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35 years of unity: NDR special broadcast with moving memories!
On October 1, 2025, Jessy Wellmer will moderate a talk on NDR about personal stories about German unity.
35 years of unity: NDR special broadcast with moving memories!
A special event is imminent: On October 1, 2025, NDR will be inviting you to a special program entitled “Separated United – 35 Years Later”. It is led by the well-known presenter Jessy Wellmer, who comes from Güstrow, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and works for ARD-tagesthemen. The show starts at 10:00 p.m., while the live stream will be available in the ARD media library from 8:30 p.m.
This broadcast coincides with a remarkable period of time: 35 years after German reunification. The focus is on the personal stories and opinions of people from northern Germany who share their experiences surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent years of unity. The goal? An exchange of different perspectives at eye level.
Diverse voices
Around 75 guests from East and West Germany have already been invited to take part in the show and contribute their individual experiences. Among them is the podcaster Laura Larsson, who is strongly influenced by her parents' GDR past. Historian Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk, who sees reunification as a success story, will also be heard. The entrepreneur Robert Dahl emphasizes solidarity through tackling things together, while the journalist Theresia Crone describes social inequalities as the causes of a fragile unity.
Martin Neuhaus, an actor, sees the unity as incomplete. Dr. Adriana Lettrari-Pietzcker from the 3rd Generation network is of the opinion that people's ability to adapt is a decisive driving force for the future. Further information and videos will be available from September 29, 2025 at ndr.de/meineunit.
A look back
The fall of the Berlin Wall, which occurred on November 9, 1989 and marked the end of the division of Germany, remains a defining event in German history. In the years following World War II, Germany was divided into the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). The Berlin Wall ultimately became a symbol of this division, which separated many people from one another for years. Until the 1980s, traveling between the two countries was often associated with many hurdles. Citizens in the GDR grew dissatisfied with living conditions, which ultimately led to a wave of refugees and protests.
The “Monday demonstrations” played an essential role, in which tens of thousands of people raised their voices for freedom and unity. On October 9, 1989, around 70,000 demonstrators in Leipzig with the slogan “We are the people!” a rethink. The following day, November 9, 1989, would finally go down in history when the then spokesman for the SED, Günter Schabowski, announced permission for free travel. This event led to an emotional storm at Berlin's border crossings, where people were finally coming together again.
After the wall fell, discussions began about the future of the two German states. German unification was finally completed on October 3, 1990 and this day has been a public holiday ever since as “German Unity Day”. A sensational step that also had an impact on the entire political landscape of Europe, as it heralded the end of the Cold War.
The NDR talk on October 1st will provide a platform for the countless stories and memories that shaped this time. Viewers are invited to embark on an emotional journey that not only illuminates the past, but also looks into the future and shows how important exchange and understanding between different generations is.