1989: The Year That Made Us (2019): Season 1, Episode 1 - World in Revolution - full transcript

Brokaw: Live from the berlin
wall on the most historic
night in this wall's history.

Jennings: It is perhaps the
most important announcement
made in central europe

Since the end of world war ii.

Smale: Everything
seemed really simple on
November the 9th 1989.

Narrator: In 1989,
communism's iron grip

Weakened as uprisings took
place from berlin to beijing,

With vastly different results.

Wong: Everybody
thought china would get more
liberal as it became richer.

No one thought it
would go the other way.

Reporter (over tv): The
people's liberation army
was gunning down protestors

In beijing's tiananmen square.



Wong: It was like
being in a war zone.

Narrator: But while
the forward momentum
could not be denied,

There were new
complications yet to come.

Smith: The economy
was in shambles.

In the end I think that was
what creates an opportunity
for vladimir putin.

Wong: Tiananmen square
is why today china has
a real dictatorship.

Baker: Back in 1989,

We envisioned a world
free of cold war tensions.

That's not the case today.

Smith: History has a kind of
fluidity that when we think
one thing is going to happen,

The results often times end up
anything but what we expect.

Baker: The world as
I had known it all of
my adult life, changed,

And changed fundamentally,
beginning in 1989.

(theme music plays).



Bush: In man's heart,
if not in fact, the day
of the dictator is over.

Great nations of the world
are moving toward democracy,
through the door to freedom.

Narrator: In the latter
half of the 20th century,
the united states and

The soviet union were
perpetually engaged
in a global showdown.

Some thought it would
lead to world war iii,
until the late 80's,

When a new kind of
soviet leader emerged.

Baker: The course set
by president gorbachev
involves changes in

Political structure,
ideology, legal practices
and popular attitudes,

As well of course
as the economy.

Mikhail gorbachev will
be treated very, very,
very well by history.

Gorbachev decided they would
not keep the empire together
through the use of force.

Narrator: For many decades,
us presidents believed in
the domino theory:

If one nation fell to
communism, nearby nations
would quickly follow suit.

But in 1989, the
opposite happened.

A communist country
turned democratic,

And other countries
fell in its wake.

Baker: 1989 is the year
in which all of this
fundamental reform began,

And one of the first things
that happened was that
poland held an election.

Narrator: In poland,
an independent labor
union called "solidarity"

Pressured the country's
communist government into
holding a free election.

The government ultimately
agreed to open the polls,

But thought it would
be just for show.

Daniszewski: The communists
thought they had rigged
these elections, they were

Counting on the fact that
they had enough political
muscle to make sure that

Solidarity would be a
minority, not a majority.

But the people themselves
were so caught up in the
possibility that things could

Really change, I've never
seen that kind of enthusiasm.

They had these posters for
the June 4th election with
a picture of gary cooper,

Saying in polish,
'this is high noon.'

Baker: Solidarity won
that election, they
won it overwhelmingly,

With a guy named lech
walesa leading the charge.

Daniszewski: By the
end of the summer, poland
had democratically exited

Communist rule, and it
was the first country in
eastern europe to do this.

Narrator: Gorbachev
didn't stand in the way.

And with poland, the
once impenetrable iron curtain
suddenly had a big hole in it.

Bush: To those who
think that dreams can
be forever repressed,

I say let them look at poland,

For here in poland
the dream is alive.

Narrator: The same day poland
cast its vote for democracy,

Another historic event
was unfolding in china.

For months prior,
chinese citizens had been
protesting communist rule.

A visit by mikhail
gorbachev in may brought

Worldwide attention
to the demonstrations.

Reporter: Soviet president
gorbachev is flying to
china at this hour,

For the first sino-soviet
summit meeting in 30 years.

But even as china's communist
leaders prepare to receive
the soviet communist leader,

They've had to contend
with students demanding
democratic reforms.

Wong: In 1989, gorbachev is
coming to meet deng xiaoping.

The two leaders
are gonna meet.

That visit by gorbachev
feeds the fire in beijing

Because 1000 foreign
correspondents show up.

I was a foreign
correspondent in beijing,
I was covering his trip.

Gorbachev was trying to loosen
controls in the soviet union.

Gorbachev said 'let's
let in a little freedom,

And we'll worry about
the economy later.'

Now in china they had
decided to loosen the economy.

They were bringing
in capitalism, people
were living really well

And there were lots
of consumer goods.

But people start to
want more, and what they
wanted was democracy.

So, people in china
were protesting gorbachev,

His motorcade gets stopped
because the whole of beijing
is out in the streets

Blocking everything, and the
chinese protesters are getting
on international television.

