are you?
- Seventeen years old.
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I... I see that you're holding a weapon.
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- Yes, it's...
- What kind of weapon?
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It's, uh,
an... AK-47 without magazine.
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- Okay.
- My magazine.
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Okay, and...
are you ready to kill another person?
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Uh...
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I mean,
have you thought about that?
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Uh, I think about that, but, um...
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to me, what is it?
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Duty.
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It's my duty.
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{n8}I was born under Soviet occupation,
and this was the world I knew.
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You couldn't go
outside Soviet Union at that time.
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You had to have a visa,
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and it was not given
to any regular people.
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The Soviet authorities wanted you
to feel that everybody is tapped,
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everybody is listened to,
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everything you say
can be used against you.
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It was a society of fear, really.
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In 1989,
Gorbachev was the head of Soviet Union,
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and so we had the chance
to travel to Eastern Germany.
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That was a really big, big thing.
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{n8}My father took me
and my brother and my mother
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{n8}to see the Brandenburg Gate.
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And I remember he said,
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"Children, breathe in deeply
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because it's the air of freedom
that comes from the other side."
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Growing up
in the '70s and the '80s,
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there was a very strong sense
that the Soviet Union was there forever.
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{n8}We tried to learn as much as possible
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{n8}about what it was like
beyond the borders of the Soviet Union,
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{n8}but there was also a sense
that we would never, ever see it.
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{n8}KGB agents collected data
all the time, 24/7.
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{n8}They forced people
to collaborate with them secretly.
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It was easy to make your life miserable.
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There were Russian writers who defected.
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Russian journalists occasionally defected.
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{n8}And probably the most famous defector
was the ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov,
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who, uh, chose freedom
and became a major, major star
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not just in ballet,
but in American theater writ large.
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{n8}A friend of mine
was sent to prison for many years,
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{n8}almost for nothing.
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Dancing to Western music.
Jazz, rock and roll, I don't know.
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A kind of dancing not allowed in the GDR.
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It was clear to us that in this country,
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under these conditions,
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it will be impossible for us to live.
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We were prisoners.
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You have to remember
that while the relationship
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between Reagan and Gorbachev
is hugely important,
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{n8}and it yielded huge benefits
in arms control to an easing of tensions,
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it did not open the wall.
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{n8}Mr. Gorbachev,
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{n8}tear down this wall.
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What happened after Reagan said,
"Tear down this wall," was nothing.
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Mikhail Gorbachev did not open the wall.
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President Reagan then leaves office,
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{n8}and in 1989, we get George H.W. Bush.
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{n8}A new breeze is blowing,
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{n8}and a world refreshed by freedom
seems reborn.
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{n8}For in man's heart, if not in fact,
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the day of the dictator is over.
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When Gorbachev
came to power in the Soviet Union,
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{n8}his view was not that he wanted
to destroy the Soviet Union,
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but that he wanted
to reform it from within.
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He wanted
to give people a chance to speak.
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This was glasnost.
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Which is not just freedom of the press,
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{n8}but which is also the openness
of government to the people,
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{n8}the accountability
of government to the people.
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That began to happen
right after Chernobyl.
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At Moscow University
and across the Soviet Union,
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there is a sense things are changing,
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that the limits
of permissible criticism are expanding.
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Glasnost is a first step
towards real democracy in our society.
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He also wanted to make an effort
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to address the failure
of Soviet central planning.
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The economy was teetering in the 1980s.
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The overall impact
of the arms race
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and of the militarization
of the Soviet economy
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undermined the system
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and also undermined
the lives of many people.
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The standard of living was not improving.
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And that's
where perestroika came in.
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Gorbachev
starts introducing economic reforms
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{n8}like cooperative businesses,
semi-capitalist businesses.
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{n8}Perestroika means rebuilding,
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{n8}and that has to do largely with economics,
and to some extent politics.
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Gorbachev, from above,
opens the door to reform,
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and when he gives an inch, suddenly
everyone says, "Well, we want a mile."
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And so you have protests springing up
all across Central and Eastern Europe.
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Very important in this context is Poland.
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{n8}From the very beginning of the Cold War,
Poland is a thorn in the Russians' side.
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{n8}Poland is a country
that has a whole tradition of resistance,
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{n8}of insurrections against foreign rule.
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{n8}In 1978,
the Cardinal of Kraków,
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{n8}Karol Wojtyla,
is elected Pope John Paul II.
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{n8}The Polish pope.
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{n8}Unheard of.
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Never happened before.
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Popes are Italian or French.
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One overriding fact
about the Polish people is this.
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In a nation of 35 million,
30 million, yes, 30 million,
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believe in and adhere to
the Roman Catholic Church.
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This in a communist society
that, on paper, is anti-Church.
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When the pope
comes to Poland,
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{n8}millions of people
are thronging the streets,
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and the pope gives them a message of hope.
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{n8}When the Polish pope
comes to pay homage here,
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no one doubts that he is challenging
the official wisdom
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about his country's character.
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The pope didn't say,
"Down with Big Brother."
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He didn't have to.
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It's as if
the communist state
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has ceased to exist for ten days.
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Vast crowds turn out.
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Mass prayers, hymns. God save Poland.
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That prepares the ground
for the wave of strikes in August 1980.
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An extraordinarily
brave group of people in Poland
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formed a group known as Solidarity.
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SOLIDARITY
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Solidarity began as a labor union,
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as a trade union movement,
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seeking better wages
and working conditions
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in the dockyards of Gdańsk.
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And Solidarity's leader
is a man named Lech Walesa.
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Lech Walesa is a very earthy
shipyard worker, trade union leader.
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Big, bristling mustache.
Very bluff personality.
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I think you have heard
the situation we are currently in,
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that is...
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experts, that is the two sixes,
the government along with ours,
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they debate, that is, they already agree
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on specific things
in the third and fourth points.
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And he has an incredible
natural political instinct.
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A reported 100,000 workers
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in some 140 different
industries and factories
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are now on strike in communist Poland.
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They want more money and more freedom,
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{n8}two items the government
of communist party chief Edward Gierek
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{n8}will be hard-pressed to grant.
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The communist regime caves in
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and concedes something
that has never been conceded
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in the entire history
of the communist world since 1917,
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which is an independent
self-governing trades union.
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Solidarity.
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{n8}And this becomes
a ten-million-strong opposition movement.
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A national liberation movement.
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There was a very real concern
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{n8}that the Soviets were going
to invade Poland because of Solidarity
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{n8}and their view that the Poles
had not acted strongly enough.
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{n8}On the 13th of December, 1981,
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{n8}the Poles woke up to a grim-faced
General Wojciech Jaruzelski on television
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saying the situation in the country
was anarchy, which wasn't true.
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It had become so dramatic
that he had to declare a state of war.
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Poles look out of the window,
and there were tanks on the streets.
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But they're Polish tanks.
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There had been enormous Soviet pressure
on Jaruzelski to crack down.
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Communist authorities raid a conference
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of Solidarity's national leaders.
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The entire presidium
is arrested in its hotel.
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There were
a number of people who were killed,
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particularly in the coal mines.
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But a lot more people, most of my friends,
were put into internment camps.
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By imposing martial law,
Jaruzelski avoided a Soviet invasion.
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But he ended up with martial law anyway.
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{n8}SOLIDARITY
MAZOVIA
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Solidarity survives
as an underground organization.
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There was very significant
financial support from the West,
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encouraged by Pope John Paul II,
by the way, who said that was a good idea.
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You basically had three
very different institutions
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committed to supporting Solidarity.
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One was CIA in the United States.
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{n8}The second was the AFL-CIO,
the American labor movement.
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And the third was the pope.
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00:15:02,985 --> 00:15:07,197
And we always felt that the pope probably
had the best intelligence of anybody
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on what was going on inside Poland because
he had agents in every church.
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There was never direct cooperation
among those three,
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but there were contacts at the very top.
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We kind of all knew
what we were doing with Solidarity,
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so we didn't get crossways
with each other.
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The CIA began a modest operation
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00:15:37,394 --> 00:15:41,273
to give the underground leaders
of Solidarity
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the weapons that they needed to win.
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And they were the tools of a free press.
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We provided a lot
of communications equipment,
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00:15:51,283 --> 00:15:54,703
a lot of printing presses,
things like that for Solidarity.
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{n8}The CIA developed the capability,
that basically fit into a large suitcase,
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00:16:00,918 --> 00:16:06,298
{n8}that allowed us to take control
of the Polish national television system
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00:16:06,382 --> 00:16:07,925
{n8}for about ten minutes,
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00:16:08,008 --> 00:16:10,219
{n8}and which we broadcast the itinerary
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and where the pope was gonna be and when.
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And millions of people turned out.
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Yeah, we just took over the signal.
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This had a galvanizing effect on people.
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{n8}We will win!
We will win! We will win!
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This does
not mean in any way, shape, or form
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that the CIA
pulled the strings of Solidarity.
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00:16:32,700 --> 00:16:34,118
Nothing of the kind.
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00:16:34,201 --> 00:16:38,539
Solidarity made its own strategy,
but there was economic support.
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00:16:45,713 --> 00:16:48,841
Gradually,
Solidarity and the communist government
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00:16:48,924 --> 00:16:50,884
come back to negotiations.
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{n8}Which leads to the first semi-free
election in Eastern Europe in 40 years
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00:17:00,102 --> 00:17:03,689
{n8}on the 4th of June, 1989.
