Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with berlinwall

when Wikipedia articles fall short, it's time for a book

bluishorange — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:49:48 -0800

Have you read an informative, engaging book on German history? If so, what is it? After visiting Berlin last year, I became quite interested in German history. In particular I was fascinated by the city of Berlin itself, WWII and the events leading up to and following it, and the Berlin Wall years.

The 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall has me thinking about it again, so I've decided it's time to stop my casual internet reading and move on to a proper book. I read very little nonfiction, so I'm hoping for something that's not too dry. But I was an English major, so it doesn't have to be, you know, a kids' book or anything. Also, military strategy puts me to sleep.

I know this is a very broad subject to ask for A book about, but as of now I'm just trying to get my feet wet. Anything helps. Thanks!

Looking for a comedy about the fall of East Germany

zhang.chuck — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:27:55 -0800

Looking for a specific movie about the fall of East Germany-- a comedy (?) where the main character's mother falls into a coma, and during the interim, the Berlin wall falls... I was in London last spring and I jumped into this movie halfway through (watching on a hotel telly)...and then fell asleep before the end. I ended up watching half of an hour of it, and I thought maybe somebody else has seen this movie.

Other clues: there may have been subtitles; it looked like it was filmed in the last decade (or two?).

Finding the Wall

mannequito — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:06:58 -0800

Where can I find an exact map of where the Berlin Wall stood overlaid on a current street map of the city?

East Germany after the wall fell?

neuron — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 18:36:42 -0800

What was East Germany like immediately after the Wall fell? (Lives of Others spoiler alert) What did people in East Germany do in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall? (And does the fall of the wall equate with the fall of the GDR government?) Can you recommend a book (preferably nonfiction) on the subject? And what's it like there now--is it assimilated?

Near the end of The Lives of Others we see some Stasi bureaucrats using steam to open letters. One of them hears on the radio that the wall has fallen. They arise from their desks and calming walk out. Would they have come back to work?