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The Rohwedder murder
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really was the perfect crime.
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00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:28,720
The way it was executed…
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00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:30,600
And now,
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00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,160
thirty years later,
it all remains unsolved.
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One must, of course, be careful
not to lapse into admiration.
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This was planned with murderous
and cold-blooded precision.
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Some details just don't fit
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00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:05,080
the cold professionalism
with which this was planned:
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00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,640
location, timing, escape routes.
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00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:12,120
But then the amateurism
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of leaving behind casings,
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leaving cigarette butts,
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leaving a towel.
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A hair was found on the towel, but they
didn't know whose it was at the time.
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From this, one might well conclude
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00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:30,840
that this was
meant to be a red herring.
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This may have been
a very well-planned murder
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with great forensic support.
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As the saying goes: "After the crime,
the cleaners come."
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It's almost as if they brought in
a ballistics expert and a coroner
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to clean everything up
at the crime scene.
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Of course, that's how
it seems if you find nothing.
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Either it was a professional
criminal or criminals,
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or it a was broad, large-scale operation.
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GERMANY
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A NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY SERIES
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The German Reich.
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00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:36,200
No one intends to build a wall!
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Unity and justice and freedom...
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...insane attacks by barbaric terrorists.
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Fatherland
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Risen from ruins
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Tear down this wall.
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00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:01,040
Our fatherland, reunited.
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00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:09,280
Flourish, German fatherland
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00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:17,200
VICTIM
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00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:23,760
Detlev Karsten Rohwedder
is a man who has huge plans
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as the head of the powerful
and controversial Treuhand.
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To get to know him better,
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we've decided to play
our "fill in the blank" game.
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The first half of the sentence is:
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00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:37,360
Those who want
to save jobs at any price are…
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00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:41,680
...more likely to destroy them
than to create new ones.
45
00:04:42,280 --> 00:04:44,600
In business, cruelty…
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...is essential.
47
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But it should be buffered a bit
so it doesn't hurt too much.
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00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:55,360
For me, Helmut Kohl's pace
towards German Unity is…
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00:04:56,880 --> 00:04:58,800
…astonishing, but correct.
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00:04:59,280 --> 00:05:02,080
OCTOBER 3, 1990
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"A dream has become a reality,"
says the Chancellor of now all Germans.
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At midnight, German Unity
has become a reality.
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Hundreds of thousands
celebrate the reunification in Berlin.
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6 MONTHS
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UNTIL THE MURDER
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I met Rohwedder on the eve
of reunification at the Reichstag.
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I talked to him
about his view of the future.
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He said, "It's certainly difficult,
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but you know, Mr. Ludewig,
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I've visited the companies,
I've talked to the people there.
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I'm convinced they have
enough substance to make it work.
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We'll get this done. Goodbye."
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And then he disappeared into the crowd.
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That was about an hour, half an hour
before midnight, I remember it clearly.
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Young athletes from both parts
of the formerly divided Berlin
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hoist the federal German flag
in front of the Reichstag.
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The bell of freedom rings
in a new era of German history.
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There wasn't a single mood
across all of the GDR.
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Some people said,
"We want the reunification."
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00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:49,920
And others said, "We didn't
build this country for 40 years
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for it to go down the drain
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and for others to take it from us."
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…for the German fatherland
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00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:01,320
What alarmed me
75
00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:04,600
was this great belief in Helmut Kohl,
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00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:08,400
in his promises of prosperous
landscapes and unity.
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I thought, "Are you crazy?
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Now it's your chance
to walk a different path."
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00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:17,720
Until then we had hoped
to embark on a "third path"
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00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:23,680
between GDR-type socialism
and West German capitalism.
81
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But at that time, it was a country
euphoric about capitalism.
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00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:35,080
Unity and justice and freedom
For the German fatherland
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00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:39,120
Dear fellow citizens,
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00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:42,960
a few hour ago, a dream became reality.
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00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:46,600
After more than
forty bitter years of division,
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Germany, our fatherland, is reunited.