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Polish voters
have seized the opportunity
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00:17:06,442 --> 00:17:10,446
to pass judgment through the ballot box
on the apparatus which they say
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00:17:10,529 --> 00:17:13,073
has failed Poland in the past 40 years.
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00:17:15,284 --> 00:17:18,996
The Polish government
tried very hard to destroy Solidarity,
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but it lived, and it prevailed.
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We were euphoric in Poland
on the evening of the 4th of June, 1989.
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We thought,
"This is it. This is the moment."
239
00:17:36,346 --> 00:17:37,389
We finally got that.
240
00:17:37,473 --> 00:17:39,600
It's the beginning
of the end of communism.
241
00:17:41,727 --> 00:17:45,355
I come back to
a newspaper office in Warsaw that evening,
242
00:17:45,439 --> 00:17:48,233
and I see on a small
black-and-white TV screen
243
00:17:49,485 --> 00:17:52,863
{n8}the first footage
of the people being killed
244
00:17:52,946 --> 00:17:55,157
{n8}just off Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
245
00:17:59,495 --> 00:18:03,624
Tiananmen Square is where you have
the Chinese Communist Party
246
00:18:03,707 --> 00:18:06,001
using violence to defend itself.
247
00:18:09,088 --> 00:18:11,006
{n8}This is the Deng Xiaoping era.
248
00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:13,634
{n8}When Deng took over in '78,
249
00:18:14,551 --> 00:18:17,304
{n8}China probably
was the poorest country in East Asia.
250
00:18:18,639 --> 00:18:21,058
And Deng said, "Market economy works."
251
00:18:21,141 --> 00:18:23,977
"Open things up.
Bring foreign investors in here."
252
00:18:24,061 --> 00:18:26,438
"Let's send our people overseas."
253
00:18:27,022 --> 00:18:30,234
Opening up to the West,
opening up to the world.
254
00:18:30,317 --> 00:18:31,902
8:30 in the morning,
255
00:18:31,985 --> 00:18:34,863
and the crowds
at the Xidan Department Store in Peking
256
00:18:34,947 --> 00:18:37,074
made a rush for it once inside.
257
00:18:37,157 --> 00:18:39,618
The standard of living in China
is going up.
258
00:18:41,286 --> 00:18:45,415
{n8}But the reform was not reform
towards democratization.
259
00:18:46,083 --> 00:18:48,919
It wasn't reform that,
"We're now gonna open everything up,
260
00:18:49,002 --> 00:18:50,962
and everybody will have
a voice in the government,
261
00:18:51,004 --> 00:18:52,884
and we'll listen
to the majority of the people."
262
00:18:52,923 --> 00:18:56,426
No, that wasn't Deng Xiaoping.
Deng Xiaoping was a Leninist.
263
00:19:01,431 --> 00:19:04,685
Under Gorbachev,
the Soviet Union was undergoing reform.
264
00:19:04,768 --> 00:19:07,437
We also wanted China
to go through political reform.
265
00:19:07,521 --> 00:19:10,816
{n8}College students
in the '80s in China were fearless.
266
00:19:12,359 --> 00:19:14,778
{n8}We needed to put more pressure
on the government.
267
00:19:17,239 --> 00:19:20,325
We started a hunger strike on May 13th.
268
00:19:23,537 --> 00:19:27,624
Martial law
was officially declared on May 19th, 1989.
269
00:19:27,708 --> 00:19:29,877
After declaring martial law,
270
00:19:30,544 --> 00:19:33,922
the government sent troops with tanks
to make us leave Tiananmen Square.
271
00:19:35,174 --> 00:19:37,718
The government did not expect
for the people of Beijing
272
00:19:37,801 --> 00:19:40,846
to all come out and block these tanks.
273
00:19:55,944 --> 00:19:58,947
After martial law was declared,
it did not achieve its purpose
274
00:19:59,531 --> 00:20:00,449
until June 3rd,
275
00:20:00,532 --> 00:20:03,869
when Deng Xiaoping decided
to handle the situation through force.
276
00:20:04,995 --> 00:20:07,315
It was the swift and terrible ending
277
00:20:07,372 --> 00:20:10,167
to the Beijing spring of 1989.
278
00:20:10,250 --> 00:20:12,878
Hundreds of thousands
of students and workers
279
00:20:12,961 --> 00:20:15,672
and other hopeful Chinese citizens who,
280
00:20:15,756 --> 00:20:18,217
through their long demonstration
for democracy,
281
00:20:18,300 --> 00:20:22,095
had been seeking a peaceful dialogue
with the leaders of this vast nation,
282
00:20:22,179 --> 00:20:28,644
received instead the harshest of responses
to their demands for reform and freedom.
283
00:20:29,853 --> 00:20:33,774
Martial law forces
came out shooting citizens and students,
284
00:20:33,857 --> 00:20:36,026
forcibly opening up the streets
285
00:20:36,109 --> 00:20:38,403
to finally occupy Tiananmen Square.
286
00:20:38,987 --> 00:20:40,948
I had many classmates who were there.
287
00:20:41,031 --> 00:20:44,576
They called telling us that the government
opened fire, that people had died,
288
00:20:44,660 --> 00:20:49,623
that people were collapsing
on the ground, et cetera.
289
00:20:53,293 --> 00:20:55,545
I saw the tanks that were burned down,
290
00:20:55,629 --> 00:20:58,924
bikes that had fallen
all over the ground, et cetera.
291
00:21:02,803 --> 00:21:05,389
Many people died in 1989.
292
00:21:06,682 --> 00:21:09,685
A doctor estimated
the number of dead at 500.
293
00:21:10,352 --> 00:21:13,146
The doctor said,
"My government has gone mad."
294
00:21:13,230 --> 00:21:16,191
One official government report
characterized the massacre
295
00:21:16,275 --> 00:21:19,695
as a glorious victory
over counter-revolutionary turmoil.
296
00:21:25,701 --> 00:21:27,536
From that day on,
297
00:21:27,619 --> 00:21:31,498
everybody in Eastern Europe
is talking about the Chinese solution.
298
00:21:31,581 --> 00:21:33,875
The fear that there will be
a violent crackdown,
299
00:21:33,959 --> 00:21:35,252
which was a real danger.
300
00:21:39,006 --> 00:21:45,971
And this becomes absolutely knife-edge
in East Germany in October 1989.
301
00:21:51,184 --> 00:21:53,562
East Germany,
or by its more formal name,
302
00:21:53,645 --> 00:21:55,230
the German Democratic Republic,
303
00:21:55,314 --> 00:21:57,733
was in fact an undemocratic dictatorship.
304
00:22:01,695 --> 00:22:05,032
It's run by a politburo,
a small group of men,
305
00:22:05,115 --> 00:22:07,117
and the general secretary
of the politburo,
306
00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:09,369
the person in charge, is Erich Honecker.
307
00:22:11,580 --> 00:22:13,373
{n8}Erich Honecker, after Tiananmen Square,
308
00:22:13,457 --> 00:22:15,625
{n8}instructed all media to have stories
309
00:22:15,709 --> 00:22:18,545
{n8}praising how the Chinese
had bravely restored order.
310
00:22:18,628 --> 00:22:21,316
{n8}IN THE BATTLE OF OUR TIME, THE GDR
AND THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
311
00:22:21,340 --> 00:22:22,340
{n8}STAND SIDE BY SIDE
312
00:22:23,967 --> 00:22:27,429
This was obviously a message
to his own people. "Don't try anything."
313
00:22:32,392 --> 00:22:36,396
Honecker is a hard-liner
who's horrified by Gorbachev's reforms.
314
00:22:40,317 --> 00:22:41,943
He believed in the iron fist.
315
00:22:42,903 --> 00:22:46,323
After the liberation
of our people from the yoke of fascism
316
00:22:46,406 --> 00:22:48,075
by the glorious Soviet army,
317
00:22:48,742 --> 00:22:51,828
and after the years
of a difficult beginning,
318
00:22:51,912 --> 00:22:53,497
we have constructed
319
00:22:53,997 --> 00:22:57,834
a new beginning
of a new socialist social order.
320
00:23:04,299 --> 00:23:06,635
{n8}The world is divided
321
00:23:06,718 --> 00:23:08,470
{n8}into the West and the East,
322
00:23:08,553 --> 00:23:11,431
{n8}and these two worlds clash in Berlin.
323
00:23:11,515 --> 00:23:14,893
And the symbol of that clash
is the Berlin Wall.
324
00:23:19,773 --> 00:23:22,025
I actually went to live in East Berlin.
325
00:23:22,734 --> 00:23:25,320
{n8}What I discovered was an Orwellian state
326
00:23:25,404 --> 00:23:30,534
{n8}where you really got, in a way,
as close to 1984 as we've ever come.
327
00:23:31,034 --> 00:23:33,537
{n8}That is to say
that there was so much surveillance
328
00:23:33,620 --> 00:23:36,623
{n8}by the East German secret police,
the Stasi,
329
00:23:36,706 --> 00:23:40,252
that they didn't need to use
a lot of torture and violence
330
00:23:40,335 --> 00:23:43,046
because they had
the whole society under control.
331
00:23:48,093 --> 00:23:50,804
I was always afraid in the East,
332
00:23:50,887 --> 00:23:53,890
because you were at the mercy
of the authorities here,
333
00:23:53,974 --> 00:23:59,646
be it the police
or perhaps later the Stasi.
334
00:24:02,441 --> 00:24:07,529
{n8}The reason for the arrest
was the accusation of espionage.
