My grandma often told me how they went to the bakery with wheelbarrows full of money during the inflation. In 1923, the price of a loaf of bread rose from about 400 German marks (in May) to 5.6 billion German marks (in October). At that time, the exchange ratio between US Dollar and Deutsch Mark was 1:4,000,000,000,000.00 (4 trillion Marks). Companies immediately paused after paying their workers so that people could go buy immediately because the money was losing value so quickly. Crazy times.
Since the value of the money dropped so fast, you had to get rid of it as fast as possible. My grandpa, who was a farmer, built a new house then. If he sold a calf at the market, he had to invest the money within the hour in construction material - at the end of the day he would only get half of it, the next day perhaps a quarter. Leftover money was used to wallpaper the toilet.
It turns around 1 full circle in 1 hour. I was there several times when it was still cheap to go up (like 3-5 Deutschmarks). Nowadays I avoid it because it got so expensive.
I can actually tell you quite a bit about the East-German experience and give you a perspective of the other side. My parents were both born, raised and socialized during the GDR. I was born in '87 in Görlitz, the (still) most Eastern Town in Germany, right at the polish border. The unification came 2 years after my birth, and I grew up in the decade after it. It was a time when a whole nation was struggling not only with the sudden loss of their country, but tried to adapt to an economic system that was completely opposite to what they knew before. A whole nation was told: "Well, everything you knew for the last 40 years was rubbish, this is how we're doing things now. Adapt or get left behind." And that's what happened to a lot of people. The fell behind. People REALLY struggled with that, financially and mentally, I'd say in the generation of my parents the after effects are present still to this day. Leaving out of the equation the question of which system was better, the real tragedy was the absolutely desastrous handling of the unification. The West was burdened with the task to bring the East "up to speed", and the East was basically forced to adapt ASAP. State-owned companies (which were basically all) were either dissolved or taken over by western leadership. Old structures were demolished, capitalism was enforced. This resulted in a LOT of resentment, on both sides. It actually gave food to the same problem Germany had in the 20s/30s. Resentment, bad economy, loss of identity were and still are the breeding ground for nationalist tendencies and, as you rightly suspected, a still quite present wishing back of the old days. "Ostalgie" is a thing. Especially in the most Eastern parts of Germany. To this day whenever I go back to visit my family, there's not a single gathering where the GDR and stuff isn't brought up. And I don't mean that people miss everything, I mean they weren't stupid. The GDR was a dictatorship, freedoms were restricted, people who wanted to leave were shot, families and friends were spying on each other, sometimes people just vanished. But humans a resilient and survival-driven, so to survive a situation, you adapt. And in that process you learn to accept, maybe even love the bounds you are placed in. ESPECIALLY if one is born into it. And to lose that suddenly and then be seen by the "rescuing" side as nothing but a burden, well it doesn't go down well. I think it will take a LONG time until those wounds a healed over.
All very well. But compared to the way the great majority of the Poles reacted to the communists and Russian overlords the East Germans were docile and subalterne subjects. Very old style German. And they certainly didn't like the Polish lovers of freedom. All this of course valid for the East German majority. There were people for whom freedom meant a lot and they fought for it. And I am convinced that the masses whose slogan was Wir sind ein Volk didn't protest on the streets for freedom but for the Westgerman Mark. Which is acceptable. But they certainly didn't démonstration for freedom like the Poles
another problem was/ is, that the eastgermanwere the one who fought, they got out on the streets, they were the "rescuerers" of their freedom. Not the West-germans, not the "better" system or anything else. They fought for more freedom, for participation and emancipation, not to be thrown over, to be belittled as victims, helpless, incompetent and in need of the "strong" and "well educated" west. And they werent treated like the heros they were, they were treated as dump, naive little children, who need to learn how the "real" world works correctly. Of course there were many drawbacks on the economy site, things that needed to be modernisizes, restructured, etc. but thats not what really happend. And mostly the east were not involved in nearly any decisions. It was neither well thought outd or well implemented
Wooow, it feels like we share the same history.. I was born in Guben (border to Poland as well), just 3 years before the reunification and I totally agree with all that you have said. The wounds of the east germans are deep, also in my family. I do also live in 'Westgermany' now and here, most of the people aren't even aware of it. And it was very confusing to get to understand all of these things, as my mum moved here when I was six years old. A whole challange of its own. So thank you for sharing your views on this :)
Something about the Marshall Plan that seems largely unknown: The US invested about 13bil USD (worth ~115bil USD in 2021 Dollars) into the plan, of which only 11% went to Germany (as opposed to essentially everything as seems to be alluded to in most videos mentioning it) since it was a plan to rebuild the war damaged Europe. For comparison, the CARES Act (a.k.a. Corona Stimulus Cheque, etc.) cost the US 2.2 trillion USD.
And there is something else: The Americans stole over 30.000 licenses for inventions from Germany directly after the war. The value of those licenses was 10 times that of what Germany received about 6 years after that as Marshall Plan aid. Plus while the Marshall Aid was a gift for most European countries for Germany it was mostly loans thus the money that Germany received had to be paid back. And once again, Germany lost a very big part of their land and had to pay a huge amount of money to other countries. Seemingly Germany even pays money 💰 for the fucking military occupation that they still have stationed in Germany. Germany got gigantically screwed.
Another thing about the Marshall Plan and Austria, the money was not just spent here, it was just given out as loans to companies to rebuild, it was payed back like a bank loan and the money is still used today to give loans to new or struggling companies and to finance startups.
In the video Ryan is showing they put it like Germany started WW1. But WW1 started with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand which triggered Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. Germany was just helping his brother Austria-Hungary after Serbia Ally Russia stepped in. In the end they all blamed Germany. Even I as a Alaskan knows that.