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00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:54,640
As a result of our
social market economic policy,
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in a few years, the former
East German states of Brandenburg,
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Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,
90
00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:03,560
Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt,
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00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:06,400
and Thuringia will become
flourishing landscapes.
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00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:14,200
On October 3,
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there was the big "Germany, shut up"
demonstration against reunification
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with 20 to 30 thousand participants.
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00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:28,760
There were a lot of West Berlin police,
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who for the first time
let loose in East Berlin.
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00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:21,320
Practically the worst-case
scenario for me was reunification.
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00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:26,480
I liked the reforms. The fall
of the Berlin Wall wasn't necessary.
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00:09:26,560 --> 00:09:29,160
But, in the end,
I thought it was a good thing, too.
100
00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:33,680
What really shocked me
was the reunification.
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00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:39,680
Suddenly, a country was thrust upon us
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that was not who we were
and did not want to be.
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I never wanted to be a citizen
of West Germany. For the love of God!
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I didn't like their society.
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I still don't.
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00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:55,000
I don't like the way
a lot of things were handled:
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ownership, real estate,
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00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:02,200
how their laws were imposed on us,
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which we didn't want.
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FOR SALE
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The department store is overcrowded.
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Please understand that admission
can only be granted in groups.
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Don't push, please.
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See how orderly the people
up front are standing in line.
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Did things change for you?
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Yes, the future has become more uncertain.
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At work.
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Everything happened too fast.
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I don't really know
what you want to hear.
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You know exactly the problems
we are facing here, don't you?
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Can I ask what has changed for you?
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The Treuhand continues
to destroy the companies,
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00:10:57,760 --> 00:10:59,480
people are unemployed.
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Everything is sold off,
and we're supposed to rejoice? Really?
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00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:12,040
Don't forget...
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00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:19,760
the reports said the GDR
would be bankrupt by 1991 at the latest.
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00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:23,440
There was no market for the GDR's
automobile production anymore.
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00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:27,680
For the huge ships
built in Stralsund and elsewhere,
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there was no longer a market.
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00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:33,080
There was no point
in continuing a business
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if it couldn't sell its products.
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00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:38,120
There had to be a market,
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00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:39,920
like we had in the West.
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00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:45,440
This contrast between East and West…
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00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:48,760
You could really sense it
when the politicians from Bonn visited.
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00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:53,800
It was like a visit
from the Starship Enterprise.
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It was like a strange force arriving.
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00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:59,960
You could tell they were uncomfortable.
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00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:01,320
They didn't know…
140
00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:04,080
It's like they got a rash
when they came to East Germany.
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00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:08,440
The peaceful atmosphere
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00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:11,040
in the West, in the ministry,
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00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:16,320
the flowing fountains,
the polished floors, the silence…
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00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,360
That was another country,
a different planetary system.
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00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:23,160
In the morning, when you arrived
at the Berlin Treuhand office
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00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:26,240
workers were already waiting
with rods to bang on your car.
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00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:31,560
And we stand here
in front of this building.
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00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:33,120
FIGHT WITH US
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00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:47,160
People seem to think
we are this dark, gloomy, powerful castle
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00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:49,080
here at the Berlin Alexanderplatz.
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00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:52,280
And I'm very sorry about this.
It's a big misunderstanding.
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00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:58,400
I have to work ridiculously hard.
It's a dog's life, really.
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I get to the office in the morning
when it's still dark out.
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I leave at night when it's dark again,
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00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:07,760
go back to my hotel,
do some more work,
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00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:11,280
catch the last minutes of TV
and then go to bed.
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00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:22,760
5 WEEKS
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00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,480
UNTIL THE MURDER
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00:13:28,680 --> 00:13:32,600
But Mr. Rohwedder, most observers
didn't expect things to be so dramatic.
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00:13:32,680 --> 00:13:35,800
Unemployment is skyrocketing:
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00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:38,680
700,000 civil service jobs,
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00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:39,960
400,000 in agriculture,
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00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:42,560
550,000 in the metal
and electrics industries.
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00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:43,600
I could go on.
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00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:46,120
If there is no improvement
on the horizon soon,
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00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:51,560
aren't you afraid there might be another
revolution in the former East Germany?