335
00:24:08,447 --> 00:24:11,867
I thought, "Well, you'll just
have to stay here for a few days
336
00:24:11,950 --> 00:24:13,785
until everything gets sorted out."
337
00:24:13,869 --> 00:24:20,375
Unfortunately, those few days
turned into a total of nine months.
338
00:24:23,336 --> 00:24:27,340
So we have down here in the basement
339
00:24:27,424 --> 00:24:30,051
two padded cells.
340
00:24:30,135 --> 00:24:31,720
Detention cells.
341
00:24:31,803 --> 00:24:34,431
Prisoners were brought here
342
00:24:35,265 --> 00:24:38,643
when they did not behave correctly.
343
00:24:38,727 --> 00:24:41,813
People were imprisoned here in the dark,
344
00:24:41,897 --> 00:24:45,567
until they felt calm,
until they cooled down.
345
00:24:45,650 --> 00:24:50,363
One prisoner seems
to have been in this darkened cell
346
00:24:50,447 --> 00:24:52,449
for 14 days in a row.
347
00:24:55,494 --> 00:24:58,747
{n8}The Stasi collected documents
about people.
348
00:24:58,830 --> 00:25:01,625
No one knew whether one
was one of these persons or not.
349
00:25:02,125 --> 00:25:05,837
I wrote to my girlfriend in the West
that there are no bicycle tubes,
350
00:25:05,921 --> 00:25:07,547
and they had documented it.
351
00:25:07,631 --> 00:25:09,883
Such a nonsense, such a small shit.
352
00:25:11,259 --> 00:25:12,928
I filmed undercover.
353
00:25:17,474 --> 00:25:21,353
There was one situation
where I filmed in the backyard.
354
00:25:21,436 --> 00:25:26,107
It was really empty,
as dead as in Detroit.
355
00:25:26,191 --> 00:25:29,277
Yes? Even half burned.
356
00:25:29,361 --> 00:25:31,488
And then there were curtains moving.
357
00:25:31,571 --> 00:25:33,406
And I filmed it.
358
00:25:33,490 --> 00:25:37,911
Then a woman opened the curtain
and said, "Film again!"
359
00:25:37,994 --> 00:25:40,747
"Film in which kind of dirt we live in!"
360
00:25:40,830 --> 00:25:42,332
"Show this to the world!"
361
00:25:43,625 --> 00:25:47,462
I thought, "That's not possible.
Are we living in the apocalypse?"
362
00:25:53,885 --> 00:25:56,555
What was important
363
00:25:56,638 --> 00:26:00,058
was Gorbachev had told his allies
364
00:26:00,141 --> 00:26:03,270
{n8}that they are responsible for themselves.
365
00:26:03,812 --> 00:26:10,235
{n8}That he will not be able
to help them economically, financially.
366
00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:15,824
But this was not good enough
for the Eastern Europeans.
367
00:26:21,580 --> 00:26:25,125
They needed money.
They needed cooperation.
368
00:26:26,167 --> 00:26:31,965
And this was helping to start this, uh,
process of liberalization.
369
00:26:35,302 --> 00:26:37,971
The pressure gradually
comes up and up and up.
370
00:26:39,723 --> 00:26:43,018
{n8}In the spring and early summer of 1989,
371
00:26:43,101 --> 00:26:49,274
{n8}it became clear that there was more
and more dissatisfaction in the GDR.
372
00:26:50,358 --> 00:26:52,944
GDR people were allowed to travel
373
00:26:53,028 --> 00:26:55,405
around the member countries
of the Warsaw Pact.
374
00:26:55,488 --> 00:27:00,327
So they could go from the GDR,
let's say, to Hungary.
375
00:27:00,410 --> 00:27:03,038
As more and more refugees
abandon their cars...
376
00:27:03,622 --> 00:27:08,668
So in the summer,
hundreds of GDR folks had gone to Hungary
377
00:27:08,752 --> 00:27:13,673
trying to figure out whether they could go
from Hungary into Austria.
378
00:27:14,424 --> 00:27:17,052
And Austria, of course,
was part of the free world.
379
00:27:19,220 --> 00:27:25,935
{n8}Barbed wire fence,
a bit rusty, with a large hole in it.
380
00:27:26,019 --> 00:27:30,774
We crawled through it, and there was
a sign previously attached by locals
381
00:27:30,857 --> 00:27:32,525
which said, "Austria/Vienna."
382
00:27:32,609 --> 00:27:34,027
We fell into each other's arms
383
00:27:34,110 --> 00:27:36,571
and I believe it was the most
wonderful day of my life.
384
00:27:36,655 --> 00:27:39,616
These young
East Germans arrived here overnight,
385
00:27:39,699 --> 00:27:41,284
determined to follow the trail west.
386
00:27:41,368 --> 00:27:42,368
The overnight total...
387
00:27:42,410 --> 00:27:43,745
They're constantly arriving.
388
00:27:43,828 --> 00:27:47,666
I think 200 probably, something like this.
We don't know exactly how many are coming.
389
00:27:52,379 --> 00:27:57,342
Hungarians took a bold step
at that moment and opened the fence,
390
00:27:57,425 --> 00:28:03,723
and allowed hundreds of these "refugees"
from East Germany to go west.
391
00:28:06,226 --> 00:28:09,145
Faced with a choice
between its Warsaw Pact obligations,
392
00:28:09,229 --> 00:28:12,691
and better relations with the West,
Hungary has chosen the West.
393
00:28:13,942 --> 00:28:18,238
Hungary realizes that
for the success of its economic reforms,
394
00:28:18,321 --> 00:28:22,450
it really needs West German financial,
economic, and political support.
395
00:28:27,664 --> 00:28:32,210
{n8}It was astounding to me
how fearless the young people were,
396
00:28:32,293 --> 00:28:35,004
and the joy they found
in taking this path.
397
00:28:48,643 --> 00:28:51,062
You have a hemorrhage coming out,
398
00:28:51,146 --> 00:28:54,482
particularly through Hungary at Austria,
but then through Czechoslovakia.
399
00:28:54,566 --> 00:28:58,528
And the East German authorities
are coming on immense pressure
400
00:28:58,611 --> 00:29:00,029
to do something about this.
401
00:29:00,655 --> 00:29:04,701
Simultaneously, the East Germans
are gaining their courage,
402
00:29:04,784 --> 00:29:06,661
many of them saying,
"I don't want to leave."
403
00:29:06,745 --> 00:29:08,788
"I don't want to live in West Germany."
404
00:29:08,872 --> 00:29:11,583
"I'm a Saxon or a Thuringian.
I want to stay here."
405
00:29:12,834 --> 00:29:14,961
And you start getting
small demonstrations,
406
00:29:15,044 --> 00:29:18,798
particularly in Leipzig and Dresden,
with people saying, "Wir bleiben hier."
407
00:29:18,882 --> 00:29:21,217
"We're staying here. We're not leaving."
408
00:29:25,764 --> 00:29:28,141
{n8}The Church of St. Nicholas
in central Leipzig,
409
00:29:28,224 --> 00:29:30,310
focus of the growing dissident movement,
410
00:29:30,393 --> 00:29:33,480
drew together its congregation
from early in the day.
411
00:29:33,563 --> 00:29:36,691
They had traveled here
from all parts of East Germany.
412
00:29:36,775 --> 00:29:38,443
By the time of evening prayers,
413
00:29:38,526 --> 00:29:42,363
the aisles were packed here and
at four other churches across the city,
414
00:29:42,447 --> 00:29:45,325
a sign of the central role
the Protestant clergy are playing
415
00:29:45,408 --> 00:29:47,494
in the search for greater democracy.
416
00:29:49,204 --> 00:29:51,084
This has always been debated.
417
00:29:51,122 --> 00:29:56,461
How political is the Church
or the clergy allowed to be?
418
00:30:02,759 --> 00:30:07,597
{n8}Jesus said, "You have to be
generous with your talents."
419
00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:09,599
"You should use them, not bury them."
420
00:30:09,682 --> 00:30:14,229
Which means our telephone
can be used by the communications group.
421
00:30:14,312 --> 00:30:17,273
With our printing machine,
leaflets are printed.
422
00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:22,237
{n8}STOP THE MONOLOGUE
423
00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:24,989
The church gave us a roof over our heads.
424
00:30:27,867 --> 00:30:31,663
On Mondays, there was a prayer
for peace in the church.
425
00:30:31,746 --> 00:30:33,748
And after that, going on the street.
426
00:30:35,708 --> 00:30:39,212
To me, Leipzig has always been
a very cosmopolitan city
427
00:30:39,295 --> 00:30:41,923
because two times a year, they had a fair.
428
00:30:42,006 --> 00:30:43,716
An international fair.
429
00:30:44,384 --> 00:30:46,678
There was
the international press.
430
00:30:46,761 --> 00:30:49,848
And they managed to go
to the street with a few hundred people,
431
00:30:49,931 --> 00:30:53,184
straight out of the church.
432
00:30:59,941 --> 00:31:03,444
FOR AN OPEN LAND
WITH FREE PEOPLE
433
00:31:03,528 --> 00:31:06,364
This banner was shown for five seconds,
434
00:31:06,447 --> 00:31:08,199
then the Stasi took it away.
435
00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:12,245
Hey!
436
00:31:14,205 --> 00:31:15,205
Pigs!
437
00:31:24,883 --> 00:31:31,883
Stasi out! Stasi out!
Stasi out! Stasi out! Stasi out!
438
00:31:34,976 --> 00:31:37,979
These demonstrations,
they're gradually building up.