Student: I want to say to
the government: What we
want is only democracy,

Only the freedom of the speech.

Narrator: Gorbechev's
visit inspired more people
to join the protests,

Calling for economic reform
and political freedom.

Smith: It was really
interesting to watch
china try to figure out

"what do we do with this?"

Because that level
of demonstration
was unprecedented

In sort of modern
chinese history.

Reporter (over tv): China's
leaders were humiliated
when students occupied

Tiananmen square in beijing
during gorbachev's visit.

Wong: Within hours of
gorbachev's departure,

The chinese leadership
is really mad.

Premier li peng,
he's a hardliner,
he gets on television

And that's when he
declares martial law.

Wong: That's when they
bring in the army.

Reporter: The situation around
tiananmen square in beijing

Grows more complicated
and more tense.

The government may be planning
to try to clear the square.

Troops carrying automatic
weapons and wearing battle
gear have been positioned.

Wong: I saw the trucks coming
in so we went in the square
and I interviewed people.

As journalists we don't
quite understand what's
really happening.

And then on the
night of June 3rd,

They had orders to
take the square using
any means possible.

(shouting).

They shot their way
into the square.

The tanks rolled through,
and I was really scared.

One of the tanks started
up his engine and ran
over some of the students.

It was like being
in a war zone.

Reporter (over tv): The
estimates of how many chinese
were killed and injured in

Yesterday's brutal assault
on their movement for
democracy vary widely,

But it is believed that
there were hundreds of
deaths and injuries.

Narrator: By 6:00 am on
June 4th, thousands of

Chinese citizens had
been beaten or killed.

The exact number reported
still in dispute.

The army had cleared tiananmen
square of protestors.

But the resistance would
continue, showing the world an
indelible moment of defiance.

Wong: Monday, I can't
believe what I've seen.

And I go outside and the whole
row of tanks is coming down

The boulevard of eternal
peace, and there's this guy

With a little shopping
bag and he's right in
front of the lead tank,

And I'm going
'he's gonna be squashed!'

And then all of a sudden
the tank turns off the motor
and doesn't go forward.

Smith: That may be one
of the, on a tiny list,

Of the most important images
from the 20th century.

Everybody knows it's
tiananmen square.

It doesn't matter how big the
gun is, if you're standing
up for the right stuff.

Baker: Tiananmen was
a negative event,
and gorbachev felt

'well that's not gonna
happen in the soviet union.'

Wong: I think he could tell
that there was no future
for communism anymore.

I think if he hadn't had his
summit with deng xiaoping
just at that moment,

Maybe the world history
would've been different.

Was built to separate
east and west germany,

A literal division of
communism and democracy.

But in the summer of 1989,
austria and hungary opened
their borders so east germans

Could cross into the
democratic west germany.

The iron curtain was lifting,

And many wondered
how much longer until
the wall would fall.

Smale: I was based in vienna
reporting on eastern europe.

When hungary and
austria opened its
gates in may of 1989,

This really was actually the
end of the iron curtain.

It was a clear signal
that unrest was really
spreading to east germany.

Narrator: Gorbachev's visit
to east germany that October
came at an awkward moment,

And provided a dramatic and
unexpected policy shift.

Baker: The most important
thing that had happened right
up to that time was when

Gorbachev had been asked
about something having
to do with east germany.

And gorbachev said
'policy for east germany

Is made in berlin,
not in moscow.'

Which was a clear signal,
I think, to people that the
soviets were not going to

Call their troops out of the
barracks in east germany.

Reporter (over tv): In central
leipzig, banners calling for
free elections, free travel

And a free press, and
the people demanding
new leadership.

And on their lips the name
of one man who symbolizes the
change in the communist world,

President gorbachev.

Protestors: Gorby! Gorby!

Reporter (over tv):
The demonstration is
the biggest threat yet

To the stability of
the government.

Smith: There was so much
pressure on the east german
leaders, and you could just

Feel this thing is starting
to really unravel.

Narrator: In November
of 1989, the east german
central committee

Gathered together and
announced the country's
new travel regulations.

The press conference would
have a surprise ending.

Smale: The man who was
sent out to explain the
new travel regulations,

Günter schabowski, we
now know had not been at
one of the key meetings.

He had a bunch of papers
shoved into his hand and

Went out for this press
conference, I was there.

Somebody asked, 'we hear
that you're thinking of
adopting new travel rules,'

And he said, 'oh yes,' and
he started to read them...

Smale: And then schabowski
was asked by a journalist,

'well, so when does this start?'

And he looked at his
papers and said...

Smith: Basically, he was
trying to say that 'we're
going to head toward this.'

But he says the word
'immediately' by
mistake, it's done.