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00:13:51,640 --> 00:13:56,280
Well, first of all, this is
just the beginning of the tunnel.
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00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:59,880
Now we must drive
down this tunnel a ways
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without getting scared,
and then the light will appear.
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00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:06,520
I was worried
about the increasing pressure,
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00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:08,920
but not about his composure.
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00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,400
It was good, and he was very tough.
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00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:15,440
He could take a hit,
and he could hit back.
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00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:20,160
Politicians could hide perfectly
behind the Treuhand.
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00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:23,280
And, of course, he was an ideal scapegoat.
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00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:28,880
At the time, the papers, the TV coverage,
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00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:31,000
everyone was on a rampage.
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00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:32,440
MOUNTING PRESSURE AGAINST THE TREUHAND
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00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:35,600
The public pressure,
including the media, was enormous.
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00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:36,880
HARSH CRITICISTM OF THE TREUHAND
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00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:39,000
SPIRAL INTO BANKRUPTCY
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00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:43,320
The mood was combative.
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00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:45,960
There had to be
consequences eventually.
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00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:51,440
Where is your personal pain threshold?
At what point would you say,
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"I will no longer play a part in this?"
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00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:55,880
I'm completely irresponsive to pain.
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00:14:57,080 --> 00:14:59,200
I'm confronted with many incredible,
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00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:02,760
unreasonable demands to a degree
that none of you could tolerate.
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00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:05,360
Actually, you could say
everything here is unreasonable.
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00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:08,800
Everything is disorganized and…
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00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:11,720
dangerous and dramatic.
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00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:19,720
Right before Christmas 1990,
Rohwedder came to me
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00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:23,760
at the Ministry of Finance.
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00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:29,880
He told me he wanted to quit.
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00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:34,080
I begged him to stay.
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00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:37,560
Helmut Kohl begged him to stay, too,
197
00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:40,360
and he told him, "We need you."
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00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:43,040
I tried…
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00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:46,280
to convince him to stay.
200
00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:48,960
I still think of our talk back then.
201
00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:51,400
It's a vivid memory.
202
00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:54,320
I told Rohwedder's children,
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00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:59,040
"Had I not entreatied your father to stay,
204
00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:01,960
he might still be alive today."
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00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:05,280
I have to live with this thought, but…
206
00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:08,280
it was still the right thing to do
207
00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:11,760
to ask him, the best man
for this job, to continue
208
00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:15,320
in the interest
of the great cause, for Germany.
209
00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:20,480
I guess all I can say is,
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00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:24,680
it's crucial to let people know
211
00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:28,240
that the phase we're going through now…
212
00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:30,480
-Mr. Rohwedder.
-will come to an end.
213
00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:34,800
If we have 40% or even 50%
unemployment, Mr. Rohwedder...
214
00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:37,360
We've never had such numbers in Germany,
215
00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:41,440
not even during the Great Depression
or right before Hitler seized power.
216
00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:43,000
I worry
217
00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:46,800
that the pressure on you
and the Treuhand will grow intense.
218
00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:49,720
6 DAYS
219
00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:50,840
UNTIL THE MURDER
220
00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:52,760
The traditional Monday protests
221
00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:57,200
have again begun to dominate
the political landscape in East Germany.
222
00:16:57,280 --> 00:16:59,560
Tens of thousands gathered again today
223
00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:03,600
to call attention to the poor
economic situation in East Germany.
224
00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:08,600
Apparently 100,000 people joined.
225
00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:11,840
A large police presence
from Bavaria and Hesse
226
00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:15,040
has blocked access
to government buildings.
227
00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:20,160
From March 1991, I joined regularly.
228
00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:23,960
I took the evenings off
and joined the Monday protests, and…
229
00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:26,080
there was a lot of anger.
230
00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:30,080
There was a lot of anger
from people who were, so to speak,
231
00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:32,280
the first to be
thrown out onto the street.
232
00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:40,600
We say no to the Treuhand policy
233
00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:43,800
which makes a mockery
of the "trust" in its name.