439
00:31:38,062 --> 00:31:39,606
40 YEARS
GDR
440
00:31:39,689 --> 00:31:43,401
Good day,
spectators from Berlin's Karl Marx Avenue.
441
00:31:43,484 --> 00:31:46,779
{n8}The tenth hour has ended
on this 7th of October,
442
00:31:46,863 --> 00:31:49,032
{n8}which citizens
of the German Democratic Republic
443
00:31:49,115 --> 00:31:51,326
will celebrate in a variety of ways.
444
00:31:53,077 --> 00:31:56,372
Against the backdrop
of thousands of its desperate citizens
445
00:31:56,456 --> 00:31:57,707
fleeing to the West,
446
00:31:57,790 --> 00:32:00,877
the aging leadership
of the East German Communist Party
447
00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:04,881
threw a party today
to celebrate their 40th year in power.
448
00:32:04,964 --> 00:32:06,299
Among the honored guests
449
00:32:06,382 --> 00:32:09,761
was the man who most symbolizes change
in East Bloc nations,
450
00:32:09,844 --> 00:32:12,305
Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev.
451
00:32:15,099 --> 00:32:18,770
On the 7th of October,
there were celebrations in East Berlin,
452
00:32:18,853 --> 00:32:20,063
40 years of the GDR.
453
00:32:20,772 --> 00:32:24,150
On the occasion
of the anniversary of the GDR,
454
00:32:24,233 --> 00:32:28,363
Erich Honecker and Mikhail Gorbachev
have the opportunity
455
00:32:28,446 --> 00:32:30,531
to continue their exchange of views
456
00:32:30,615 --> 00:32:33,660
on questions of socialist construction
in both countries.
457
00:32:34,243 --> 00:32:37,203
"He did not
specifically mention the refugee crisis,"
458
00:32:37,246 --> 00:32:39,832
said a spokesman,
"but he preached reform."
459
00:32:39,916 --> 00:32:42,794
"A friendly warning
from a leader who knows all too well
460
00:32:42,877 --> 00:32:45,296
what happens to those who resist change."
461
00:32:46,923 --> 00:32:51,302
{n8}I believe danger awaits those
who do not react to the real world.
462
00:32:51,386 --> 00:32:53,346
Honecker listened and responded
463
00:32:53,429 --> 00:32:56,891
that he is working to strengthen
his revolutionary ideals.
464
00:32:56,975 --> 00:33:01,104
Translation, "I'll just keep
doing it my way, thanks."
465
00:33:02,355 --> 00:33:04,941
Erich Honecker
and Gorbachev end up in conflict,
466
00:33:05,024 --> 00:33:07,151
and it's embarrassing
to the East German regime
467
00:33:07,235 --> 00:33:11,990
{n8}because its own citizens are going
on the street chanting, "Gorby, Gorby!"
468
00:33:12,073 --> 00:33:15,952
Gorby! Gorby!
Gorby! Gorby! Gorby!
469
00:33:16,035 --> 00:33:17,328
GORBY, GORBY, HELP US!
470
00:33:17,412 --> 00:33:19,998
They want more of that spirit.
They want reforms.
471
00:33:20,081 --> 00:33:23,209
And their own leader, Erich Honecker,
doesn't want to deliver those.
472
00:33:25,003 --> 00:33:27,672
It's now four hours
since Gorbachev left Berlin,
473
00:33:27,755 --> 00:33:31,175
and the police are still struggling
to control crowds on the streets.
474
00:33:36,305 --> 00:33:40,435
He said Gorbachev tried to show us
the way, but Honecker rejected it.
475
00:33:41,561 --> 00:33:44,522
The entire anniversary weekend
has been marked by clashes
476
00:33:44,605 --> 00:33:48,151
between police and demonstrators
calling for a freer society.
477
00:33:50,653 --> 00:33:53,114
October 7, the Day of the Republic,
478
00:33:53,197 --> 00:33:55,867
there were flags
and demonstrations and so on.
479
00:33:55,950 --> 00:33:58,036
And I burst into tears.
480
00:33:58,119 --> 00:34:03,458
I had a crying fit and thought,
"Somebody has to change something."
481
00:34:04,917 --> 00:34:09,422
And then I realized I have to go
to this demonstration on October 9th.
482
00:34:13,968 --> 00:34:18,931
The crucial moment
is on October 9th in Leipzig,
483
00:34:19,974 --> 00:34:22,602
where the tension was enormously high.
484
00:34:24,103 --> 00:34:29,776
I made around 25 reports
for Western television.
485
00:34:32,653 --> 00:34:34,773
{n8}Ziggy Schefke
and Aram Radomski,
486
00:34:35,281 --> 00:34:38,576
{n8}they're basically working together
with a friend in the West.
487
00:34:38,659 --> 00:34:42,038
{n8}Their friend would smuggle them
camera equipment and videotapes.
488
00:34:42,914 --> 00:34:44,999
Their friend worked at a news channel,
489
00:34:45,083 --> 00:34:48,336
then they would smuggle the tapes out
and their friend would broadcast them.
490
00:34:54,467 --> 00:34:57,512
{n8}And on
the 9th of October, we drove to Leipzig.
491
00:34:59,347 --> 00:35:01,849
And we passed military convoys.
492
00:35:01,933 --> 00:35:03,476
We passed soldiers.
493
00:35:03,559 --> 00:35:08,856
A huge military convoy
with 20 trucks with soldiers.
494
00:35:08,940 --> 00:35:12,443
And Aram said,
"They're also going to Leipzig."
495
00:35:13,653 --> 00:35:15,947
The East German regime thought about
496
00:35:16,030 --> 00:35:18,658
{n8}carrying out a German Tiananmen Square.
497
00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:23,246
{n8}In Leipzig in October 1989,
498
00:35:23,329 --> 00:35:26,666
it made preparations
to slaughter protesters.
499
00:35:27,166 --> 00:35:30,753
HOSTILITY TO THE STATE
SHALL NO LONGER BE TOLERATED
500
00:35:30,837 --> 00:35:34,382
Members from
state security made clear
501
00:35:34,465 --> 00:35:38,136
they had been pressed to use weapons.
502
00:35:40,096 --> 00:35:43,641
There was a huge military presence.
503
00:35:45,476 --> 00:35:48,604
And that day I said
to my neighbor, who was a policewoman,
504
00:35:48,688 --> 00:35:50,022
"I'm going there today."
505
00:35:50,106 --> 00:35:53,359
Then she said, "Are you stupid?
I know they are shooting today."
506
00:35:56,612 --> 00:35:58,990
I was totally scared.
507
00:36:00,741 --> 00:36:03,661
We need
to find a camera position.
508
00:36:04,245 --> 00:36:07,874
Friends told us,
"Ask the pastor of the Reformed Church
509
00:36:07,957 --> 00:36:09,876
to let you into the church."
510
00:36:12,295 --> 00:36:14,547
The caretaker brought us to the roof.
511
00:36:14,630 --> 00:36:16,757
To the very top of it.
512
00:36:17,592 --> 00:36:20,386
And we were lying there
in the pigeon droppings.
513
00:36:22,138 --> 00:36:24,218
For individual East Germans,
514
00:36:24,724 --> 00:36:26,642
this is such a moment.
515
00:36:26,726 --> 00:36:28,728
I remember a friend of mine telling me
516
00:36:28,811 --> 00:36:32,607
that when she left her apartment
to join the demo,
517
00:36:32,690 --> 00:36:35,902
she had no idea
whether anyone would join her.
518
00:36:36,485 --> 00:36:39,739
And then at the next street corner,
there was one other person.
519
00:36:40,489 --> 00:36:43,659
And then two blocks down,
there were two more people.
520
00:36:43,743 --> 00:36:46,829
And then five blocks down,
there were 15 more people.
521
00:36:46,913 --> 00:36:49,624
And she suddenly realized
it's gonna be okay,
522
00:36:49,707 --> 00:36:51,500
because there are this many of us.
523
00:36:51,584 --> 00:36:53,461
And it broke the barrier of fear.
524
00:36:53,544 --> 00:36:56,422
We are the people!
We are the people!
525
00:36:56,505 --> 00:37:03,221
It was very moving to see
so many people demonstrating together.
526
00:37:09,518 --> 00:37:15,900
We are the people! We are the people!
We are the people! We are the people!
527
00:37:16,442 --> 00:37:20,321
You cannot imagine
how powerful 70,000 people can scream.
528
00:37:20,404 --> 00:37:23,241
"We are the people, Gorbachev, Gorbachev."
529
00:37:23,324 --> 00:37:25,785
Gorby! Gorby!
530
00:37:28,496 --> 00:37:31,165
There was silence
between these chants.
531
00:37:31,249 --> 00:37:34,877
The silence, and you just hear
the steps of tens of thousands of people.
532
00:37:38,756 --> 00:37:42,843
What the demonstrators wanted
can best be read, from my point of view,
533
00:37:42,927 --> 00:37:45,638
from the chants that had formed.
534
00:37:47,181 --> 00:37:49,976
"Democracy, now or never."
535
00:37:50,059 --> 00:37:54,563
This was chanted,
"Democracy, now or never!"
536
00:37:54,647 --> 00:37:58,317
Free elections.
"Free elections! Free elections!"
537
00:38:07,576 --> 00:38:11,914
{n8}And there are stairs,
there was the headquarters of the Stasi.
538
00:38:11,998 --> 00:38:14,083
{n8}The officers were standing
behind the curtains.
