ARTE Documentary: South Pole: 1989 I ARTE Documentary

Teacher or professor: ARTE Documentary
Subject: Science
Content of the Lesson: In 1989, whilst an East German research team are working from their basecamp in the Antarctic, the political situation at home deteriorates. As protests lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the expedition picks up just snatches of information to inform them of the momentous changes back in Europe. It was to be the greatest adventure of their lives: a research trip to Antarctica. In 1989, 13 GDR scientists and technicians set out from East Berlin to the Georg Forster research station. At this point in time, they had no idea that their lives would change fundamentally during this expedition. The researchers didn't hear about the fall of the Wall on November 9th by radio until one day later - and at first they didn't believe it. The events are too unreal without the images that went around the world at that time. In the months that followed, the expedition participants only noticed the rapid changes in their home country from afar. The research work continued onsite: the GDR ozone program provided important data for international research, whilst the challenging everyday life there attracted a lot of attention, despite the situation at home. At the West German research station, there was the first all-women team to spend the winter in Antarctica at the same time - thousands of kilometers from the GDR research station. The men from the East and the women from the West communicate via radio until the GDR researchers return in the spring of 1991. This documentary reconstructs the thoughts and feelings of the last GDR Antarctic explorers through contemporary witness reports, diary excerpts, letters, film material and landscape imagery. Available until the 30/12/2020 ARTE Documentary is here to tell you more about what’s going on in the world of culture and current affairs with powerful, refreshing and entertaining docs subtitled in English for our international fans. Discover a whole world on ARTE. 💡 Feel like watching our programmes subtitled in another language? ARTE in English 👉 https://www.arte.tv/en/ ARTE en español 👉 https://www.arte.tv/es/ ARTE in italiano 👉 https://www.arte.tv/it/ ARTE po polsku 👉https://www.arte.tv/pl/ Subscribe to our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVogAsASqbceBmQMi1WA39g You can also find us on: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ARTE.tv Twitter: https://twitter.com/ARTEen #SouthPole #Antarctic #ARTE


Click here to view video on YouTube.