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Soviet refugees in BerlinIt started with a strike by construction workers in East Berlin about working conditions and turned into a general protest about the government. It spread rapidly across the country. It was violently put down by Soviet trops and tanks. Protests continued for a couple of weeks, 17th June being the pivotal day. Scores of people were killed.
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Military build up in BerlinLife in a divided citybbc footage as the wall is contsructedMany East Germans were travelling to West Berlin to allow them to travel to the West. This so called ' brain-drain' was costing the GDR many of its citizens. A temporary wall went up overnight, slicing the city in half.
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Erich Honnecker had been in charge of the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 and in 1971 assumed most of the reins of power. In 1976 he assumed control of all of them. He remained in power until 1989.
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Born in Cologne. He spends his childhood in New York, Brussels, Frankfurt and Berlin.
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In March 1985 the Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev tried to start to reform the Soviet political system. He appealed to the people in an attempt to sidleine hardliners in his own government. The policies began to take effect and had big significance for the countries of Eastern Europe.
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The film begins in April 1985 with Wiesler instructing on how to interrogate suspects.
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Hungarian government allows GDR citizens to travel to Austria via Hungary. Many choose to do so.
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During a non-descript press conference, the Central Committe Spokesman Günther Schabowski said that travel restrictions had been lifted, effective immediately and that people could go whereever they wanted. This had not been planned and was due to a misunderstanding on his part. This leads to a rush for the border crossings. Miraculously, the guards decided not to shoot and let the people past.
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Small scale demonstrations had been going on for several months, people were beginning to feel that things were going to change.
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Reforms were promised in an attempt to stem the tide of revolution. Not enough was done.
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Dreyman publishes his book, and we see Wiesler buying a copy and reading the dedication. His smile shows how he realises his efforts were worthwhile.
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Von Doonersmarck won an essay writing competition and his prize was to do work experience with Richard Attenborough.
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Von Donnersmarck wrote the screenplay for the film himself. He spoke with many former victims of the Stasi as well as former Stasi members themselves. He locked himself away in an Austrian monastery to be able to concentrate fully on his work.
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