539
00:38:14,166 --> 00:38:18,045
{n8}And were looking at the demonstrators.
And the demonstrators walked by.
540
00:38:18,129 --> 00:38:20,631
And they put candles on the stairs.
541
00:38:20,715 --> 00:38:22,008
A thousand candles.
542
00:38:22,091 --> 00:38:24,635
Really, 1,000 candles standing there.
543
00:38:25,511 --> 00:38:28,931
And this discipline.
No one had a stone. No one.
544
00:38:33,894 --> 00:38:36,022
Because no one threw a stone,
545
00:38:36,105 --> 00:38:41,902
there was no reason for the government,
the military, or police to react.
546
00:38:45,573 --> 00:38:48,743
We want those
that are standing opposite us,
547
00:38:48,826 --> 00:38:53,956
we want to address them
and not see them as opponents,
548
00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:57,335
but talk to them and get them on our side.
549
00:38:57,418 --> 00:39:00,046
So not saying, "Bloody cop."
550
00:39:00,129 --> 00:39:03,758
But saying, "You are actually one of us."
551
00:39:03,841 --> 00:39:05,092
"You feel the same way."
552
00:39:06,052 --> 00:39:11,724
And shouting "No violence"
was an essential appeal to the other side.
553
00:39:11,807 --> 00:39:15,561
To our own people,
but also to the opposite side.
554
00:39:17,229 --> 00:39:22,068
{n8}Armed forces were standing at the ready.
555
00:39:22,735 --> 00:39:28,949
{n8}The regime had already prepared
hospital beds in the area.
556
00:39:29,033 --> 00:39:30,993
And then somehow they said,
557
00:39:31,077 --> 00:39:35,539
"We can't open fire on demonstrators
who are clearly not throwing any stones
558
00:39:35,623 --> 00:39:38,167
because they are
carrying candles in one hand
559
00:39:38,250 --> 00:39:41,670
and covering them with the other hand
to keep candles from blowing out."
560
00:39:41,754 --> 00:39:43,297
"We just can't shoot them."
561
00:39:46,509 --> 00:39:50,679
I was on that steeple,
and not with the demonstrators.
562
00:39:50,763 --> 00:39:52,973
But this power that I felt up there,
563
00:39:53,057 --> 00:39:57,770
200 stairs higher,
that was really impressive.
564
00:39:59,397 --> 00:40:01,399
And then Aram said, or I said,
565
00:40:01,482 --> 00:40:04,110
"If this is broadcast
in Western television tomorrow,
566
00:40:04,193 --> 00:40:06,112
this will not only change Germany,
567
00:40:06,195 --> 00:40:08,489
but also Europe and the whole world."
568
00:40:08,572 --> 00:40:10,408
And we lay there in the pigeon shit.
569
00:40:11,784 --> 00:40:16,247
But we could feel it,
that this was a very special day.
570
00:40:17,748 --> 00:40:20,501
{n8}VIDEOCASSETTE IS WRITE PROTECTED
571
00:40:21,377 --> 00:40:24,046
It was almost always the same ritual.
572
00:40:24,130 --> 00:40:30,344
You had to contact the diplomat
who could easily go to the West
573
00:40:30,428 --> 00:40:32,221
and give him the videocassette.
574
00:40:34,432 --> 00:40:36,475
On that 9th of October,
575
00:40:36,559 --> 00:40:39,145
he was in the revolving door
of a big hotel.
576
00:40:40,020 --> 00:40:42,022
I passed it to him in the door.
577
00:40:43,190 --> 00:40:47,653
Then he sat in his Mercedes
and drove to the West.
578
00:40:48,612 --> 00:40:52,241
And that videocassette was gone.
It was out of my hands.
579
00:40:54,743 --> 00:40:57,955
And I waited another day for the pictures.
580
00:41:00,958 --> 00:41:04,062
{n8}The demonstration
began in the narrow, cobbled streets
581
00:41:04,086 --> 00:41:05,126
{n8}in the center of the city,
582
00:41:05,171 --> 00:41:07,673
where people seemed unworried
by the menacing presence
583
00:41:07,756 --> 00:41:10,176
of large numbers
of plainclothes security men.
584
00:41:10,259 --> 00:41:13,179
There seems to have been
a fundamental change of attitude,
585
00:41:13,262 --> 00:41:16,348
as people refuse to be intimidated
by the communist leadership.
586
00:41:17,475 --> 00:41:20,394
These were scenes
unprecedented in the city's history.
587
00:41:20,478 --> 00:41:23,731
Banners calling for free elections,
free travel, and a free press,
588
00:41:23,814 --> 00:41:25,816
and the people demanding new leadership.
589
00:41:27,818 --> 00:41:30,988
You have to think
about the power of images.
590
00:41:31,780 --> 00:41:36,410
Because 95% of people in the GDR
could watch Western television.
591
00:41:36,494 --> 00:41:38,579
And that's who I wanted to reach.
592
00:41:38,662 --> 00:41:42,374
Reach the undecided
in the living rooms of the GDR.
593
00:41:45,169 --> 00:41:49,006
I think that
this big demonstration on October 9th
594
00:41:49,089 --> 00:41:50,925
was the beginning of the end of the GDR.
595
00:41:57,973 --> 00:42:01,393
Erich Honecker
tried in Leipzig on October 9th, 1989,
596
00:42:01,477 --> 00:42:04,271
to institute a Tiananmen local event,
which failed.
597
00:42:04,355 --> 00:42:08,651
And when that failed, the combination
of his conflict with Gorbachev
598
00:42:08,734 --> 00:42:12,154
and his loss of face
with his other politburo colleagues
599
00:42:12,238 --> 00:42:13,864
meant that he fell from power.
600
00:42:13,948 --> 00:42:17,326
So he's ousted and replaced by Egon Krenz.
601
00:42:25,042 --> 00:42:26,802
From that moment on,
602
00:42:26,835 --> 00:42:28,515
there were larger
and larger demonstrations
603
00:42:28,546 --> 00:42:30,965
also in Berlin
at the beginning of November.
604
00:42:31,048 --> 00:42:34,009
{n8}So you have the pressure
of all the people leaving.
605
00:42:34,093 --> 00:42:36,762
{n8}You have the pressure
of all the people protesting.
606
00:42:38,097 --> 00:42:41,892
It's clear that
the East German regime is crumbling,
607
00:42:41,976 --> 00:42:47,147
and it's the size of those protests
that inspires Egon Krenz to say,
608
00:42:47,231 --> 00:42:49,817
"Hey, maybe I should
throw these people a bone."
609
00:42:49,900 --> 00:42:55,072
"Maybe I should give a press conference
where I make it sound as if I'm going to,
610
00:42:55,155 --> 00:42:57,283
you know, offer them some travel freedom."
611
00:42:57,366 --> 00:43:00,160
"Maybe I should announce
a few minor changes."
612
00:43:05,457 --> 00:43:08,210
On November 9th,
Egon Krenz decides to announce
613
00:43:08,294 --> 00:43:11,338
these seemingly nice-sounding
travel regulations
614
00:43:11,422 --> 00:43:13,841
that are actually not that significant.
615
00:43:14,758 --> 00:43:18,178
The problem is that the person he assigns
to do the press conference,
616
00:43:18,262 --> 00:43:21,015
Günter Schabowski,
has no media skills whatsoever.
617
00:43:21,098 --> 00:43:24,977
If you're a leader of a dictatorship,
you don't need to develop media skills.
618
00:43:25,060 --> 00:43:26,812
You just write the headlines yourself.
619
00:43:27,980 --> 00:43:31,275
{n8}The regime didn't usually hold
press conferences for Western journalists,
620
00:43:31,358 --> 00:43:32,568
but they're there.
621
00:43:33,152 --> 00:43:35,404
So Günter Schabowski
starts off at 6:00 p.m.
622
00:43:38,699 --> 00:43:41,619
He drones on
about the minutiae of the party.
623
00:43:41,702 --> 00:43:45,372
Contributions
to discussions were generally
624
00:43:45,456 --> 00:43:49,209
a complex wide range of topics.
625
00:43:50,294 --> 00:43:54,340
Finally, at about
five minutes to 7:00, Schabowski says,
626
00:43:54,423 --> 00:43:57,176
"Wait, there's this announcement.
You must all have a copy."
627
00:43:57,259 --> 00:44:00,596
Even though no one does.
And, "Let me... let me read it to you."
628
00:44:00,679 --> 00:44:04,558
Today, we have decided
to introduce measures
629
00:44:04,642 --> 00:44:07,394
permitting every citizen of the GDR
630
00:44:07,478 --> 00:44:11,815
to leave for the federal republic
by any crossing points.
631
00:44:11,899 --> 00:44:14,943
Now what was on the piece of paper was,
"You still need to apply."
632
00:44:15,027 --> 00:44:17,029
But people heard
"permission to cross the border."
633
00:44:18,614 --> 00:44:20,699
Reporters are looking
at each other and saying,
634
00:44:20,783 --> 00:44:23,869
"We think he just opened the wall,
but we're not sure."
635
00:44:23,952 --> 00:44:26,121
And, so there's
this sort of stunned silence.
636
00:44:27,873 --> 00:44:31,335
One journalist, Daniel Johnson,
stands up in the back of the room.
637
00:44:31,877 --> 00:44:35,964
What will happen
with the Berlin Wall now?
638
00:44:36,048 --> 00:44:39,051
And Schabowski
is like a deer in headlights.
