Skip to playerSkip to main contentSkip to footer
Culture Express
  • 5/16/2025

Category

📺
TV
Transcript
00:00In 1941, director Leo De La Farge makes a film about Berlin, to be called Symphony of
00:22a World Capital. The sun always seems to shine and life is flourishing. There's no mention
00:49of the Second World War, no inkling of concentration camps, no sign of over 300,000 forced labourers
00:56in the city, not a trace of misery and hunger. Quite the contrary. This summer, the Reich
01:09is at the height of its power. Half of Europe has surrendered and it's basking in the glory
01:15of its successes. But in less than four years, the tide will have turned. Adolf Hitler will
01:26have survived an assassination attempt. Allied troops will be ready to storm the country
01:32and take the city. The wall will return to its source, Berlin, and there will be little
01:40left of the city but diaries and memories, files and pictures, ashes and dust.
01:45Sunday, New Year's Eve. A
02:14trip to Grunewald forest with Kurt. It was a splendid walk, deep snow everywhere. We
02:20stopped off for a beer. We were home by six and celebrated with Schulzes. It was the end
02:33of an eventful year. What will the next year bring? We are fearful of 1945.
02:39Neujahrsempfang in der Neuen Reichskanzlei. Generalfeldmarschall Hermann Göring begibt
03:08sich zum Führer. The new year began quietly. Lieutenant Kuttner ordered the whole battalion
03:30to listen to the radio transmission of the Führer's speech.
04:00January 2nd, back to work. Everyone talks about how drunk they were on New Year's Eve. In the
04:25evening, to the Ufa cinema on Alexanderplatz with Kurt. We saw Rite of Sacrifice with Christina
04:31Söderbaum and Karl Radatz. It was a wonderful film. So sad, we were spellbound.
04:56We love each other, my friend, and it will be bad. Bad.
05:03January 4th, air raid alert from quarter to twelve until quarter to one. It's been quite a
05:30smash-up. Another heavy attack. The capital of the Reich was attacked by 40 fast bombers. They
05:41crossed the city in loose formation. Twelve dead, 23 injured, 1,324 homeless.
06:009th of January, January 9th. Something terrible has happened. They've implicated Count Moltke in
06:15the Hitler assassination attempt, and he will be brought before the people's court. And whoever
06:21comes before the people's court, treason, conspiracy to overthrow the state, the Nazi regime, it couldn't
06:27be worse. The setting was a room packed with people. The proceedings went like this. Freisler,
06:44talented, brilliant, and not bright, and potent in all three respects, reads my resume. Details
06:51are affirmed or things added. Then come questions about the allegations. He ignores what doesn't
06:56suit him, dismisses important points. The name Moltke constantly rang out. It permeated the
07:11proceedings, and it was obvious they wanted to have me killed. The barracks are wedged between
07:33the main street and the subway next to a sports field. The station is called Baumschulenweg,
07:41a working-class district with small factories, handicraft businesses, tenements. From above,
07:49the barracks look completely alike. For Berliners passing by the fences,
07:53it's just a compound, and they couldn't care less anyway. On the large meadow opposite were several
08:04barracks for prisoners of war and forced laborers. Most of them are Ukrainians and must have been
08:09terribly mistreated. Screams rang out again and again. People living nearby ignored them. That is,
08:17when the screams of the tortured were heard, they all closed their windows as if on command.
08:22Homesickness hits me in waves. At work, I try to suppress the sadness, but when I'm alone,
08:46it's barely possible. How many years of my youth have I lost?
08:52With Kurt in the cinema, the star of Rio.
09:22After the film,
09:52straight to the party offices to pay my member's fee.
09:55January 11th. Verhandlung gegen James Graf von Moltke. The Moltke trial. Before evening
10:09falls, the prosecution requests the death penalty. We just had thoughts. Just help
10:17Gerstenmaier and me. The NS is so afraid of these solitary men's thoughts that anything
10:23infected by them must be eradicated. If that isn't a compliment.
10:27It was too late to execute us the same day,
10:45so if it's the Lord's will, I'll stay alive. Mein Herz, du lebst noch. Wie schön. You're still
10:52alive, my darling. Now I fight for you again. This respite might benefit us.