Weeeell, it is technically true that the German Reich did not fire the first shot, nor declared war first in WWI. But it certainly gave Austria-Hungary carte blanche for any war they decided to fight in the Balkans. With nearly all Balkan nations strongly allied and supported by the Russian empire, the German Kaiser knew that a declaration of war by Austria-Hungary would result in a counter-declaration of war by Russia against Austria-Hungary. With the full support treaties for Austria-Hungary from the German Reich this would result in the desired end-result of Germany declaring war on Russia. This was fully intended because Germany wanted to take a large bite out of Russian territories and resources. It was also calculated that France would pitch in as well. With the German Reich beating France so decisively in the war of 1870/1871 still so fresh in many German minds, especially those of the generals, people thought it would be a short, victorious war against France and Russia.
@@RustyDust101 almost right👌, Germany didn't want Russian territory. The war in the east ended with the treaty of Brest-Litowsk. According to that, Germany didn't take a single piece of Russia. Because they had no need for it. What the Army made happen is: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and 👌Poland were liberated from Russian oppression and were given Nationhood by the evil Germans, cause you know, that's a real buffer zone. After eventually loosing the Stalemate in the west, the Entente imposed the treaty of Versailles. Now, look at Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine and Belarus. They were happy to be free, but Lithuania and Poland accepted the western offer of German land. So, the ungrateful idiots took German land. And then 20 years later they act all surprised, that a resurgent Germany comes around to take it back by force? Seriously? Maybe, if they don't want German troops in their capitals, they should have shown a little bit more intelligence and make better decisions 🤪
Germany was demolished but our spirit, will to survive and our way to work things out, stubborn as f*** so to say, we perserved to this day. Build something like you want it for yourself and while building it do nothing less then your best. I work in the quality department of a major german cars manufacturer, believe me thats how we work here.
Marshall Plan: Germany was the only nation who had to pay back Marshall Plan money, and is the only nation where the Marshall Plan is around til today. The german goverment after the war created a new bank managing the Marshall Plan money the KfW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau / Credit Bank for Reconstruction), it still is one of the largest Banks in Germany. The KfW back than and today gives cheap loans to companies and private persons, and when loans get paid back they lend it to another company or person, and repeat.
1:32 "and look how fast the boats go here" that made my day :D yea we know our awesome sped up video boats actually drive on the wet extensions of the autobahn :D
There IS in fact a restaurant up there. Not only that but the restaurant rotates offering a 360° view of Berlin. If you're not afraid of heights a really nice way to experience German cuisine and architecture at the same time^^
"What's in there? A restaurant?" Yes. And it's rotating. The building is called Berliner Fernsehturm (Berlin TV Tower). I'd suggest "How Germany Is Still Divided Today" by General Knowledge. It's 10 minutes long.
I was born in East Berlin and I had a wonderful childhood because we were happy with what we've got and most of the "east germans" still are like this today.
Yeah, I am having a huge problem with this attitude, because you let others decide for you what you get. Why that should be a favorable life concept is beyond me.
@@dan_kay Most people do that b.c. they beleave that some mystic ghost (called god) will lead them through life. And yes, you are 100% right with your statement.
@@dan_kay it’s actually more nuanced attitude and means more if you can’t have all the stuff especially non-basic goods there is still a path to make life good with less for yourself and enjoy it. If you ask most germans who lived in the GDR if they was happy with the goverment they would be pretty not fine with this way of dictating all what you can have and haven’t. Most also never considered that the GDR and it’s huge surveillance state would ever cripple that much and collapse leading to the Germany which came after. Or even that this would be the first spark of the end of the Cold War.
To put into perspective just how bad the Hyperinflation was back then. A roughly 2 pound Loaf of bread (1kg) would cost up to 233 billion Mark. And no thats not a joke, 1kg of beef would cost around 4-5 trillion at the time It was so bad that people had to wheel around pushcards full of 1 Million bills just to buy a bread
No its the „Fernsehturm“ at the Alexanderplatz (former east-Berlin) the „Funkturm“ is in West-Berlin and looks kinda like a smaller chunkier version of the Eiffel Tower
0:55 this is not a court yard, but the pedestrian area around the Brandenburg gate (the thing with the 6 columns) wich is on all german 10cent, 20cent and 50cent €-coins
0:40 Berlin TV tower near Alexanderplatz, built 1965-1969 by Deutsche Post of the GDR (the state-owned postal and telecom monopoly in East Germany). It is 368 m high. The bowl contains an observation desk, a bar and a revolving restaurant. .0:52 Paris Place with Brandenburg Gate in the background. On the left you would find the US Embassy. 1:28 Römer Place in Frankfurt. Mostly reconstructed facades with modern buildings behind. 2:06 Germany has also be around for centuries, but its history was interrupted by Napoleon who dissolved not only the Holy Roman Empire, but splitted also the German Kingdom, which was part of that Empire, in multiple new kingdoms. That was not only confirmed by the Vienna Congress in 1815, the Congress also added additional kingdoms and other entities and confirmed the new Austrian Empire. But even before the German Kingdom was a federation of states, while the UK and France were centralized, which gave them advantages in the age of mercantilism based on state-directed economies. 2:30 The necessary predecessor of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870/71 was the German war of 1866, as Prussia abandoned the German Federation and allied with Italy to attack that federation (which was led by Austria). Prussia and Italy won, the Kingdom of Hannover was annexed by Prussia and Veneto by Italy. In the aftermath Prussia founded a North German Federation, which was mainly Prussia plus some minor states, and campaigned to isolate Austria and to win the South German states as allies. The war against France was part of that politics. 2:55 The industrial revolution in Germany and in Prussia had started long before - otherwise the Prussian troops would have been neither able to defeat Austria nor France. The first railway was built in Bavarian Franconia in 1835, followed by Austria (1837/1839) and Saxony (1837/39). In 1849 there was a whole railway network in Prussia, Hannover and Saxony, connecting Berlin via Hannover with Cologne and Belgium as well as a couple of separate lines (like from Frankfurt to Strassburg and Basel), which grew into a Germany-wide connected network until 1861. The industrial steel production in the Ruhr region (which had coal and iron) and Silesia (coal and some iron) started in the 18th century and grew to full-size during the 19th century. 9:36 Not a skyscraper, but a church, the Kaiserdom (Imperial Cathedral) of Saint Bartholemew, the coronation church of the Holy Roman Empire. 9:50 The Marshall Plan or European Recovery Program was not only for Germany, but for the whole of West Europe. Actually the UK got most of it (around 25%), followed by France (around 20%) and then Italy and Germany (each around 10%). Around 70% of it was given as loan and paid back until the mid 1960s. The difference is in the way they used the money: Germany founded the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW, reconstruction loan corporation), which got most of it and used it successfully for loan programmes, thereby multiplying it.
