Life with the Enemy
Season 1
1945 to 1949 proved to be a decisive period for both Germany and the occupying forces - this is the story of the years between the end of WWII and the founding of the two German states. It was a period of reciprocal impressions and experience for both occupiers and occupied, and a period that still fundamentally shapes personal fates, families, the economy, the arts and geopolitics. Combining carefully selected eyewitness accounts from occupiers and occupied alike, Living with the Enemy creates a new, exciting and differentiated view of the time and shows that these years not only helped shape present-day Germany, but also had a profound effect on the rest of the world. This period was the beginning of the Cold War. It would influence global politics for decades to come. A new generation of historians with new findings, archives only now accessible, and the willingness of those involved to engage in an open dialogue make a new and remarkable in-depth view of these historical events. A Co-Production by ARD, MDR, WDR and LOOKS Film & TV in association with HISTOIRE 2008
Where to Watch Life with the Enemy • Season 1
4 Episodes
- A Summer in RuinsE1
A Summer in RuinsGermany experienced a summer in ruins. People are homeless, hungry. But the S-Bahn in Berlin is going to work again soon - many go to the Wannsee, for bathing. Meanwhile, the winners of the second World War II are setting the course for the future Germany in Potsdam. Everyone is wondering what will it be? - Culprits and VictimsE3
Culprits and VictimsAfter the war, the symbols of Nazi power were destroyed, leading Nazis were tried and imprisoned or executed. The arduous and time-consuming process of de-nazification (filling out detailed questionnaires to establish one's innocence or guilt) affected the whole adult population. After some time, the Military Government handed this process over to the Germans themselves. The occupiers realised that it was time to create a new Germany by focusing on the children and young people, re-educating them and showing them that there was another way. - A New BeginningE4
A New BeginningThree years after the end of the World War II, Germany still lay in ruins but there were signs of a new beginning. POWs were coming home from years in camps, and learning to adjust to new lives. On the political level, however, there was little or no harmony. In 1948 the three Western zones introduced a new common currency and the Soviet Union responded with a blockade of Berlin.