639
00:44:39,134 --> 00:44:43,263
With immediate effect,
according to my knowledge.
640
00:44:45,808 --> 00:44:47,935
And he says, "Straightaway."
641
00:44:49,019 --> 00:44:50,771
And it's not true. He got it wrong.
642
00:44:51,772 --> 00:44:53,691
But the world's press reports this.
643
00:44:54,608 --> 00:44:57,903
In a news conference which ended
just a few minutes ago in East Berlin,
644
00:44:57,986 --> 00:45:01,031
government officials announced
that communist East Germany
645
00:45:01,115 --> 00:45:04,368
has now declared their border open
with West Germany.
646
00:45:04,451 --> 00:45:06,846
The Germans East and West
heard Mr. Schabowski,
647
00:45:06,870 --> 00:45:09,289
who speaks for the government,
he's the media spokesman,
648
00:45:09,373 --> 00:45:10,916
say there are no more borders.
649
00:45:10,999 --> 00:45:13,043
That East Germans may cross to the West
650
00:45:13,127 --> 00:45:16,046
over whatever existing
border frontiers there are.
651
00:45:16,797 --> 00:45:19,925
Will that wall itself,
along the Brandenburg Gate
652
00:45:20,008 --> 00:45:22,428
near Checkpoint Charlie,
will those openings be open
653
00:45:22,511 --> 00:45:26,432
for East Germans who want to come
directly from East Berlin to West Berlin?
654
00:45:27,224 --> 00:45:30,018
As we read
the words of Mr. Schabowski,
655
00:45:30,102 --> 00:45:33,272
the words that were read to the people
here tonight, that is correct.
656
00:45:34,022 --> 00:45:35,733
No one understood it.
657
00:45:35,816 --> 00:45:37,443
Is he crazy, is he insane?
658
00:45:41,572 --> 00:45:46,118
Aram and I said,
"We go to Bornholmer Street now."
659
00:45:49,538 --> 00:45:52,416
{n8}We will go to the checkpoint
at Bornholmer Street
660
00:45:52,499 --> 00:45:54,418
and see what's going on.
661
00:45:54,501 --> 00:45:57,379
If we don't come back within two hours,
we are in the West.
662
00:45:57,963 --> 00:45:59,214
Or we got arrested.
663
00:45:59,965 --> 00:46:03,260
And then we arrived there.
Twenty people were standing there.
664
00:46:03,343 --> 00:46:06,138
And Aram went to the border guard
665
00:46:06,221 --> 00:46:08,474
and he said,
"We want to talk to the boss."
666
00:46:08,557 --> 00:46:10,768
He looked at us, "What do you want?"
667
00:46:10,851 --> 00:46:12,311
"We want to talk to the boss."
668
00:46:15,105 --> 00:46:19,067
Harald Jäger is the person
who is in charge at the border crossing,
669
00:46:19,151 --> 00:46:22,154
so he's the senior Stasi officer
on the night shift.
670
00:46:22,821 --> 00:46:26,158
He's watching the press conference
inside the border crossing.
671
00:46:26,992 --> 00:46:31,079
He screamed at the television,
"That is all bullshit. I have no orders."
672
00:46:31,163 --> 00:46:33,832
"I'm here at the border,
and no one has told me any of this."
673
00:46:33,916 --> 00:46:35,836
"This is not true.
I don't know what's going on."
674
00:46:37,711 --> 00:46:40,339
Then someone came,
a man named Major Jäger,
675
00:46:40,422 --> 00:46:41,965
and Aram told him,
676
00:46:42,049 --> 00:46:44,802
"Immediately and promptly,
we are allowed to go to the West."
677
00:46:45,385 --> 00:46:48,263
And then he went to the phone
in his barrack.
678
00:46:49,056 --> 00:46:52,684
He called his superiors,
"I've got ten people. What am I doing?"
679
00:46:52,768 --> 00:46:54,228
They said, "Business as usual."
680
00:46:54,311 --> 00:46:57,689
I ask you
in the interest of order and security...
681
00:46:59,983 --> 00:47:05,572
to leave the area
in front of the checkpoint.
682
00:47:05,656 --> 00:47:09,576
This is mass disinformation!
I could have stayed at home and slept.
683
00:47:10,828 --> 00:47:13,348
Jäger called again. "I've got 100 people!"
684
00:47:13,372 --> 00:47:15,290
"Business as usual."
"I've got 200 people!"
685
00:47:15,374 --> 00:47:17,084
"Business as usual." And he said...
686
00:47:17,167 --> 00:47:20,379
You know, he just got angrier
and angrier at being left in the lurch.
687
00:47:23,757 --> 00:47:28,470
Open! Open! Open!
688
00:47:28,554 --> 00:47:31,533
He calls again,
and finally his superior officers say,
689
00:47:31,557 --> 00:47:33,851
"All right,
since you're annoying us so much,
690
00:47:33,934 --> 00:47:35,310
here's something you can do."
691
00:47:35,394 --> 00:47:38,897
"Take the loudest, most obnoxious
protesters who are, you know,
692
00:47:38,981 --> 00:47:41,233
really pushing it
to get into the border crossing,
693
00:47:41,316 --> 00:47:45,237
bring them in, take their passports,
put a stamp over their face,
694
00:47:45,320 --> 00:47:47,739
and then let them out
the other side to the west."
695
00:47:47,823 --> 00:47:51,535
"By putting a stamp over their faces,
you have expelled them forever."
696
00:47:51,618 --> 00:47:53,787
"You have withdrawn
their citizenship of East Germany."
697
00:47:55,330 --> 00:47:57,666
We gave him our ID.
698
00:47:57,749 --> 00:47:59,543
And he stamped it.
699
00:47:59,626 --> 00:48:03,547
And we were allowed to pass.
And we crossed this bridge.
700
00:48:07,342 --> 00:48:08,969
And we were the only ones.
701
00:48:09,052 --> 00:48:11,597
You have to imagine that, totally crazy.
702
00:48:12,180 --> 00:48:14,516
And I said to Aram,
"What are they going to do now?"
703
00:48:14,600 --> 00:48:16,935
And he said, "They will shoot us down."
704
00:48:17,519 --> 00:48:19,438
I said, "No, they will not shoot us down."
705
00:48:19,521 --> 00:48:21,565
"They will arrest us
and take us to prison."
706
00:48:22,149 --> 00:48:26,445
And we crossed the bridge.
And there was no West-Berlin police.
707
00:48:26,528 --> 00:48:28,030
There was nothing.
708
00:48:28,113 --> 00:48:30,324
We were standing
in front of a Mercedes taxi.
709
00:48:30,407 --> 00:48:33,493
I said, "This must be the West
because there is a Mercedes taxi."
710
00:48:33,577 --> 00:48:37,706
And I said this to the driver.
711
00:48:37,789 --> 00:48:40,042
"Yes," he said, "You are in West Berlin."
712
00:48:46,632 --> 00:48:48,842
At about 10:40 p.m.,
713
00:48:48,926 --> 00:48:53,555
a hugely respected
West German TV anchorman,
714
00:48:53,639 --> 00:48:55,641
silver-haired Hanns Joachim Friedrichs,
715
00:48:55,724 --> 00:49:00,646
says, "The gates in the wall
are standing wide open."
716
00:49:00,729 --> 00:49:02,689
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
717
00:49:02,773 --> 00:49:07,152
One should be cautious with superlatives.
They tend to wear out fast.
718
00:49:07,235 --> 00:49:09,571
But this evening
it is permissible to risk one.
719
00:49:09,655 --> 00:49:12,407
This 9th of November is a historic day.
720
00:49:12,491 --> 00:49:16,745
The GDR has announced that its borders
are open to everyone as of now.
721
00:49:16,828 --> 00:49:18,664
The gates in the wall are wide open.
722
00:49:22,501 --> 00:49:25,212
It wasn't true.
They weren't yet wide open.
723
00:49:26,797 --> 00:49:29,257
Back at the Bornholmer Street station,
724
00:49:29,341 --> 00:49:31,677
of the people he lets out,
most of them, you know,
725
00:49:31,760 --> 00:49:33,679
head for the bright lights
of the big city.
726
00:49:33,762 --> 00:49:36,515
But a young couple come back immediately.
727
00:49:37,057 --> 00:49:39,434
And they come back
to the border crossing and say,
728
00:49:39,518 --> 00:49:42,020
"That's great.
We just wanted to see if we can do that."
729
00:49:42,104 --> 00:49:45,357
"But we did it now. We need to get home
because our baby's home in bed."
730
00:49:46,024 --> 00:49:47,818
And the guards are looking at each other
731
00:49:47,901 --> 00:49:50,153
because these people
have been expelled forever.
732
00:49:50,237 --> 00:49:52,948
The guards say, "You can't come back.
You've been expelled."
733
00:49:53,031 --> 00:49:54,241
"You can never come back."
734
00:49:54,324 --> 00:49:56,576
And so Harald Jäger
comes out to this young couple
735
00:49:56,660 --> 00:49:57,995
who was absolutely losing it.
736
00:49:58,078 --> 00:50:01,123
This is a man who's never
disobeyed orders in 25 years.
737
00:50:01,206 --> 00:50:03,500
And he looks at this family.
His regime is collapsing.
738
00:50:03,583 --> 00:50:05,877
And he says to them,
"Oh, go home to your baby."
739
00:50:08,255 --> 00:50:10,335
That was the beginning
of a slippery slope.