The difference between east and west in Germany today is a very complex topic. It helps a little bit to understand why the GDR fell and how the reunification happened. The people revolted, so it was basically a revolution inside the GDR. So not many people are wishing that the GDR still exists today because they wanted change. But the reunification is seen in a different light by some, mainly because the FRG did not see the GDR as equal. Basically the FRG said "I'm paying, so I say how it's done". For example, some east German companies did not receive any help after the reunification because they were competing with west German companies. So the FRG deliberately let the east German competitors run into the ground. So that of course lead to a resentment. So in general the revolution against the dictatorship in the GDR is of course seen in a positive light, but the reunification is a mixed bag for some not really because they didn't want to reunify but because the way it was done was not fair for all. No one really wants to go back to a not unified Germany, but it takes more work and more time to really abolish the divide between east and west. That's only the background, not the symptoms today, but to explain them is not possible in a RU-vid comment.
Can only agree with that. I heard a lot of troubling stories from relatives and others who were treated very unfairly and were looked down upon by the higher ups from west germany. As far as I heard there was a generel sentiment among west germany that the people in the east were lazy and uncapable, which couldnt be further from the truth. Its gotten a lot better over the years but there is for sure still a lot of ripple effects left from the division. I would say the younger generations today are the first where there is essentially no difference between east and west. Everyone older than that is still very much effected by it.
The east also had competitive industry at the time of the reunification that was often sold by the Treuhand to their western competition for cheap or basically for free. The competitors then swiftly stripped the east German companies of their assets and closed them down. Not exactly helping economy in the east.
It depends on the age of the people. The younger people are germans it’s equal if you west or east. The people 40 and older there you have much more of „Ostalgie“ its a new word from nostalgia and east in german „Osten“. And there are many who say in east germany not everything was bad. And that the west have cheat the east with the companys. But i think they forgot whats the bad side was.
@@sarah8383 Exactly: The west German companies bought their eastern counterparts merely to close them down: This way, the competition was eliminated and the market was theirs.
There are some people who glorify the past and wish the GDR were back. But these are very few. And no one waves the flag of the GDR. There is absolutely no comparison with the southern states of the USA or even the visibility of the Confederate flag. Especially in East Berlin, no one wants the Wall back. There are only very, very few, confused pensioners, but they have absolutely no social significance. The reason for this is probably that the Stasi files were so carefully prepared and many people learned that they were spied on by the secret service, sometimes by their closest friends. Something like that burns itself into the collective memory. In contrast to many others, Germany has come to terms with its history, including and especially the negative history, and that is why it is not repeated there, as it is in Russia, for example.
In the opening narration, when they listed the countries that have been around for so much "longer", they mentioned Italy, which is, at least in the current state, an equally "young" nation
"not that Germany was demolished" - I visited Würzburg recently and seen the pictures and the story of the bombing in WW II when US and British bombers systematically demolished the roofs and windows of buildings in the city (target was mainly the center but outside a couple suburb areas everything was destroyed), then proceeded with 300 000 incendiary bombs to burn down the buildings. According to Wikipedia 82% of the city was destroyed, "fun fact", including 21 000 homes and 35 churches (there were no notable military or industrial buildings, the target was the population). As I read Dresden had similar faith, maybe other cities too, this was the one where I visited. I think the winning side doesn't tend to advertise their genocides that's why it may not be as well known. (I'm not German, I was only aware of the genocide Germany performed during the war and the allies were liberators). It would be worth some research to see what Germany has recovered from, it is quite amazing. People can be super powerful when motivated.
The Marshall Plan not only referred to the reconstruction of Germany, but significantly more dollars flowed to France and Great Britain. While most of the money there went into the reconstruction of destroyed infrastructure, German politicians were so ingenious at the time that they used the money to grant state loans to the citizens. They borrowed the money cheaply from the state in order to rebuild their companies, created jobs again and gave the economy a lasting boost, while the funds from the Marshall Plan were simply spent in France or the UK without much lasting effect!
When Germany tried to export goods to England at the beginning of industrialization, the quality was so poor that the English were prompted to label German products "Made in Germany". The Germans then very quickly increased the quality of their products so that they were better than the English ones. So the label "Made in Germany" became a seal of quality.
21:00 ive heard people got their salary in the morning, running to the shops to buy goods because the shops raised their prices several times a day. regarding to the political view of east germans i would recommend you to watch a whole video about it, since its a little bit complicated. ps.:great reaction as always!
......and the italian risorgimento movement was a big inspiration for Germany. Mussolini for Hitler. And Primeminister Meloni ????????? Grüße aus Berlin
what about the roman empire? the point is that before the franco prussian war, germany has never in all of history existed as a unified state. it consisted of many small kingdoms that shared a similar culture and language
I was born in the west with relatives in the east.. my father decided to flee from the east before they build the wall.. One day he took his small backpack and left the country. When i was born, we were able to visit my grandparents on a regular basis, everytime we would bring a "care package" with western products like coffee and chocolate and of course western money. Although my grandparents were lacking of many goods, for eg. bananas werent often available and coffee was a watered down version of the coffee we know, they lifed a privileged life. My grandparents had a huge garden and grew their own food and they had chickens. my fathers siblings had their own shops, one brother was a butcher and his sister married into a bakery. Having relatives in the west, providing them with west money helped also.. the socalled "blaue fliese" =literally blue tile ( meaning the 100 deutsche mark note) opened many doors to western goods.