10:57Elfter Januar. January 11th. Kurt kam zum Essen zu uns. Kurt came to eat with us. Mother left
11:14us alone. He played the mandolin and I sang along. And then he kissed me and was very tender with me.
11:20Wie an der ganzen Ostfront zwischen Ostsee und Karpaten setzen hier in den Morgenstunden
11:48des 13. Januar die Sowjets zu ihrer bisher größten Offensive an.
11:51Die Frontbesuche unserer Berliner Kreisleiter... The visits to the front lines in the east by
11:59our Berlin regional commanders went well. Our troops in East Prussia are in high spirits,
12:04confident they will repel the coming Soviet offensive.
12:1716. Januar. January 16th. For three days now there's been a major Bolshevik offensive. One
12:41of our men, Manfred, cries in his bed at night because he's worried about his family. He's
12:46from Königsberg, where the Russians are advancing. But the battle lines already reached deep into
12:52Silesia. At night, when the American and English bombers approach, we man the guns.
13:17Vor zwei Tagen ist der Volkssturm angetrieben. Two days ago, the Volkssturm started enrolling
13:22in civilian jackets and puttees. Some had never held a gun before, extras to plug the gaps.
13:28Every day in the darkroom, I see the portraits of young people who, barely adult,
13:51are already dressed in military uniforms. Many of them won't live to see the end of the war.
13:56Their uniform will be the only garment worn in their short adult life.
14:15Kurt picked me up for the last time. He only took me with him to the station.
14:21Who knows when we'll see each other again.
14:26Aus Schlesien kommen die ersten Flüchtlingszüge. The first refugees arrived from Silesia. A wagon
14:50filled with dead children arrived at Berlin's Silesian station. They'd been standing in the
14:54cold for 96 hours, packed in like pickled herrings in a barrel.
14:58Our boss says we have to shift snow, then dig graves for the dead. The earth is frozen solid,
15:09to 50 centimetres down. We dig through ice and snow, then continue down,
15:16battering with hammers and iron wedges. It was hard for us before, now it's even worse.
15:22At three I visited Müller, head of the Gestapo. He said he couldn't do anything for you,
15:41as you're a traitor. I'm fine, my love. I am ready and determined to happily place
15:48my faith in God's will, knowing he only wants the best for us, including you, my dearest.
15:53Farewell, my sweetheart. May the Lord bless you and all of us.
15:59Gestern Mittag haben sie den Grafen mordet. Yesterday at noon they took Count Moltke from
16:05his cell. By four o'clock he'd been executed. It was all quite sudden.
16:18The city is teeming with refugees, all complaining about these accursed times.
16:32Nobody is mincing their words. For 24 hours, every person can rage about his hardship,
16:38his desperation and terror without inhibition. Then Goebbels is back in control.
16:43Ein Querschnitt durch das Programm des Deutschen Zirkus Busch.
16:48Dolinda, die balancierende Anmut auf dem Drahtseil.
17:13Today is the 12th anniversary of the party's rise to power. One or two British bombing
17:39raids every night. During the day, Desperate Vermeer reports, the Führer's radio address
17:44is a good boost to morale.
17:45Ich appelliere in dieser Stunde an das ganze deutsche Volk und an alle Soldaten, sich mit
17:46einem noch größeren, härteren Geist des Widerstandes zu wappnen, bis wir wieder wie
17:47schon einmal den Toten dieses gewaltigen Ringens gekranzt mit der Schleife auf das Graben
17:48legen dürfen. Und ihr habt doch gesiegt.
18:09Und die Sonne, kalt und blutig, leuchtet unser Blutgefang. In der nächsten Stunde schossen
18:32wir in die Luft. Und es sind dann schon die losen, roten Würfel entlang. Das Volk singt
18:57auf. Das Volk singt auf. Der Sturm ist los.
19:03Wir waren wieder bei Matus Sex. We went downstairs to Matus Sex again. His wife is also there
19:13now. Es floss wieder der Schnaps. The schnaps was flowing until 10 o'clock. Then we listened
19:24to the Führer's speech. Uncle Paul is always drunk.