234
00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:47,680
We say no to a policy
235
00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:52,400
that sells off companies
without caring about the people.
236
00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:01,960
Something was growing.
237
00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:08,040
In March, 1991, a new civil movement,
238
00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:12,400
maybe even a workers' movement,
was growing in the streets.
239
00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:16,320
Shouts from Leipzig could be heard
loud and clear again today.
240
00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:20,120
Many banners demanded
the resignation of Chancellor Kohl
241
00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:21,480
and called for re-elections.
242
00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:23,920
We are the people,
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00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:29,560
and we demand re-elections!
244
00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:34,440
The Monday protests
are coming back to life.
245
00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:38,560
Dangerous social dynamite
has accumulated, that is obvious.
246
00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:42,960
Many former GDR citizens
are losing their jobs and their hope.
247
00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:49,440
Re-elections!
248
00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:53,920
Chancellor Kohl
called re-election rumors absurd.
249
00:18:55,360 --> 00:18:59,000
Tonight, they flocked to the streets again
despite the freezing cold.
250
00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:02,120
They want to continue, every Monday,
251
00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:04,960
until their demands are met.
252
00:19:06,360 --> 00:19:09,800
Things continued to escalate,
and it frightened certain people.
253
00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:12,640
I think it made the leaders
254
00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:15,320
and the Kohl government extremely nervous.
255
00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:18,600
Of course the Treuhand
was also a lightning rod.
256
00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:23,720
If all that anger had exploded in Bonn,
I'm not sure Bonn would still exist today.
257
00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:28,560
We have no experience
with reuniting Germany.
258
00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:31,280
I hope that never again
will a German government
259
00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:34,200
have to prove experience in this field.
260
00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:36,480
Naturally, we must
constantly make decisions.
261
00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:38,240
And we make mistakes, myself included.
262
00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:43,920
Every day, tens of thousands
of unemployed protesters
263
00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:47,120
flood the streets of the former GDR,
and it's still growing.
264
00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:49,960
Are we not approaching
an even more difficult situation?
265
00:19:55,960 --> 00:20:01,680
NIGHT OF THE MURDER
266
00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,240
Whoever the killers were,
267
00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:22,480
I think there could be
a larger connection.
268
00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:29,240
As a politically-minded criminal
investigator, I always ask myself:
269
00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:33,560
Who benefited or benefits from this?
270
00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:59,200
Several scenarios are plausible,
271
00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:01,400
including ones of a political nature.
272
00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:07,640
For example, this hypothesis
of a third RAF generation
273
00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:10,360
never really convinced me.
274
00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:13,520
I mean, it might be true,
but not necessarily.
275
00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:18,040
Other perpetrators could have done it,
276
00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:20,800
but I would probably rule out the RAF.
277
00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:24,720
I never doubted it was the RAF.
278
00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:28,200
It was clear to me
279
00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:32,680
that they had the political motive
and that they committed this murder.
280
00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:34,760
I never had any doubt.
281
00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:40,760
Nothing has changed in my assessment
or my impression of the attack.
282
00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:46,960
I'm convinced it was done
by former Stasi members
283
00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:51,120
and that this was a revenge killing.
284
00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:57,040
It could well have been
connected with the Stasi,
285
00:21:57,120 --> 00:22:01,080
to provoke the East German
working class to rise up against the West.
286
00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:05,720
Finally, a third scenario
I have considered would be
287
00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:09,960
that the West orchestrated
the murder by hiring contract killers.
288
00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:20,160
I mean, files don't disappear
repeatedly without a reason.
289
00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:25,920
State interests, secrecy,
protection of informants
290
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,600
are reasons often used as excuses
291
00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:31,840
in order to obstruct
the public's ability to investigate.
292
00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:35,040
Of course, this makes you suspicious,
293
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:37,080
this fact alone.
294
00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:43,200
I assert
295
00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:48,880
the Federal Criminal Police Office
and the Federal Prosecutor General
296
00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:50,600
are much closer...
297
00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:55,960
to solving the Rohwedder crime
than we have all been led to believe.
298
00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:02,360
I myself made several inquiries.