There was a coffee crisis in the 70s because of a faulty harvest in Brazil. Because of the high import costs the GDR invented a mixture which only containted like 50% real coffee. But people didn't like it, so it was taken off the market again shortly after. As far as I remember (born and raised in the GDR) coffee came as beans or powdered just like everywhere else, but it was quite expensive, like many things that weren't considered basic needs. That's why some people watered it down out of thrift. There was also a kind of coffee called ''muckefuck'' which had a coffee taste and looked like real coffee but was made out of grain and witloof. It didn't contain caffeine. That's why this kind of coffee was also known als ''Kinderkaffee'' (kids coffee). My grandma used to drink it a lot. Food wise I don't remember any kind of shortages. Well apart from bananas or exotical fruit in general. But since those weren't considered general need but rather kind of a treat at least I never experienced the fact those were only available every now and then as being significant. Basic food instead was very affordable. I lived in the countryside and everybody could afford fresh meat and sausage directly from the butcher, fresh bread, rolls and cake from the bakery, veggies and fruit were seasonal. We had more than enough to eat and I've actually never eaten healthier than during my childhood in the GDR. Shortages I remember existed when it came to individual things. You didn't want the standard kind of t-shirt which was produced in the GDR and everyone wore? Be quick to buy when a small amount of imported shirts were available, because those were sold out within hours or even minutes. I remember it was totally normal when a parent appeared at school to pick up their child for a quick shopping in town to get one of those rare imported clothes etc.. If you wanted to to appear as more individual you had to either be quick to buy, have good relations to those who sold (and held it back for you if you couldn't appear quick enough), had to be creative (knitting, tailoring etc.) or had to have relatives in the West who sent you something. I'm aware that this might sound bad to someone who grew up with shelves full of a hundret different kinds of a product, but for me (us) it was just normal to consume the basic stuff and hava a little extra we were successful to get our hands on every now and then. Just from a kid's/teenager's perspective I was back then, I lived a happy life in the GDR and my parents didn't have much to worry about, especially financially. Long story short: it wasn't as bad as it's often painted.
@@ellaela0 Freedom comes in different ways. Going to bed knowing you don't have to be afraid to lose your job, not being able to pay your bills or feed our kids is a way of freedom too. I didn't feel any more free than before and I still don't. I now can critize the government openly but how does that make my life any better? They don't care anyways.
The "big ball" is the Alexander Turm (Alexander Tower) in Berlin. It was or is a TV Tower with a restaurant in it :D It's one of the landmarks of berlin together with the "Brandenburger Tor" :D
Hey Ryan. Greetings from an East German, living in Bavaria! Yeah, the differences between east and West are still large today. The east Was heavily de-industrialized after the reunification and a large percentage of the population had to migrate to the West to find work. nowadays people in east germany still earn less money then the west german brothers and the Infrastrukturen (i.e. medical coverage) is pretty Bad in some regions
The east was robbed of its pearls. My wife comes from the area aound the southern east. Called Burgen landkreis, an area with a lot of old castles..when the reunification was proceed the politicans brought some of them for a few german marks, because they have no ethics. I myself am a western german and i admire the eastern people who stand up against opprression against a toltalitarian regime something nowadays would be handy but the western germans are too naive to stand up against a political class acting like living in the days of feudalism .Of cause not everything was totaly bad, because you can find everywhere something good.
@@evemaniac The problem was that East German companies had to be privatized, which was implemented by the Treuhand. At least unlike Jelzin in the Soviet Union, they did not sell companies to "Entrepreneurs", who later became Oligarchs, but to West German companies who were often competitors. However, the result was not so different. Without capital and investments, promised but rarely enforced, companies in the East were shut down. With the exception of industries that deal with raw materials or food.
@@steves9333 Ach da sind wir ja fast Nachbarn. Ich bin derzeit immer zwischen Strausberg und Eisenhüttenstadt unterwegs. Aber ich muss sagen, trotz der Strukturschwäche bin ich lieber hier als im Westen. Die Leute hier sind cooler :D
you still feel differences is housing prices, wages and general cost of living between east and west, but its not like its two completly seperate regions, but since its only 30 years ago that we reunified, the east still has some catch up to do to the west :D but its not bad at all :D
Some detail about German hyper inflation in the 1920s: Working men had to basically hand the payment of a day's work to their wives through the company fence so they could *rush* to the store and buy food before it got worthless within hours. Bills were re-used by printing a new face value onto them, because re-printing was too expensive at the time, at that rate.
Well, of all European coubntries, Germany got the least Marshall plan help, but instead of using it for consumption, they put the Money into a reconstruction bank (KWF) that handed out loans agaibn and again. It still exist in 2022! It was NOT big US-Money, bur the smart way Germany used it.
I was part of that, as my parents both left the sowjet zone in the very beginning with nothing. Meaning I grew up without seeing half of my family because they were left behind the iron curtain. The fall of the wall, I will never forget that night. I was in tears for ours. But, you can never come over ne raised separately. I have no real contact to my cousins. Part of german live.
Anytime it is so funny to see those videos (the ones u r reacting to) They talk about the "power" of germany, the development of germany. But they just showing the beautiful landscapes of germany. Never showed how Germany really looking like ;-) There are areas like the "Ruhrgebiet" which was an important Area mining coal, working with steel and pushing the german economy very hard in bad times. Than there was a structure change and those areas were left alone They are not looking so beautiful like the houses in other regions, the castles and so on. So no one showed pictures of this area. Makes me sad anytime because without those area, germany would be not the powerhouse it became. Maybe you will find a video which shows also the other areas of germany with much history, hard working people in the past who carried this country on his backs for a better future Greetings from Dortmund...i like your videos ;-)
I hate it so much, Germany is not Bavaria!!! Also Ruhrgebiet is beauytifull, the Eifel, never seen Düsseldorf, always Cologne, and the beauytifull nothern or eastern see landscape. For americans Germany is only Bavaria or fucking Berlin
@@Miristzuheiss also not sure what you'Re so angry about... It'S not like they only show pictures of Bavaria. Sure, as always Neuschwanstein appears somewhere, but that aside, Frankfurt and Berlin are the cities that feature most commonly. Actually I think if anything this video features maybe Frankfurt a bit too heavily.