19:41Stalin is at the gate. The Russians have crossed the river Oder, advancing on Writzen
19:46with about a hundred tanks. There is nothing between Berlin and Writzen. No anti-tank guns,
19:51no barricades, not a single soldier. People are restless.
20:04My loving wife, you ask what's to be done. I'm still optimistic on the whole. The more
20:09rational voices say we still have considerable reserves and we'll still get new weapons.
20:26Berlin can't be considered to be any safer than where you are. Since there is no adequate
20:32means of travel, I think it best if you stay there.
20:34Die Zeichen, die V2 in den Himmel schreibt, sind dem Auge noch sichtbar, wenn das Ferngeschoss
20:41sein Ziel erreicht hat. Sir, the 4 o'clock weather briefing indicated that there would
20:59be visual conditions in the Berlin-Magdeburg area. This was later confirmed by the 10 o'clock
21:04conference. In Berlin, the aiming points were the center and the heart of the city, an area
21:10bounded by the Lindenstrasse, the Unter der Linden and the Willemstrasse.
21:21We had to report early to Rosenthaler Platz to build barricades. We hadn't been working
21:26for so long. Everyone was in a good mood. The lads were singing, but then the air raid
21:30siren sounded.
21:50More than a thousand flying fortresses sweep out from their bases in England to hammer
21:54the German capital. The stern voice of retributive justice comes to Berlin in the heavy drone
21:59of bombers. From Berlin went the orders which wreaked havoc in Rotterdam and Warsaw. From
22:05Berlin also, Germany watched without pity the agony of those millions of refugees whom
22:11war turned into sad armies of the uprooted and dispossessed.
22:24Today, the wheel has turned full circle. Berliners are undergoing the ordeal to which they unprotestingly
22:39committed the great cities of Europe.
22:42In 45 minutes, 2,500 tons of high explosive and incendiaries rain down on the government
22:59and army administrative offices in the heart of the city.
23:11The city is in a terrible state. Through smoke, soot and filth, I reached the publishing
23:35house. The rain is pouring down, binding the smoke and soot, which sticks to our shoes
23:39like thick porridge. Disaster struck our anti-aircraft unit. A bomb hit the munitions
23:49chamber and all 400 rounds of ammunition exploded. All of my classmates are dead.
23:54The districts of Kreuzberg, Mitte, Horstwessel and Wedding were hit hardest. 1,130 dead,
24:14738 missing, 1,116 wounded, 102,061 made homeless.
24:30Bayerischer Platz underground station is also affected. More than a hundred bodies are
24:34under the rubble. Men, women and children stand crowded together. They hang their heads
24:39in silence. Grave, speechless, solemnly, they wait for their dead to be dug up.
25:01Your pick sinks into something soft. You shout, here, I found someone. A policeman comes
25:07running. Only a German may touch cold German flesh. They finally get the body out, grab
25:14it by the leg and pull it out. Sometimes the leg comes off. Some puke. At least they still
25:21have something in their stomachs.
25:29In this operation, the Americans lost 19 bombers and five fighters. As they head for home,
25:34they leave behind them a reminder to Germans that war doesn't pay. Berlin, they say, is
25:39now a city of dreadful night. As an American airman said after this trip, when Stalin's
25:44boys get to Berlin, they'd better bring a fire department because the place is really
25:49burning now.
26:04The 8th of February. We reach Stalag 7 in Lückenwalde in the early morning. Due to overcrowding,
26:25there are no bunks. Each man has a filthy blanket. The latrine for hundreds of men is
26:32a deep hole. If the hole is full, Russian prisoners have to go down and clean it. They
26:39are treated horribly.
26:41Power was cut for two hours today. I received the first two letters from Kurt. Air raid
27:06alarm from 8.45 to half past nine. We've only just learned that during the daytime
27:13attack last weekend, the president of the People's Court, Dr. Freisler, was killed
27:18along with most of his staff. For a moment I'm torn between horror and joy. Freisler,
27:26the man who sentenced everyone to death, he died a month too late and many weeks too early
27:32to be made accountable and face retribution.
27:48My little doll, news from here. The night was clear, the temperature dropped to zero.
27:53Tomorrow morning at ten past seven I have to go to the Volkssturm, probably to build
27:58tank barriers again. I'm still hoping the countermeasures announced will turn the tide.
