Eyewitness Videos • Economic Upheaval

Sequence 1: Simone

When the wall came down, how did Simone feel? How do you interpret her feelings (positive or more negative) when she said "Well, here comes capitalism"?

Sequence 2: Kristine

How has life changed for Kristine and her parents since the Wall fell? Does she think things were better before or are they better now?

Sequence 3: Voelker

How has life changed for Voelker? Is it different from the way Kristine interprets things?

Sequence 4: Simone

Simone was 23 when the Wall fell. Is Simone happier now then she was during the GDR? What reasons does she give? What does she say she has finally learned to do? Why do you think learning that lesson might have been hard for former GDR citizens?

Sequence 5: Yvonne

Yvonne was 10 years old when the Wall fell. What did she notice about the West at first? How, as an adult, has she come to see things differently? What are her complaints about Germany today? Do you think she is happy? How is her view different from Simone's?

Sequence 6: Laila

Laila was probably in her mid-thirties when the Wall fell, so lived her childhood and part of her adulthood under Communism. When discussing economic changes, what does Laila say she notices most clearly today? What words (terminology reminiscent of the former System, perhaps) does she invoke to describe her city's demographic makeup now?

Sequence 7: Steffen

Steffen was a young child when the Wall fell. Describe what he says has happened in Neubrandenburg in the past fifteen years? Do you think he is happy or angry about it? Do you think he wishes "the industrial towers, the heating towers" were still there? Why? What do you think he is implying when he uses the analogy of "the mushrooms"? How do you interpret his feelings generally given his choice of words? Do you think his feelings are justified?

Sequence 8: Siegfried

What, specifically, does Siegfried say has happened to the industry in Neubrandenburg? How many people have migrated out of the city? What have his sons done in light of the situation? What happened to Siegfried, a former teacher, a few years after the Wende? How many teachers were affected? How did he personally manage? What really shocked him, and why do you think he took it so hard?