0:40 That is a TV tower. 2:40 Some facts: Germany as a country was founded, however the Holy Roman Empire preceeds Germany and was a political entity made up of more than 300 individual dukedoms, kingdoms, free cities etc. The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806 and followed by the German Confederation. The composition of states and political structure of these predecessors of Germany changed considerably over the centuries, however while the people of all the different "countries" saw themselves as people of their country first, they also saw themselves as people of the Empire as a whole. Because of that it is not entirely true that there was no cohesive German political entity before 1871. It should be mentioned though that the empire was completely fractured and a lot of infighting (=small and sometimes not so small wars like the 30-years war with an approximated 12 million people killed) happened. The founding of the German Empire was also not exactly the consequence of one war, it was the consequence of three wars: The Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg (in english usually known as the Second Schleswig War) of 1864, with Prussia and the Austrian Empire fighting and easily defeating Denmark which ended in Denmark seceeding the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Saxe-Lauenburg to the winners (Schleswig was part of Denmark, Saxe-Lauenburg and Holstein where part of the German Confederation, however the danish monarchs also hold the titles of duke of Holstein and duke of Saxe-Lauenburg for centuries, making them also members of the German nobility even though they where foreign monarchs). In 1866 followed by the Austro-Prussian War when the former allies, each supported by several other member states of the German Confederation, fought against each other. This war ended after a few weeks with Prussia defeating Austria and unifying the northern member states (like the Kingdom Hannover for example) under their own banner, with the northern parts becoming parts of Prussia itself. Some states remained independant, but where part of the Northern German Confederation and therefore followed Prussian lead. Lastly in 1870 war broke out between Prussia and its allies and France, ending with Prussia decisively defeating France and the formation of the German Empire.
I’m from Indiana and have spent the last few months in Germany. Did Phantasialand and mostly castles. Haven’t traveled the whole area just mainly Rhineland. Wish I would have found your reactions sooner
Another big reason why Germany’s economy is so big is because Germany has an insane amount of medium sized companies which produce for example machines for other companies and these make up for a lot of the economy (a lot more then the big factories) there aren’t a lot of countries with such a huge amount of middle sized companies as Germany
Beeing born in the GDR I can confirm that some east germans still want to go back. (not me) The reasoning is simply that a lot of things got taken care of by the state, life was cheap and no one was left without work. Well thats what they remember. What they forget is that they where spied on all day, the econemy was not stable and there was rampend alcoholism and other problems that they simply never talked about. But they somhow turn off the bad and only belive in the good things, wich is very unhealthy. There is by the way still a payment gap between east and west german workers with the same job and during the reunification a lot of east german companies taht could have survied got destroyed by western econemy. So that might be why people feel that way.
"Treuhand" was not the best solution, but the best we could manage. One of the top manager of the "Treuhand" lived close by. He got so many death and bomb threads that his house was surveyed 24/7, cameras everywhere and a security staff. It got so bad at times, a police car drove by every ten minutes.
Germans are local patriots. West and East Berlin are different and people that grew up in different parts differentiate themselves. But... Berlin in it's entirety is just a different thing.
Hi, citizen of the city whose skyline keeps showing up in the video here. That old "skyscraper" is indeed the Frankfurt cathedral but the funny part is, if they turned the camera 180 degrees, there's a skyscraper there that looks just as old and kinda has the outline of the tower of babel as shown in classic paintings.
9:04 Actually it was split into 4 zones: Great Britain in the northwest, France in the southwest (the smallest zone), the United States in the south and the Soviet Union in the east. Berlin was also split into 4 sectors, which meant that the British, French and US sector of Berlin were completely surrounded by the Soviet zone.
20:56 to give a visual example: People had to move Cash in WHEELBARROWS to bakerys and shops in order to buy bread and other goods. And the inflation was so bad, that the currency lost value hourly. Meaning the 30 min wheelbarrow trip with millions of cash could not be enough by the time you arrive at the store.
You´re actually not wrong there, Germany WAS demolished, at least the parts that count in a war. Which are coincidentally also the parts that count in an economy. That means that a lot of infrastructure and industry got destroyed, and when rebuilding, we profited from all innovations made up to that point. This is the reason why Central Europe has great Infrastructure, especiallly talking about Trains, not just the autobahn. And Britain, who didn´t get bombed much, they have a horrible Train Infrastructure to this day, never bothered renewing it.
Hyperinflation was hard. My dad has a 100 marks note from that time. they just stamped 1 billion with inc on it. people could not buy bread with the monthly pay like 3 months later.
The last hyper inflation I encountered was in 1990 in Yugoslavia when we paid for bread with a 100 Dinar note and got 9500 Dinar back since the 100 note was "relabeled" as 10000 Dinar note. The next day we bought something from the 9500 Dinar change and received even more Dinar. Afterwards, we startet to pay in German Mark, which was pretty much accepted.
The problem for germans at the time was that the money they had wasn't relabeled, it just lost all its worth. People got paid daily and had to spend all of that money immediately, because even a few hours later they wouldn't have got as many goods for it, because the value dropped again. It was also pretty common for people to revert back to exchanging goods, so for example, if you had chickens and wanted to buy bread you would 'pay' for the bread in eggs
About Marshal Plan... it was not that just Germany was given a huge amount of money to rebuild its infrastructure but all of West Europe's countrys got money. Great Britain and Italy even got more money than Germany. But there was a big difference. Nearly all countrys spent the money entirely, rebuild its infrastructure and... money was gone. Germany on the other hand decided to create a new bank (KfW) and give the money they got from Marshal Plan as loans for such infrastructure things and other things that are specified by law (with quite low interest rates compared to other bank loans) so the money came back and could be given as loans again and again.
I have to say: As a German, I normally don‘t feel proud of my Country. It‘s just not a thing we usually do. But this vid - it makes me feel a little bit proud of what we achieved. 😊 We should remember what we owe to America and it‘s allies. Maybe one day we can repay them for helping us when our country was destroyed.