28:02All the best from your dad.
28:08February 15th. Today I'm alone in the clinic. Professor Sauerbruch isn't there, nor is
28:16his official deputy. The order was given to move all patients to the shelter, or at least
28:25to the basement. First children and private patients, then the women.
28:33In the bunker I met a half-Jewish biology professor. He told me there are Jews hiding
28:38in Berlin. They have been living for months or years in cellars and attics, looked after
28:44by friends and acquaintances.
28:56My love, we've been apart for two years already. This fear, being hunted, what for?
29:04All my life I've lived as a decent human being and now I have to hide like a criminal,
29:09like a murderer and tormented by my thoughts about the children. That's the worst of it.
29:14I'm so desperate because I simply know nothing about them. If things went badly for Ms. Müller
29:21they're no longer alive. But I had no choice, otherwise I would have had to face the Gestapo
29:27with them. When children sing songs on the radio it brings tears to my eyes.
29:33February 25th. My confirmation in the Church of Jesus Christ in Dahlem.
29:55Daddy came. We were fourteen girls and six boys. Unfortunately it didn't take place
30:00in the church, it was too cold. Nevertheless it was very solemn and no siren interrupted
30:07it. For lunch we had a good pot roast that Daddy had brought with him. In the afternoon
30:12visitors and real coffee and cake.
30:25February 26th. Today was the day we were trained for. I always wanted to bomb Hitler's Berlin.
30:47The city has the toughest anti-aircraft defenses and more enemy fighters than any other target
30:53in Germany. So it's understandable that the crews let out tormented groans when they heard
30:59about it at the briefing.
31:24After take-off I felt so alone on my position in the rear of the plane in spite of the many
31:29planes around us. So terribly alone and afraid that this could be my last flight. I cannot
31:38describe the emptiness I felt.
31:53February 27th. Im Kino. Saw Troxler with Lajana at the cinema.
32:03Right at the best part the siren started and we ran to the bunker.
32:25After the longest distance we've ever flown we were right in the middle of it.
32:35Lurching airplanes. A direct hit sent the one right next to us up in flames. I shuddered
32:42in anticipation of the steel that could rip through my body at any second.
32:48Then the bomb bays opened.
32:54A wing of the factory is hit. Fire breaks out from the left wing.
33:19A wing of the factory is hit. Fire breaks out from the incendiary bombs.
33:27As we walk into the shelter we have to avoid the burning asphalt.
33:35Alexanderplatz in flames. We have no light and no water at home.
33:39After the all clear the film continued.
34:09After what felt like hours we reached the beautiful shores of England. We had made it.
34:22It was over and I was so glad I didn't know what to say.
34:40Now the city is dying and can no longer be saved. Tired, apathetic people.
34:52The doorman at the entrance tells a crying woman, be glad I tell you that he's buried in a mass grave.
34:58At least he's not alone there.
34:59German morale is in free fall and every round of bombing reinforces this feeling of depression.
35:12But as critical as the situation may be, it does not in any way interfere with the normal daily routine.
35:20Police surveillance is being further intensified.
35:22The camp was fenced in with barbed wire which was electrified. The guards had dogs and machine guns.
35:35Our strength was waning. We were consumed by work.
35:44One day the kitchen made soup from dried potato peels. It was pig swill.
35:51February 28th. Margot's place has been damaged by bombs again.
35:57Incendiary bombs fell on the doctor's flat but the fire was extinguished, only caused minor damage.
36:04He says, that's how we'll win the war.
36:09I dance socks in the evening.
36:15I dance socks in the evening.
36:27March 3rd. We left Berlin early in the afternoon.
36:34The Fuhrer wanted to see progress on the front lines for himself, to strengthen troop morale and check ammunition supplies.
36:40March 4th.
36:58The Fuhrer was here.
37:02His visit sharpens our awareness of where we stand, namely to defend the capital of the Reich.
37:10The Fuhrer is here.
37:13The soldiers welcome him as if he were a faithful follower of the man who holds the fate of Germany and Europe in his hands and will conquer it.
37:25Basic order for preparations to defend the capital.
37:31Berlin is to be defended to the last man and to the last bullet.