299
00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:10,480
I got the most diaphanous excuses.
"We're considering all possibilities."
300
00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:15,760
When someone talks like that,
they're hiding something.
301
00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:20,280
They have a solution
but don't want to disclose it,
302
00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:23,160
because the solution
might reveal something
303
00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:25,880
that would shake
this republic to its very core.
304
00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:31,960
Now there's a lead.
305
00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:35,040
At the time, investigators
found hair at the crime scene.
306
00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:37,800
Using new technology,
they have now found
307
00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:41,600
that one hair belongs
to alleged terrorist Wolfgang Grams.
308
00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:54,560
Back when the Rohwedder murder occurred,
309
00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:57,320
we couldn't use hair that was shed.
310
00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:01,040
Back then, DNA analysis
could only be done on hair
311
00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:06,640
that had been pulled out
with the roots and cell material attached.
312
00:24:07,360 --> 00:24:11,360
Running tests on "telogen hair,"
shed hair without roots,
313
00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:13,720
became possible much later.
314
00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:15,720
We then used this
315
00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,400
and were able to confirm
that it was Grams's hair.
316
00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:23,680
It could be Grams's real hair.
317
00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:27,920
But was it shed there naturally
318
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:30,480
or did it get there some other way?
319
00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:32,760
These questions have never been answered.
320
00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:37,000
If we accept that Grams's DNA
321
00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:40,560
was found at the crime scene,
322
00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:47,480
then it's clear Grams was involved
in the Rohwedder murder.
323
00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:52,840
However, how exactly and at what time
did he leave his DNA behind
324
00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:55,120
remains unanswered so far.
325
00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:59,240
But he was a leading figure back then.
326
00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:07,200
From 1990 until 1992,
I was Head of the State Security Unit,
327
00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:10,840
responsible for the former GDR territory.
328
00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:15,400
In spring 1991,
329
00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:19,960
I could have arrested Grams
and his associate.
330
00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:24,360
Back then, our office,
331
00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:28,280
the Counter-Terrorism Unit,
332
00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:31,680
had received intel from Thuringia
333
00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:35,880
that these two individuals
were hiding there.
334
00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:42,520
I sent one of my officers
to Thuringia to investigate,
335
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:46,880
and, depending on
the circumstances, to arrest them.
336
00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:52,760
He was sent away under some pretext.
337
00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:57,920
I then made a call
to the Federal Criminal Police Office,
338
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:02,640
at which point they told me
they'd deal with this matter alone.
339
00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:05,960
We were not to intervene.
340
00:26:09,360 --> 00:26:11,160
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
341
00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:14,960
In a shooting involving
two high-ranking RAF members
342
00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:18,480
this afternoon in the town of Bad Kleinen,
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,
343
00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:21,200
the alleged terrorist
Wolfgang Grams was shot.
344
00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:24,200
We had intelligence
345
00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:27,600
from the Office for the Protection
of the Constitution Rhineland-Palatinate,
346
00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:33,560
indicating they had succeeded
347
00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:38,920
in infiltrating the command of the RAF.
348
00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:43,920
I immediately set up a special task force
349
00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,360
and instructed our operation team
350
00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:50,000
to close off the area
around the Bad Kleinen train station.
351
00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:57,440
Bad Kleinen was a glorious moment
352
00:26:57,520 --> 00:26:59,320
for the intelligence services.
353
00:26:59,960 --> 00:27:04,080
For the first time in 20 years,
354
00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:07,760
they had succeeded
in placing a human source
355
00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:11,960
into a terrorist organization.
356
00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:17,480
We were on the phone in my office
in the Federal Criminal Police Office,
357
00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:19,600
together with my deputy
358
00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:22,080
and the Federal Prosecutor General.
359
00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:26,200
Everyone could hear it
over the speaker phone.
360
00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:28,360
I get the message "Mission completed.
361
00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:30,320
We have injured persons.
362
00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:31,920
The target…
363
00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:37,480
The target opened fire."
364
00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:40,880
A member of the special
Border Protection Unit 9
365
00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:42,480
also suffered fatal injuries.
