Hidden Mafia machinations in Germany’s former East

 

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the former East opened up - and the Italian Mafia moved in. In the decades since, they have built up a criminal network in the former East Germany. This investigative documentary traces their origins back 30 years.

The Stasi and the Berlin Wall | DW Documentary

 

For one group, at least, the erection of the Berlin Wall on August 13, 1961 was a stroke of luck. Over the following decades, the Wall would be the lifeblood of the East German secret police, known as the Stasi.

The Stasi and the Berlin Wall

 

Patrolling The DMZ

During the Cold War the most separation and access point between the East and West of Europe was Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin.  It was sunominsess  with the tensions of the time today that has shifted further to the east with the border between North and South Korea taking its place.

On patrol in the DMZ: North Korean landmines, biting winds and tin cans

As tensions on the peninsula escalate, a former South Korean guard describes life at one of the world’s most fortified borders. NK News reports

Of the 130,000 South Korean soldiers conscripted every year, only a handful will ever get to see their sworn enemies in the flesh. They are the ones stationed at the “demilitarised zone” that separates the two Koreas. 

The area, commonly known as the DMZ, is one of the most fortified borders in the world – separating two counties that have technically been at war since 1953. It also a serves as a tourist attraction, visited by thousands of people a year.

Tensions along the border have been raised since two South Korean officers were gravely injured by a landmine last August. Seoul immediately blamed Pyongyang, who rejected the allegations but declared the country on a war footing.

On patrol

For Shin Yong-tae, a former South Korean soldier who took part in patrol missions near the North Korean border, the threat of landmines was always present.