37:35The struggle must be fought with fanaticism, imagination, with every means of deception, cunning, deceit, on and above the ground.
37:44It is necessary that every block, every house, every story, every hedgerow is defended to the last.
37:50We build tank traps on Landsberger Allee and in Knipprode Strasse.
37:55We now have daily bazooka firing and rifle training under SA supervision in Friedrichshain.
38:01Many old men are taking part from the people's storm.
38:05We build tank traps on Landsberger Allee and in Knipprode Strasse.
38:10We now have daily bazooka firing and rifle training under SA supervision in Friedrichshain.
38:15Many old men are taking part from the people's storm.
38:21The Wehrmacht reports are shocking.
38:34Life is becoming increasingly primitive.
38:47Life is becoming increasingly primitive.
38:50Detergent and soap have to be made to last ever longer.
38:53Items for personal hygiene are a luxury.
38:56Sewing material and bits and pieces are all the clothes ration card allows for.
38:59The less cultured people of the East may still feel comfortable under these circumstances,
39:04but civilized Europeans suffer and degenerate.
39:18We visited father.
39:20As soon as we were there, sirens sounded.
39:23We stayed in an overground bunker.
39:26I thought I'd long since overcome my fear, but today I trembled, afraid for my life.
39:31A terrible bang.
39:33The bunker sways, the lights go out, people screaming.
39:36The attack lasted two hours.
39:45We saw the tremendous glow of fire on Prenzlauer Berg.
39:48Opposite, house number 15, was hit and collapsed.
39:56Half Berlin was in flames and in ruins.
39:59It's enough to drive you insane when you walk the streets.
40:02Our Berlin.
40:04The Berlin I loved so much.
40:06Even though it disgusts me that its inhabitants allowed us to be excluded from their community,
40:11just because we're Jews.
40:13But it's the Berlin I loved so much.
40:16Even though it disgusts me that its inhabitants allowed us to be excluded from their community,
40:21just because we're Jews.
40:22But it's the Berlin I loved so much.
40:24Even though it disgusts me that its inhabitants allowed us to be excluded from their community,
40:28just because we're Jews.
40:31I still love my hometown.
40:45We face the toughest challenge in our history, Battalion Chief Kuttner told us this morning.
40:49We are to stand firm with religious fanaticism.
40:52At the shop at 9am, had to walk home.
40:55Went for a walk with Kutzi in the evening and fetched water.
41:00Got a wonderful letter from Kurt.
41:02Read some of the most beautiful parts to Kutzi.
41:07Went to the cinema with Margot.
41:17Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:22Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:25Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:27Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:29Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:31Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:33Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:35Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:37Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:39Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:41Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:43Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:45Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:47Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:49Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:50Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:52Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:54Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:56Saw soloist Anna Alt.
41:58Some comrades no longer know where their relatives are.
42:01East Prussia, Silesia.
42:03Without a home, the war becomes pointless.
42:06I can't imagine that Berlin would be lost.
42:09Today it is they who are deprived of their last possessions and their homes,
42:14whose relatives face an uncertain fate in endless tracks and refugee trains.
42:20I well know what it means to live in permanent uncertainty
42:24about your nearest and dearest and all the people close to you
42:27in need and misery, in hunger and agony,
42:30without hearing anything from them.
42:33I,
42:35I,
42:37I, we,
42:39we Jews,
42:41we have long lived through this.
42:43Am I now supposed to feel pity for them?
42:5363rd transport was scheduled to Sachsenhausen and Ravensbrück,
42:56destination Theresienstadt,
42:58date of departure March 27th, 1945.
43:02For the evacuation of Jews from the territory of the Reich
43:06to the Theresienstadt ghetto, the following regulations apply.
43:10Transportation is to take place in single carriages
43:14on a regular train servicing the Theresienstadt route.
43:18Each person is to take 50 Reichsmark,
43:21a complete set of clothing, bed sheet and blanket,
43:24eating utensils, plate or pot with spoon,
43:27rations for eight days.
43:31Prohibited items are stock certificates,
43:34currencies, savings account documents, etc.,
43:37animals or ration cards.
43:40Before departure, the carriages are to be searched for weapons,
43:43ammunition, explosives, poison,
43:46currencies, jewellery, etc.
43:49Without exception, all assets are to be confiscated.