366
00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:45,200
Then we learned one of our men had died
367
00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:47,960
and that Grams was being removed.
368
00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:49,480
He had died, too.
369
00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:54,640
So, at approximately 8:00 p.m. that night,
it was clear to me
370
00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:56,800
that the mission had failed.
371
00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:03,920
The circumstances of the death
of the alleged RAF terrorist Grams
372
00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:05,480
on Sunday remain unclear.
373
00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:11,000
After the events in Bad Kleinen,
I had this feeling...
374
00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:16,400
the entire affair seemed strange to me.
375
00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:19,840
I thought they knew the location
of Grams and his associates,
376
00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:23,200
but were willing to accept
377
00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:26,360
one or two people dying that day.
378
00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:33,760
The circumstances of the operation
at Bad Kleinen station
379
00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:35,800
are even more confused today.
380
00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:40,080
At the site of the operation,
not all the evidence has been secured.
381
00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:43,520
It's still unclear
how many shots were fired.
382
00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:45,400
We had a scandal on our hands.
383
00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:51,920
The next Sunday, Der Spiegel
published a story about "the fatal shot."
384
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:57,680
I knew it had turned into
a public relations disaster.
385
00:28:57,760 --> 00:28:59,400
They were out for blood.
386
00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:02,120
That Sunday, I visited
the Minister of the Interior,
387
00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:04,400
and he resigned.
388
00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:09,160
Then I started to have doubts myself
about what had happened that day.
389
00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:10,520
I doubted it myself.
390
00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:13,800
Mr. Seiters took responsibility
for the mistakes
391
00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:16,160
and surprisingly resigned from office.
392
00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:19,400
Federal Prosecutor General von Stahl
will be dismissed.
393
00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:22,960
After the series of mishaps
in the Grams case…
394
00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:27,840
I cannot recall any other case
395
00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:32,760
that caused eight or ten politicians
and high-level officials
396
00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:36,160
to be forced into retirement
397
00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:40,280
as a direct result of a police operation.
398
00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:46,400
This was an admission of complete failure
by the entire security establishment.
399
00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:49,640
Ten days after the Bad Kleinen operation,
400
00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:51,960
it remains unclear who used which weapon
401
00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:55,560
to shoot alleged RAF terrorist
Wolfgang Grams.
402
00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:59,560
After the autopsy
of alleged RAF terrorist Wolfgang Grams
403
00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:03,880
Der Spiegel reports that several missteps
have hindered attempts
404
00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:06,760
to clarify the circumstances of the death.
405
00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:09,360
Grams' body was allegedly
thoroughly washed,
406
00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:11,800
which removed blood residue.
407
00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:16,120
The investigators in Schwerin
are still missing important evidence
408
00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:18,680
needed to determine the cause of death.
409
00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:23,000
The entire investigation
was an instance of Murphy's Law.
410
00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:25,800
Just one example...
411
00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:30,440
Some of the evidence was sent
to the Zurich police in Switzerland
412
00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:33,120
to show that we wanted
an objective investigation.
413
00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:36,680
We let the Swiss analyze
Grams's jacket for gunshot residue.
414
00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:41,320
The result was that Grams's jacket
disappeared from the Zurich institute,
415
00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:42,840
never to be found again.
416
00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:47,800
Thus, for some people
417
00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:52,000
who are skeptical
towards the police and the judiciary,
418
00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:56,200
it must have seemed
like something was being covered up,
419
00:30:56,280 --> 00:30:59,440
something just wasn't right.
420
00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:07,040
This mental programming,
to commit suicide in a hopeless situation,
421
00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:14,280
was widespread among political figures.
422
00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:18,120
Why couldn't he have killed himself
423
00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:19,880
by using the weapon?
424
00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:24,120
This could well have been a cover-up.
425
00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:29,360
Because, to this day,
the security authorities have been unable
426
00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:31,280
to answer any of the open questions
427
00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:34,400
or solve any of the unsolved murders,
428
00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:38,240
and also don't appear to be
overly interested in solving them anymore.
429
00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:44,800
So when I look
at the Rohwedder case, I'm not too far
430
00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:47,520
from calling the Grams murder
431
00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:51,440
a cover-up.