Some people in the east definitely still fly the GDR flag but more like in sheds or cellars haha When my parents talk about thd GDR it's good memories most of the time e.g. how they miss the socialist ideals sometimes like helping each other out, having this feeling of working together to build up the nation and for everyone having a better life Especially agricultural work and physical work in general was considered important and was honored by the people and the state Like in a capitalist state you need to earn money thats why everyone's working and that's the ultimate ambition, generally speaking, and you get honored for earning the most amount of money Unlike in a socialist state like the GDR, here people got honored who contribute the most to society Workers felt more appreciated in general These type of stuff is also why some people still fly the GDR flag, because principles and memories like this But nobody denies the thing's that weren't going right in GDR It's more like watching back through rose-colored glasses
Many of the pictures shown in this video aren't actually from Germany 😅 I spotted China, France and Norway there... they do have cool buildings and landscapes (especially Norway!)
I was 8years old when the Berlin Wall came down, I actually remember it, also living in West Berlin. And yes, there Still are people in „eastern“ Germany who think things were a lot better back in the good old communist days…
My family story about the hyperinflation is my grandpa's dad used money to wallpaper his apartment BECAUSE IT WAS LITERLLAY CHEAPER THAN TO BUY WALLPAPER!!! 🤯 To this day this story blows my mind!!!
I guess you know it already, the tower with the ball is the 'Fernsehturm' (TV Tower) in Berlin, one of its landmarks. And yes, you can go up there. Inside the ball there is a restaurant which spins 360 degrees. And the tower is near to 'unbelievable courtyard' which is part of the Brandenburger Tor you can see on the left. Greetings from Berlin
Big tower with the ball on top: that's in Berlin. It's the television tower of former East Berlin. The big antenna on top is not for decoration and it's still in use. And yes, you can go up there! And there is a restaurant up there! The whole restaurant is also slowly spinning around so you get changing views.
With reunification day (3rd of October) coming up you should definitely watch a video about the last days of east Germany. I wasn't even born back then but it makes me cry every time 😅
I live right next to the former inner-german border, on the eastern side of it - beeing from the west originally. I moved here 8 years ago, and it is beautiful. The border zone was untouched for 50 years, so nature and wildlife really conserved itself beautifully here. We also call it "the green belt" because of that. I cross that ex-border everyday now. At our village it is just a small rural road and a little bridge when crossing. Signs of a former border have to be watched out for, otherwise you will not even notice it was there. But I remember when we went to see the east for the first time when I was 9 years old, just after the border fell. We went by car with my whole family just to catch a glimpse of how it was. I remember the east to be really grey back then, buildings were not painted, roads where bad and the smell of brown coal ovens was everywhere. Alongside the border there were those watchtowers, some of them still exist for memorial purpose. Other than that, visually there is no difference to be seen today, keeping aside regional differences like anywhere else. But yes, we do still have noticable differences in some aspects. Indeed salaries are still lower in the east, and overall wealth is a bit lower, which doesn't mean all regions in the west are wealthier than in the east. Some rural areas are almost dying out because of declining infrastructure, schools and medical care. Younger people move to the cities a lot. There are regions in the west suffering from the same thing as well, just not as widely. People in rural areas and smaller towns in the east often feel like they've been left behind and forgotten, and tend to have right-wing borderline fascist political opinions much more likely than in the west. And there are nostalgic people here especially in the near-border "zone", who wish the border never fell, but i feel like those are mainly former elites, who lost all of their privileges when the wall collapsed. Only regime-loyal and privileged had access to the "zone", so nobody would escape to the west (still many did, and many got shot in the attempt). There also is this term "Ostalgie" - a wordplay of "Ost" (east) and "Nostalgie" (nostalgia), which shows that there are good memories about those times as well. Some of those tipical GDR-products are still available, some now even got famous in the west. Overall it's more like the east has been westernized than the other way round, but both have influenced each other in many ways. Generally it has grown together nicely in my opinion, but it is still a process that is not finished, and maybe never will be. Nevertheless, what I think describes best how the level of german reunification really is, is this: Crossing the former border from west to east today will most likely not make you feel much different. But a north-german will definitely feel like he came to a different planet when travelling to the south. Differences are much bigger vertically than they are horizontally on the german map.
0:35 , 19:37 That's the Berliner Fernsehturm (TV tower). At 368 m high it's the tallest building in Germany. It was constructed in East Berlin and was a prestige project for the DDR. It has a viewing gallery at 203 m high, and a revolving restaurant just above.
Germany bounced back many times after horrendous devastation. The 30 years war, for example, destroyed a lot and they came back every time. It's the german stehauf Männchen oder Michel 😁
@Daniél Kerkmann that's just half the truth. Directly after ww2 not, they came later. It was many German women and children doing the clean-up. And the 30 years war surely no turks. And Germany is not that mixed. Birds of the same feather, flock together and that's good. God made many different people to have a diversity on earth, mixing up all, eliminates real diversity.
Hey, first, I am glad that you like Germany and yes, we always manage to come back stronger!! :) BUT,that does not mean that every citizen is rich, a lot of us struggling because ot energy crisis, high inflation and gas and grocery prices...
ski-resorts? Come to austria, it's nearby. yeah, Germany has some too, but only a little bit. And almost every german goes skiing in Austria too. Skiing in Switzerland, sure, thats beautyful too, if you are a millionare do it. ;)
Just to answer your question, the big spheric tower is the "Fernsehturm" in Berlin. And yes, there is a restaurant build in. You also can just visit it and go up to the viewing plattform. Not really cheap but the view is awsome!