740
00:50:10,382 --> 00:50:14,553
And he said, "Finally, about 11:30,
I looked at my men and I said,
741
00:50:14,636 --> 00:50:17,222
'Either we start shooting
or we're gonna open up.'"
742
00:50:19,683 --> 00:50:22,561
So he gives the order to open up,
and people flow through.
743
00:50:28,400 --> 00:50:31,028
And this is the moment
at which world history turns,
744
00:50:31,653 --> 00:50:34,990
because then the other frontier crossings
start to open up
745
00:50:35,073 --> 00:50:37,701
and hundreds of thousands
of people go across.
746
00:50:53,925 --> 00:50:56,553
And it was an absolute surprise.
747
00:50:57,220 --> 00:51:00,807
We got the first message from journalists.
748
00:51:00,891 --> 00:51:03,143
"Something is going on in Berlin."
749
00:51:03,226 --> 00:51:07,147
The signals that the wall is open.
750
00:51:08,065 --> 00:51:11,151
And once people actually
are flowing through the Berlin Wall,
751
00:51:11,234 --> 00:51:14,196
then people start going
to the Brandenburg Gate,
752
00:51:14,279 --> 00:51:16,039
even though
there's no border crossing there,
753
00:51:16,114 --> 00:51:18,492
because it's just
the icon of wider Berlin.
754
00:51:21,495 --> 00:51:23,830
This gate standing
right in front of the wall.
755
00:51:24,664 --> 00:51:26,500
And it's right in the heart of the city.
756
00:51:27,084 --> 00:51:31,254
Unlike Bornholmer,
the people there were not in agreement
757
00:51:31,338 --> 00:51:33,006
with this idea of, "Let's open up."
758
00:51:33,090 --> 00:51:35,217
They are trying to restore control.
759
00:51:35,300 --> 00:51:37,010
I have a request.
760
00:51:37,594 --> 00:51:41,973
We would like to ask you to leave
the front part of the Brandenburg Gate.
761
00:51:42,474 --> 00:51:44,851
And you too, behind the barrier, please.
762
00:51:44,935 --> 00:51:46,561
Nothing else will happen today.
763
00:51:48,772 --> 00:51:50,482
How did you come over here?
764
00:51:50,565 --> 00:51:52,692
That's a good question!
765
00:52:08,542 --> 00:52:10,603
Good evening.
Live from the Berlin Wall,
766
00:52:10,627 --> 00:52:13,088
on the most historic night
in this wall's history.
767
00:52:13,171 --> 00:52:17,342
What you see behind me
is a celebration of this new policy
768
00:52:17,425 --> 00:52:19,636
announced today
by the East German government.
769
00:52:19,719 --> 00:52:23,223
Now, for the first time
since the wall was erected in 1961,
770
00:52:23,306 --> 00:52:25,600
people will be able
to move through freely.
771
00:52:26,601 --> 00:52:29,688
And they really don't know
what's going on because clearly,
772
00:52:29,771 --> 00:52:31,439
there's reports the wall's open.
773
00:52:31,523 --> 00:52:35,277
There's footage of people going through,
there's people getting on the wall.
774
00:52:35,360 --> 00:52:37,696
But the guards
are trying to hose them off.
775
00:52:40,574 --> 00:52:42,117
I climbed over the wall
776
00:52:42,784 --> 00:52:46,246
and come and walk, uh,
through the Brandenburg Gate.
777
00:52:46,329 --> 00:52:48,248
I jumped over the wall.
778
00:52:48,331 --> 00:52:50,292
- You jumped over the wall?
- Yeah!
779
00:52:50,375 --> 00:52:52,335
I'm happy, you know.
780
00:52:52,419 --> 00:52:57,716
I have been dreaming of this for years,
and I don't know what to say. I'm happy.
781
00:53:05,974 --> 00:53:07,267
That is the moment
782
00:53:07,350 --> 00:53:12,647
where this greatest symbol
of the Cold War is overcome.
783
00:53:14,608 --> 00:53:17,485
It was a kind of miracle.
784
00:53:18,195 --> 00:53:20,530
Oh, it was very deeply emotional.
785
00:53:29,581 --> 00:53:32,042
{n8}That was a moment
when the East Germans themselves,
786
00:53:32,125 --> 00:53:35,253
{n8}leadership considered using violence
to clear the square.
787
00:53:38,173 --> 00:53:42,469
We were all holding our breath
after the wall had opened.
788
00:53:42,552 --> 00:53:45,055
{n8}It was not clear
whether that was by design
789
00:53:45,138 --> 00:53:47,515
{n8}or by mistake or by misunderstanding.
790
00:53:48,099 --> 00:53:50,769
Would the Soviets send the tanks?
791
00:53:50,852 --> 00:53:52,520
Would shots be fired?
792
00:53:54,272 --> 00:53:56,733
Even though there are hard-liners
in the Soviet forces
793
00:53:56,816 --> 00:53:59,402
in East Germany thinking,
"Why aren't we doing something?"
794
00:53:59,486 --> 00:54:02,739
That's a decision Gorbachev
would have to take. He sleeps through it.
795
00:54:06,159 --> 00:54:09,162
If he had been awakened
with that information,
796
00:54:09,246 --> 00:54:10,664
what would have changed?
797
00:54:11,873 --> 00:54:16,419
{n8}Gorbachev has said on many occasions
that, well, what happened, happened.
798
00:54:17,087 --> 00:54:21,132
{n8}Neither that announcement
nor what happened afterwards
799
00:54:21,216 --> 00:54:22,926
was done on his orders.
800
00:54:23,927 --> 00:54:26,846
Had Gorbachev been awakened
with that information,
801
00:54:26,930 --> 00:54:29,766
he would have said,
"Well, stay out of it." That's it.
802
00:54:32,936 --> 00:54:35,188
Now we want to celebrate a bit.
803
00:54:37,107 --> 00:54:41,695
I only have a dim memory of that evening.
804
00:54:42,654 --> 00:54:45,323
{n8}We just had a big party. Five days long.
805
00:54:50,412 --> 00:54:53,516
One of the people
who crossed that night was Angela Merkel.
806
00:54:53,540 --> 00:54:56,376
Angela Merkel was actually
not a major protester or dissident,
807
00:54:56,459 --> 00:54:59,921
but that night, she crossed the wall
and she saw possibility.
808
00:55:01,631 --> 00:55:04,968
{n8}That was actually
the most beautiful moment in my life.
809
00:55:08,054 --> 00:55:12,392
Suddenly there were no longer two worlds.
810
00:55:12,475 --> 00:55:14,019
No East and no West.
811
00:55:34,789 --> 00:55:38,084
Willy Brandt, the man
who was mayor when the wall was built,
812
00:55:38,168 --> 00:55:40,837
told the crowd it was the end
of a divided Germany.
813
00:55:42,547 --> 00:55:47,344
{n8}One has the feeling
that after many difficult years,
814
00:55:47,427 --> 00:55:50,472
we may now be close to a point
815
00:55:50,555 --> 00:55:53,933
where that kind of division
comes to an end.
816
00:55:54,017 --> 00:55:56,811
Division in Berlin,
and not only in Berlin.
817
00:55:56,895 --> 00:55:59,215
I think it was a great day for freedom.
818
00:55:59,272 --> 00:56:03,276
I watched the scenes on television
last night and again this morning.
819
00:56:03,360 --> 00:56:06,821
Well, I felt one ought not only
to hear about them, but see them,
820
00:56:06,905 --> 00:56:11,493
{n8}because you see the joy on people's faces,
and you see what freedom means to them.
821
00:56:11,576 --> 00:56:16,539
It makes you realize that you can't stifle
or suppress people's desire for liberty.
822
00:56:19,918 --> 00:56:21,118
On that particular day,
823
00:56:21,169 --> 00:56:24,547
we were working on something
having to do with refugees
824
00:56:24,631 --> 00:56:26,508
and we were very busy in our meetings.
825
00:56:26,591 --> 00:56:30,261
{n8}And I came out and I got a call
from General Scowcroft,
826
00:56:30,345 --> 00:56:32,931
{n8}the national security advisor's secretary.
827
00:56:33,014 --> 00:56:36,434
{n8}And uh, Flo said, "The general wants you
to come over and talk to the president
828
00:56:36,518 --> 00:56:38,436
{n8}on what just happened in Berlin."
829
00:56:39,020 --> 00:56:41,523
{n8}And I said,
"What just happened in Berlin?"
830
00:56:41,606 --> 00:56:44,234
{n8}And she said,
"Turn on the TV! Turn on CNN!"
831
00:56:44,317 --> 00:56:46,236
{n8}The Iron Curtain between East Germany...
832
00:56:46,319 --> 00:56:49,197
So we turned on CNN.
The wall was coming down!
833
00:56:51,783 --> 00:56:55,078
We all rushed to the Oval Office
to tell President Bush,
834
00:56:55,161 --> 00:56:56,746
"You must go to Berlin,
835
00:56:56,830 --> 00:56:59,457
for Kennedy and for Truman
and for Reagan."
836
00:56:59,541 --> 00:57:03,461
And he said, "And what would I do?
Dance on the wall?"
837
00:57:03,545 --> 00:57:06,965
He said, "This is a German moment,
not an American moment."
838
00:57:07,048 --> 00:57:09,801
Did you ever imagine
anything like this happening?
839
00:57:10,885 --> 00:57:12,512
Well, we've imagined it,
840
00:57:12,595 --> 00:57:18,518
but, uh, I can't say that I foresaw
this development at this state.