432
00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:54,720
The scary thing about this situation
433
00:31:54,800 --> 00:32:01,120
is that a lack of transparent
or accurate information
434
00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:02,960
created the impression
435
00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:05,640
among the public
436
00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:08,640
that there is a conspiracy in the state.
437
00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:13,480
I'm almost certain the Office
for the Protection of the Constitution
438
00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:16,160
withheld information from us.
439
00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:18,800
I'm worried
440
00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:22,840
that the security institutions
441
00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:26,120
have developed a life of their own,
442
00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:29,640
which could become
a danger to our democracy,
443
00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:30,960
ladies and gentlemen.
444
00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:45,440
AMBULANCE
445
00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:57,720
When Rohwedder was shot,
I really struggled with myself.
446
00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:00,040
I thought…
447
00:33:01,520 --> 00:33:05,600
"Jump on any plane, just leave Germany,
because there is going to be a civil war.
448
00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:08,520
They'll start fighting
and shoot each other's leaders."
449
00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:11,400
It wasn't clear,
if this was just the beginning.
450
00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:13,520
No one knew what might happen next.
451
00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:21,040
7 DAYS
452
00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:24,720
AFTER THE MURDER
453
00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:27,120
"Dear friends,
454
00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:32,800
there have been contradictory
statements in the media
455
00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:35,720
regarding our protest today.
456
00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:40,400
In fact, we did deliberate
457
00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:43,800
whether to hold this Monday protest."
458
00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:50,400
The politicians exerted
severe pressure against this protest.
459
00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:51,320
LEIPZIG OPERA
460
00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:56,520
Someone officially declared, perhaps
the Interior Minister or Chancellor Kohl
461
00:33:56,600 --> 00:33:58,800
"It's indecent to continue your protests."
462
00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:03,760
WHY DO YOU USE THE POISON OF ENVY
TO DEEPEN THE DIVISION OF GERMANY?
463
00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:10,160
END THIS CYNICAL GAME
WITH THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE
464
00:34:10,240 --> 00:34:12,480
Then they had a minute of silence.
465
00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:19,280
"We sympathize
with the family of the victim
466
00:34:20,240 --> 00:34:23,600
and remember
Detlev Karsten Rohwedder in silence."
467
00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:27,200
A minute of silence!
468
00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:09,520
The emerging workers' civil movement
469
00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:11,560
simply collapsed.
470
00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:15,160
I believe that was our last protest.
471
00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:28,880
It is quite conceivable
472
00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:33,600
that there exist certain
powerful forces within Germany,
473
00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:37,080
a kind of deep state.
474
00:35:38,240 --> 00:35:42,360
Of course, this isn't done
by the state officially,
475
00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:48,680
but by certain people from within, who
have the ability to orchestrate events.
476
00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:52,880
So it could have been plotted by the West
477
00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:55,080
to kill the head of the Treuhand
478
00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:58,920
in order to prove the point
that the Treuhand is correct
479
00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:02,080
and, in turn, undermine
the devotees of the East,
480
00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:05,440
those who were anti-Treuhand.
481
00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:08,880
To tell them, "See?
Your concept for society leads to death."
482
00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:18,360
Already, Rohwedder's successor
as the head of the Treuhand
483
00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:20,920
will be announced next week,
484
00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:23,880
Minister of Finance Theo Waigel
told the press today.
485
00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:28,920
The CDU politician Birgit Breuel
is the new Head of the Treuhand.
486
00:36:32,080 --> 00:36:35,480
Then Mrs. Breuel came in
487
00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:40,480
and shifted the focus extremely
towards a market economy solution.
488
00:36:41,040 --> 00:36:44,880
Prior to that, we hadn't privatized much.
489
00:36:44,960 --> 00:36:47,560
Because we had focused
on restructuring, not selling companies,
490
00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:49,680
with Rohwedder leading this cause.
491
00:36:50,240 --> 00:36:52,360
And then came Breuel with her clear focus
492
00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:54,800
on private ownership, privatization.