Gaining world power is not a very practible thing so we decided to step off from it. Efficiency is relative and therefore should not be hold as a competition. I think this is just a subtle german mindset everyone here is practising without dropping any thought on it. Let alone it helps you to raise your subs on this channel, hehe
One difference between Germany and the other countries that got help from the US, is that other governments spend all of the given help on rebuilding infrastructures, historical buildings and so forth. Germany reasoned that they will not spend all the money as a government, but they created the Sparkassen which then gave cheap loans to entrepeneurs who had to pay these loans back. In addition these entrepeneurs paid taxes which the government then used to rebuild germany. As the entrepeneurs repaid the loans, the money thus became available for loans to additional entrepreneurs. The Sparkasse still exists today and I believe they are still not allowed to make a profit. Another advantage germany had was that most factories had been destroyed and of those that had not been destroyed, especially the British dismantled the machinary (which was at the technical forefront at those times) and shipped them to Britain. This actually helped the german industry who had to replace these machines with new ones and by doing so they actually build better machinary than those which had been dismantled by the 'occupiers'. The Soviet Union also stripped the factories in the East and relocated them to russia, but the East German population had no incentive to develop or build something up as everything belonged to the state and entrepreunism was not supported nor seen in a favourable light as this was contrary to the socialist/communist ideology.
It is true that many Germans work really hard they learned from their parents and grandparents the generation of our grandparents always had to work hard and they had not support from machines etc. every thing had to be done by hand during the WW2 the woman had a really hard time working in the house and in the country they had to do it alone because the man was in the war and also looking after the small children that was very hard but my grandmother always had the saying that anyone who can party can also work which means that they had fun and could party but the couldn`t sleep in and had to go back to work and this motto was passed on to many generations i love my grandma personally work in the care of the elderly which is often very difficult but i still love my job i could never live at the expense of the state my motto is if you want to work you can find work.🙂
Yes, the divide in economic power between East and West Germany can still be felt today. Although life in East Germany is not bad. You've got to know that the Soviet Union took a huge portion of all the industry (factories) that were in East Germany and practically dismantled them all and shipped them back to Russia. They practically bled East Germany as their own form of War reparation. This, of course, can still be felt today because you cannot recover from such a massive, swift "looting" in such a small amount of time. It's only recently, actually, that most Germans don't have to pay a fixed "solidarity tax" to support their economic weaker East German brothers and sisters anymore.
Don't know where this come from. The solidarity tax was paid by EVERY worker, doesn't matter if they were from east or west. But the believe that only west germans had to pay it is wide spreaden. At my vocational training the western colleagues in school didn't believe me, until I showed them my pay slip 🙄
East Germany with its only 18mio people was still ~12-17th strongest economy worldwide and 2nd strongest of the soviet satellites states (after soviet union) Like Poland had double the people but GDR had 2.5x the gdp...
I think this video doesn't tell the recent history of Germany properly, or rather it's the perspective of a beautiful American Hollywood tale. Yes, of course there was the Marshall Plan and this of course supported the reconstruction of Germany. Rather, it was the introduction of the new currency, the Deutsche Mark, that led to the economy picking up again. You just have to imagine that at that time everyone basically got worthless stamps, everything was rationed, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that diligence falls by the wayside and only the bare essentials are produced in the economy - or the black market and the direct Bartering flourished. However, the introduction of the DM (Deutsche Mark) meant that the shelves were suddenly full of goods and services overnight, which a country that had been completely drained of consumption sorely needed. People quickly found jobs and spent their money. Fast money circulation is the secret of a prosperous economy. However, the Marshall Plan was only responsible to a very limited extent. Of course, large companies have benefited from this, but the end of the sanctions is much more important, because the Allies, especially the USA, wanted to build the FRG (West Germany) into a frontline state against the Soviet Union. There were even US plans to attack the Soviet Union with more than 300 atomic bombs. For this purpose, former Nazi soldiers were provided as ground troops, who would then have acted together with French, British and American troops against the USSR. Incidentally, the so-called "rubble women" freed Germany's cities from the ruins. One has to imagine, after Hitler bombed London, the US and UK together turned Germany's cities into burning ruins. Cities like Dresden were almost wiped out in "firestorms" and it is not yet known how many people died as a result. Incidentally, these were not soldiers, but women, children and old people who perished by the tens of thousands in the hell of bombs and flames. These "rubble women" collected the bricks from the destroyed houses in wheelbarrows, cleaned them of mortar, and the houses were rebuilt with them by hand. The excavators from the USA, which were often shown on television, were in short supply and mostly only shown in propaganda films. Rather, it was the case that in Stuttgart, for example, the French were there first from the Americans. They approached the mayor and asked every citizen of Stuttgart to collect clothing as reparation payments. They dismantled the remaining factories and took everything to France. With the funds from the Marshall Plan, however, industry was able to buy new and better systems and in the years that followed the Germans were of course able to produce better than the French, which of course meant that Germany was able to outperform its competitor France economically. About the "Berlin Airlift": The story is only half true. Basically, that was the start of the Cold War between the Allies and the former Allied USSR. They simply did not agree on the division of the Berlin occupation zone and the Russians closed off Berlin. But instead of sitting down at a table, the USA has already practiced war against the USSR. You have to know that at that time great progress was being made in radio and radar technology and the USA took advantage of the moment to practice an air battle against the USSR and the use of nuclear weapons. The food for the Berliners was a good camouflage. Rather, however, military processes, an improvement in airborne detection and modern radio were practiced. In the end, it was agreed at the table on the division of Berlin and Berlin became the venue of the "War of the Spies" during the Cold War. Berlin was the center of espionage around the world. Everyone had their fingers in the pie. CIA, KGB, MI6, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and whatever they're called. West Germany naturally benefited from rearmament. The USA really invested a lot of money, I just remind you of the soldiers stationed permanently in Germany. All of NATO was stationed in Germany, and in the east was the largest tank army in the USSR. Not to mention the nuclear weapons. In the 1980s, the nuclear arms race reached its climax with the deployment of the Pershing II, and today we know we are only alive because of a Russian officer who averted World War III when he realized that the USA had not launched a nuclear attack but only the satellites were blinded by the sun. The East German spy "Topas" prevented a nuclear war a second time during the NATO exercise "Able Archer". The USSR believed NATO would attack as part