841
00:57:18,601 --> 00:57:22,105
No, I didn't foresee it.
But imagining it? Yes.
842
00:57:22,188 --> 00:57:25,024
When I talked about a Europe
whole and free,
843
00:57:25,525 --> 00:57:29,696
we're talking about this kind of freedom
to come and go.
844
00:57:34,742 --> 00:57:37,537
The Berlin Wall
didn't just happen overnight.
845
00:57:38,288 --> 00:57:40,748
This was a culmination of a process,
846
00:57:40,832 --> 00:57:44,210
and the process began in the square foot
847
00:57:44,294 --> 00:57:48,506
inside Mikhail Gorbachev's head,
to some extent, which is to say,
848
00:57:48,590 --> 00:57:50,592
{n8}empire is untenable.
849
00:57:51,176 --> 00:57:54,012
{n8}Empire is impossible.
850
00:57:56,639 --> 00:57:59,142
Suddenly,
everything looked different.
851
00:57:59,225 --> 00:58:00,643
Politics were different.
852
00:58:00,727 --> 00:58:03,563
People began speaking to one another
in a different way.
853
00:58:05,148 --> 00:58:07,275
And the project of the Cold War,
854
00:58:07,358 --> 00:58:09,903
which had been the defense
of the West against the East,
855
00:58:09,986 --> 00:58:11,654
suddenly became something different.
856
00:58:11,738 --> 00:58:14,324
It came to be the project
of the reunification of Germany.
857
00:58:14,407 --> 00:58:18,828
The project of winding down the military
involvement of the US in Europe,
858
00:58:18,912 --> 00:58:22,207
and of changing our relationships
with almost everybody in the region.
859
00:58:31,799 --> 00:58:34,969
{n8}Bush was very concerned
as the wall came down.
860
00:58:36,179 --> 00:58:39,057
Does this provide the pretext
861
00:58:39,140 --> 00:58:43,186
for the Kremlin hard-liners in the KGB,
the Army, and the party
862
00:58:43,269 --> 00:58:44,896
to move against Gorbachev?
863
00:58:47,190 --> 00:58:49,901
{n8}So that dictated his response.
864
00:58:51,402 --> 00:58:53,988
{n8}He did not want
to give those guys in the Kremlin
865
00:58:54,072 --> 00:58:59,035
any pretext to move against Gorbachev
or to try and send troops.
866
00:59:00,620 --> 00:59:04,290
The Kremlin has reacted
to recent events with some consistency,
867
00:59:04,374 --> 00:59:07,627
making clear that political decisions
about East Germany
868
00:59:07,710 --> 00:59:10,046
were taken in Berlin and not in Moscow.
869
00:59:11,923 --> 00:59:15,718
Events were moving so fast
with such a dizzying pace,
870
00:59:15,802 --> 00:59:18,721
you got up every day
wondering what is gonna happen next.
871
00:59:19,764 --> 00:59:21,975
The fall of the wall in November
872
00:59:22,058 --> 00:59:25,812
was actually in the middle
of several events that had taken place.
873
00:59:28,106 --> 00:59:31,401
They took to the streets
in Baku to defy the Kremlin,
874
00:59:31,484 --> 00:59:34,862
the latest in a dangerous roll call
of republics or nationalities
875
00:59:34,946 --> 00:59:39,200
who increasingly believe it is time
to break free of communist rule.
876
00:59:41,160 --> 00:59:43,538
Even Bulgaria has begun to crack.
877
00:59:44,956 --> 00:59:49,127
The winds of freedom are blowing,
and they're blowing from the West.
878
00:59:49,210 --> 00:59:51,796
{n8}People who don't understand that
are gonna be gone with the wind.
879
00:59:52,880 --> 00:59:55,508
In Bulgaria,
one of the longest-serving leaders
880
00:59:55,592 --> 00:59:58,511
{n8}in the Communist Bloc,
President Todor Zhivkov,
881
00:59:58,595 --> 01:00:01,139
{n8}resigned today after 35 years in power.
882
01:00:01,222 --> 01:00:05,435
{n8}He was replaced by Petar Mladenov,
known as a relative moderate.
883
01:00:10,064 --> 01:00:13,359
{n8}A mass popular movement
born from nowhere 12 days ago
884
01:00:13,443 --> 01:00:16,946
{n8}is on its way to toppling
the communist monopoly in Czechoslovakia.
885
01:00:17,030 --> 01:00:19,449
{n8}Vaclav Havel, the dissident playwright,
886
01:00:19,532 --> 01:00:21,784
{n8}and other leaders
of the Civic Forum movement,
887
01:00:21,868 --> 01:00:24,537
{n8}arrived threatening
to bring the country on strike again
888
01:00:24,621 --> 01:00:26,080
{n8}if their demands were not met.
889
01:00:26,914 --> 01:00:30,168
Havel, disgraced,
his works banned under the old regime,
890
01:00:30,251 --> 01:00:32,837
was able to sit and demand change.
891
01:00:35,965 --> 01:00:38,551
Here, it was the ringing of the keys.
892
01:00:40,219 --> 01:00:43,640
Thousands of Czechoslovaks
shaking their house keys,
893
01:00:43,723 --> 01:00:48,519
their way of telling the Communist Party,
"The bell tolls for you."
894
01:00:50,021 --> 01:00:54,067
There were reports of more
gunfire today in the streets of Romania.
895
01:00:54,150 --> 01:00:55,526
{n8}Unconfirmed reports said
896
01:00:55,610 --> 01:00:59,822
{n8}that as many as 2,000 people
have been killed by government forces
897
01:00:59,906 --> 01:01:03,284
{n8}since demonstrations
against the hard-line communist regime
898
01:01:03,368 --> 01:01:05,203
began on Saturday.
899
01:01:06,454 --> 01:01:10,541
{n8}Ceaușescu is unceremoniously
bundled from an armored car,
900
01:01:10,625 --> 01:01:13,127
{n8}making his last journey
before his execution.
901
01:01:14,671 --> 01:01:18,716
His 70-year-old wife,
Elena Ceaușescu, is also seen.
902
01:01:19,217 --> 01:01:23,346
She faced similar charges to her husband,
and is said to have met the same fate.
903
01:01:23,429 --> 01:01:25,431
The couple appeared remarkably relaxed,
904
01:01:25,515 --> 01:01:28,643
considering the fact
they'd been jointly charged with genocide.
905
01:01:33,898 --> 01:01:37,694
Mikhail Gorbachev
won the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize.
906
01:01:37,777 --> 01:01:42,281
{n8}The Soviet president was cited today
for his leading role in the peace process,
907
01:01:42,365 --> 01:01:44,909
{n8}and the openness
he's brought to Soviet Society.
908
01:01:45,493 --> 01:01:48,037
It shows that
we're on the right path,
909
01:01:48,121 --> 01:01:51,040
and the changes we are making are right.
910
01:01:54,669 --> 01:01:59,298
It was always interesting to try
to understand Gorbachev's long game.
911
01:02:00,466 --> 01:02:04,387
I got to spend some time with him
on a couple of occasions,
912
01:02:04,470 --> 01:02:07,890
and it occurred to me
that he was a kind of true believer.
913
01:02:07,974 --> 01:02:13,354
He actually believed,
if you were to eliminate the lies,
914
01:02:13,438 --> 01:02:15,148
that's what glasnost was about.
915
01:02:15,231 --> 01:02:17,191
Telling the truth about the past.
916
01:02:17,275 --> 01:02:20,862
If you were to eliminate the repression,
917
01:02:20,945 --> 01:02:23,156
and people could feel free again,
918
01:02:23,239 --> 01:02:27,243
if you were to allow people
to have a good life,
919
01:02:27,326 --> 01:02:31,372
then they would want
to be a part of a reformed Soviet Union.
920
01:02:33,374 --> 01:02:36,377
{n8}But after 1989, expectations were raised.
921
01:02:36,461 --> 01:02:41,716
So, people in Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, they thought,
922
01:02:41,799 --> 01:02:43,760
"Why not go for full independence?"
923
01:02:44,802 --> 01:02:46,971
By the summer of 1991,
924
01:02:47,054 --> 01:02:49,515
there are independence movements
all over the Soviet Union,
925
01:02:49,599 --> 01:02:51,768
and Gorbachev is hanging on by a thread.
926
01:02:52,477 --> 01:02:56,939
What he didn't realize
was that the Soviet Union was an edifice
927
01:02:57,023 --> 01:03:00,610
that was built on very unstable ground.
928
01:03:01,819 --> 01:03:06,491
He never seemed to understand the degree
to which the whole thing was unraveling.
929
01:03:09,452 --> 01:03:12,413
A group of us were tasked
to do some scenario planning,
930
01:03:12,497 --> 01:03:16,334
and one was that there might
be a coup against Gorbachev.
931
01:03:18,002 --> 01:03:19,253
Would we warn him?
932
01:03:19,337 --> 01:03:21,839
Under what circumstances
would we warn him?
933
01:03:23,674 --> 01:03:25,676
Repeating once again
our top story,
934
01:03:25,760 --> 01:03:29,430
Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev
has been removed from power.
935
01:03:32,433 --> 01:03:34,894
Gorbachev is convinced
that he's gonna be killed,
936
01:03:34,977 --> 01:03:37,313
{n8}and it seemed unlikely
he was gonna get out of this.
937
01:03:38,481 --> 01:03:41,943
An anti-constitutional coup
has taken place.
938
01:03:42,527 --> 01:03:45,112
I am under arrest.
82377
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