44:02Easter Sunday.
44:04We slept in very late,
44:06reading during the day
44:08and telling each other scary stories in the evening.
44:11We did some exercises,
44:13and then we went to bed.
44:17Ich habe den Krieg satt.
44:19Ich habe den Krieg satt.
44:21Ich habe den Krieg satt.
44:23Ich habe den Krieg satt.
44:25Ich habe den Krieg satt.
44:27Ich habe den Krieg satt.
44:29Ich habe den Krieg satt.
44:31Ich habe den Krieg satt.
44:33Every night, fast bombers attack Berlin.
44:36We are always tired and weary.
44:40And those miracle weapons, where are they?
45:02Once again, a hostile attack on the capital by Mosquito aircraft.
45:06One has already got so used to them
45:08that they've become part of the daily routine.
45:11If they don't come, the Berliners feel something's missing.
45:31My comrade Udo received a letter from the Pankow NSDAP branch.
45:35His mother and little sister Elke burnt to death in the north of Berlin.
45:39He has no one now.
45:41He stood still for a long time,
45:43then suddenly jumped on a stool,
45:45tore the large portrait of the Fuhrer from the wall,
45:47spat on it, and stamped on Hitler's head.
45:50It was a terrible sight.
45:52He had no idea what was going on.
45:54He had no idea what was going on.
45:56He had no idea what was going on.
45:58He had no idea what was going on.
45:59He had no idea what was going on.
46:01When the on-duty sergeant came, he locked Udo in a cell.
46:12April 12th.
46:14The Russians and Americans have advanced across the borders of the Reich.
46:17The situation has markedly deteriorated.
46:23In the office, we only do the most urgent work.
46:26We are burning most of our files in case Berlin falls.
46:29We are burning most of our files in case Berlin falls.
46:59My dearest love.
47:11My dearest love.
47:13The day before yesterday was your birthday.
47:15Will there ever be another one we spend together?
47:18I don't believe it anymore.
47:20And the children.
47:22Yesterday, Weimar was taken by the Allies.
47:24How will I ever find a trace of them if things have gone wrong?
47:26wrong. I will listen to American radio today to hear what happened in Weimar.
47:47This is London Corner. I have just returned from the Belsen concentration
47:55camp. I find it hard to describe adequately the horrible things that I've seen and heard.
48:01But here, unadorned, are the facts. There are 40,000 men, women and children in
48:08the camp, thousands of them Jews. In the last few months alone, 30,000 prisoners have been
48:16killed off or allowed to die. Dead bodies, some of them in decay, lay strewn about the
48:24road and along the rutted tracks. Inside the huts, it was even worse. I've seen
48:32many terrible sights in the last five years, but nothing, nothing approaching the dreadful
48:37interior of this hut at Belsen. I picked my way over corpse after corpse in the gloom
48:44until I heard one voice that rose above, the gentle undulating moaning. I found a girl.
48:51She was a living skeleton. She was stretching out her stick of an arm and gasping something.
48:57It was English, English, medicine, medicine.
49:28Ich bin geboren am 3.1.21 in Teterow, Mecklenburg.
49:36Ich bin der Oberschafführer, der SS-Oberschafführer Friedrich Herzog aus Dortmund in Westphalen
49:43und bin zwei Jahre hier im Lager. Ich bin 59 Jahre.
49:51The SS guards, who shot several of the prisoners after we'd arrived in the camp when they thought
50:01no one was looking, are now gathering up all the bodies and carting them away for burial.
50:12May I add to this story only the assurance that those officers and men who've seen these
50:17things have gone back to the Second Army, moved to an anger such as I have never seen in them before.
50:24A lot of time has passed since we started marching through Germany.
50:47The Baltic Sea comes to mind where we drowned the Fritzes.
50:51Now victory is in our grasp.
51:08We'll return to Berlin 1945 tomorrow at 10.
51:12Filmmaker Peter Jackson's documentary They Shall Not Grow Old, using previously unseen footage
51:18from the First World War and digitally enhancing it, is streaming now on BBC iPlayer.
51:24Next here on BBC Four, the words of Arthur Roberts, a young soldier sent to the front
51:29in A Scottish Soldier, a lost diary of World War One.