of an exercise. At the end of the story he was almost blown and he was the best positioned spy East Germany had. He was in the German Chancellery with the Federal Chancellor. :-D For the Americans who aren't that well versed, it was as if the Russians had managed to station a spy right in the White House in the President's antechamber. :-D He later went to prison for several years for spying and also made some good RU-vid videos. They are highly recommended and clearly show how close everything was back then. His name is Rainer Rupp. But Germany understood very early on that it is a country with few natural resources. It is very important for Germany to obtain cheap raw materials from all over the world, to refine these into coveted products and services with well-trained specialists and to sell them at high prices. This fact and Germany's destiny to be located in the middle of Western Europe, with many neighbors, has ensured that Germany has always been the site of major wars for centuries. For example, the 30-year war cost the lives of almost half of all Germans. At that time, half of Europe fell upon one another in a religious war. All the nobles of Europe, all related to each other, were at odds as to whether Catholicism or Protestantism was the "true" religion. As a result, Germany became the venue of this long and costly war. We also know today that the First World War is a war of many fathers. Basically, the nobles have brought another war to Europe. They were all related to each other and instead of being able to agree at one table, they plunged the whole of Europe into misfortune. It wasn't the Germans who wanted this war. At that time, revolutionaries shot the crown prince of Austria-Hungary on the street and through obligations to provide assistance and revanschism, people "sleepwalked" into this war - with millions of dead people and a completely shattered economy as a consequence. It is often said today that the First and Second World Wars were also 30-year wars. Basically, the victorious powers completely smashed Germany through the reparations. The most important industrial centers were occupied, the military could only have 100,000 men, seafaring was restricted and much more.3 This "unfair" peace made possible the rise of Hitler and the Second World War - because again the Aldigians and the elites could not agree on a just peace around the table. Germany's luck was communism in the East and the new nuclear weapons. Because this ensured that Germany was not turned into a neutral agricultural state set back in the Middle Ages, as the British wanted, but into an armed front-line state. The mutual assurance of total nuclear destruction and corresponding peace during the Cold War enabled Germany to grow again and become a fair democracy. Today we see the shift of the "frontline state" to the east. The Poles now want to become the FRG of the 1960s to 1980s. It's about a lot of money, because the US only ever strengthens the frontline state. Because it will be completely wiped out in the event of a war and will cease to exist. Let's compare US grants to France and Germany over this period. Today we see that the German economy is weakening, that of Poland is growing. The Poles have ordered about 1,000 new tanks and as many artillery systems as well as several thousand infantry armored vehicles - with money that they were able to save because the EU has subsidized Poland with hundreds of billions of euros over the past twenty years and built it up as a new frontline state against Russia has. :-D And as we see, there is nothing new in the world. Everything has been there before. Best regards PS: As we can see, this is just about geopolitics, about geopolitical influence of super and hegemonic powers. We individuals, our states, our culture, our beliefs, none of this means anything at all - at least nothing compared to the interests of those who have a lot of money and therefore also power and political influence.
A German here. My Family was split West/East, even after our east Fam got luck through Buildingwork and didnt crabed on the Bottem, the Diff was great and they wouldnt ever go back.
20:54 To put that into perspective: The devaluation of the Reichsmark progressed so fast that the central bank couldn't keep up with printing larger bills. There are pictures of people going to the bakery with a barrow full of cash money to get a single loaf of bread. That's how extreme the hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic was.
Yes the parents of my grandfather got paid every day after work. They split up the money and one ran to by as much food as they could, the other ran to buy china ware (one plate, one cup, etc.) in the hope to preserve some of the value.
Beside the cathedral St. Bartholomäus on the right in the city panorama of Frankfurt at 9:25 shows church St. Leonhard from 1219 situated left of the highest skyscraper by British architect Lord Norman Foster built 778 years after St. Leonhard (1997). Oldest church in Frankfurt is Justinus church built 830. 389 years before St. Leonhard and 1,167 years before Foster's skyscraper.
14:15 Hey Ryan, as a citizen of east germany I want to try to answer your questions. I´m 29 years old, so I never expierenced the DDR (eat german state) by myself, but I can tell you that the majorty of people from the older generations feels betrayed about the re-union of Germany. The reasons for that are very multi-layered, but I personally think there are two main reasons. First is the destruction of a lot of workplace during the re-union process. After the western gouverment take control over east germany, they try to privatize the economy. Therefore they found an organization with the task to find buyers for eastern businesses. Due to the time pressure from the goverment this organizations sold the company under ther value and most of the buyers where never intrested in running a business there. So they buy it, close it and sell everthing of value or just take some technology patents. For example there was a coal-fired power plant called "Schwarze Pumpe" ("black pump"), which was an an high invention of german engineering, because it was able to make energy out of coal with such a bad quality, that you couldn't burn it in common coal power plants of that time. After reunion, wester politicans sold this technology to Siemens for 1$ and still today Siemens build coal power plants (espacially in China) based on this technology for hundreds of millions of dollers. Also Unimployment rates of 20-50% (depending on location) were common in east germany in the 90's. I also highly recommend you to watch "A perfect crime" directed by Gebrueder Beetz on Netflix for better understanding. Second reason is that the story of reunion in our history books is not as true as it should, which is why many citizens of DDR feel completey misunderstood. Most people who demonstarted before the wall breaks down, never ever demonstrated for a reunion, but just for reforms within the DDR. Also the statement, that the DDR was bankrupt was not noticed/exprinced by the citizens itself, so a lot of them don't belive the story since today. Back in School our history teacher told us to not read a lot of pages in our history books because they were complete bullshit in his point of view. This had lead to a lot of misunderstandings between east and west that causes hate against each other even today. Now in 2022 the minds of most people (including generations after reunion) are still devided in east and west germany and there are obviously noticeable difference in terms of income, infrastructure and political opinions. Also even nowadays there are people who demonstrate with the flag of DDR in their hand, who wish to rebuild the wall and who want to burn down todays goverment. Luckily these people are an absolute minority.
About the hyper inflation: My father told me that the workers got paid daily at this point. And when his father came home with the money, his mother went to spend the money right away. Because it would be worth less the next day already.
the best part about this clip was roughly around 20:45 . My favorite story from this time period from old family members "Burning money as an heating source because it was more efficiant"
Please investigate about the topic ... As far as I know, the funds from the Marshall Plan have been given to all west european states, but only Germany turned it into a clever solution for rebuilding the country.