493
00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:57,920
Then the Treuhand gathered pace.
494
00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:03,040
Mr. Rohwedder was an entrepreneur
who committed himself wholeheartedly.
495
00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:06,200
We will continue our work in his spirit.
496
00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:07,480
We are determined.
497
00:37:07,960 --> 00:37:10,640
This means privatize quickly.
498
00:37:13,120 --> 00:37:15,800
Then Mrs. Breuel gave a press conference.
499
00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:19,120
Incidentally, Waigel was there
that day, but only by chance.
500
00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:23,640
As acting minister,
he only visited the Treuhand once.
501
00:37:23,720 --> 00:37:24,760
That says a lot.
502
00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:26,600
Once.
503
00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:32,120
And at the time
he seemed a like a real cold,
504
00:37:32,200 --> 00:37:34,160
fucked up West German politician.
505
00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:39,080
As if he thought, "Thank God,
they shot my subordinate, not me."
506
00:37:39,160 --> 00:37:40,160
Something like that.
507
00:37:40,240 --> 00:37:43,520
That's how he seemed
to a young person working there.
508
00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:44,840
And then Mrs. Breuel?
509
00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:47,840
Business as usual.
510
00:38:00,920 --> 00:38:02,360
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
511
00:38:02,440 --> 00:38:05,360
With an official ceremony,
the German public today
512
00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:09,720
bid farewell to the assassinated Treuhand
President, Detlev Karsten Rohwedder.
513
00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:25,720
The memorial service
at the Berlin concert hall
514
00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:29,880
was attended by 1,300
leading representatives of business,
515
00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:32,640
culture, politics, and the church.
516
00:38:33,280 --> 00:38:36,600
His wife remains hospitalized
recovering from gunshot wounds.
517
00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:41,760
Germany's President praised Rohwedder
as a pioneer of German unity.
518
00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:45,120
He came from both East and West.
519
00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:49,640
He did not believe
there are essential differences
520
00:38:49,720 --> 00:38:51,160
between East and West Germans,
521
00:38:51,240 --> 00:38:56,040
yet he understood the incredible
material and human burden
522
00:38:56,120 --> 00:39:00,320
that has been imposed
on our compatriots in the former GDR.
523
00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:05,080
Detlev Rohwedder truly served our people.
524
00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:11,400
Yes, very moving.
525
00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:17,560
Politics has the ability to honor people,
as they have done here,
526
00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:20,960
in a very good, grand gesture.
527
00:39:21,040 --> 00:39:24,000
But politics in its daily business
is quite different,
528
00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:27,000
and when someone has to go
529
00:39:28,600 --> 00:39:30,680
or has to be replaced,
530
00:39:31,560 --> 00:39:33,520
politics doesn't really care.
531
00:39:37,440 --> 00:39:42,360
He gave his entire
reputation, his entire self.
532
00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:47,320
But he also knew
the ins and outs of politics.
533
00:39:47,800 --> 00:39:50,920
And politics loves hunting people.
534
00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:57,360
He paid for this with his life.
535
00:40:02,240 --> 00:40:05,560
He had been so proud
that he was asked to help.
536
00:40:07,160 --> 00:40:11,440
This country, so brutally divided,
537
00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:15,120
all those human relationships…
538
00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:19,600
And to make this into one Germany again
539
00:40:20,880 --> 00:40:23,520
was a matter very close to his heart.
540
00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:40,040
THE MURDER OF DETLEV KARSTEN ROHWEDDER
REMAINS UNSOLVED.
541
00:40:42,880 --> 00:40:49,720
THE TREUHAND PRIVATIZED
ALL OF THE GDR'S ASSETS.
542
00:40:58,680 --> 00:41:05,480
94% OF COMPANIES WERE TAKEN OVER
BY WEST GERMAN OR INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS.
543
00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:10,440
I don't know anything about
its details and history, of course, but…
544
00:41:11,240 --> 00:41:14,240
I'm pretty sure we could
turn this into something nice.
545
00:41:15,240 --> 00:41:22,040
6% REMAIN WITH
THE PEOPLE OF EAST GERMANY.