Smale: And then we
suddenly heard west
german television say

'oh, and we hear that it's
also possible at checkpoint
charlie to get across.'

And I turned to my
colleague and I said,

'checkpoint charlie!
I mean if that's true, then
the whole thing is over.'

That night there were
about 150 people there.

They were good spirited and
they weren't, rebellious
or crazy in any way.

The guards who had been taught
to defend that border with
their life if they needed to,

Were confused, they
had no orders because
it was all a mistake.

So they didn't know what to do,

And the border guards realized
that I was a journalist.

They may not have known what
to do to defend the wall,

But they knew for sure
that a western journalist

Was not welcome in the
east german border zone.

They opened this door
that led to this very
narrow passageway out,

And sort of shoved me into it.

And together with me, this
woman squeezed her way in,

She was east german,

She had papers to
visit the west.

We both gave our passports in
to this sort of pimply border
guard and then he looked at

Hers and said, 'but it's only
valid on the 17th of November.'

And I just remember shouting
at this guy in german, saying,

'but look around you man,
history is happening!

What difference does it make?'

He sort of shrugged,
pressed a button, the door
to the west opened to us,

And that's how I know
that I came across
checkpoint charlie

That night with the first
east german to cross.

It was an amazing moment,
it was actually the only
moment in my life when

I have pinched myself to
see 'am I really here,
or am I dreaming this!?'

Baker: Once the doors were
open, the influx was huge.

Jennings: Astonishing news
from east germany, where the
east german authorities have

Said in essence, that
the berlin wall doesn't
mean anything anymore.

It is perhaps the most
important announcement
made in central europe

Since the end of
world war ii, certainly
since the wall went up.

Brokaw: Live from the berlin
wall on the most historic
night in this wall's history.

The people are here
to celebrate freedom,
for the east germans,

Freedom to travel, a
primary right for people
anywhere in the world.

Smale: The joy of
unexpected liberation.

You'd been let out of jail.

Everything seemed
really simple on
November the 9th 1989.

This wall that had
been standing since
1961 had fallen,

And that was just a
simple, really easy to
understand human message.

Smith: To see that
wall crack, people with
hammers and chisels...

And out there partying
and drinking champagne on
the precipice of the wall,

It was, it was unimaginable.

Narrator: But not
everyone was happy with
this turn of events.

Smale: Vladimir putin
witnessed the fall of the
berlin wall as a kgb agent

In dresden in east germany.

He saw the mob come in
to those headquarters.

Putin saw that as a
collapse in soviet order
and must have wondered

What was going to
take its place.

Smith: History has a kind of
fluidity that when we think
one thing is going to happen,

The results often times end up
anything but what we expect.

Back into high
political office today.

Reporter: Soviet analysts
are calling it a victory
for democracy and reform,

Results are still preliminary.

But election officials now say
boris yeltsin will be russia's
first elected president.

Narrator: In June of 1991,
boris yeltsin became russia's

First democratically
elected leader.

But his new economic
system would prove
difficult to control.

Just a few well connected
oligarchs ultimately seized
control of russia's major

Industries, while inflation
soared and gross domestic
product fell each and every

Year he was in power.

Baker: We did not anticipate,
nor did the soviets,

The total implosion
of the soviet union.

Nobody saw that coming.

Wong: Yeltsin did
nothing really.

He took over from gorbachev.

It descended into chaos.

What they did was they
opened up the soviet economy

And sold all the raw
materials to the oligarchs.

In the meantime, you don't
have a developed economy.

Russians are quite poor.

Whenever you have an
economy in disaster,

Then people want a
strong man to come in

And at least, you know,
make the trains run on time.

Smith: I was in in russia
after the dissolution
of the soviet union.

The economy was in shambles.

The country was in really
really tough shape.

For a lot of people there
it was really tough times.

In the end, I think that was
what creates the opportunity
for vladimir putin.

Reporter: In moscow
today an unprecedented
peaceful passing of power

Between democratically
elected leaders.

Along with the office
of the president,

Vladimir putin is
inheriting a vast array
of serious problems.

Narrator: Shortly after he
became russia's president,
putin started displaying a

Leadership style that seemed
like it was from a bygone era.

In just his first year
in office, the government
raided a tv news network,

Ties with fidel castro
were re-established,

And many believe putin
laid the foundation
for his own fortunes,

Aligning himself with
russia's oligarchs.

Baker: One sure way to
coalesce domestic support

Is to be able to point
to an outside enemy.

And so nato became the enemy,
the west became the enemy,

The united states
became the enemy.

Reporter (over tv): Russian
president vladimir putin
made his first visit

Since russia annexed
crimea from ukraine.

Reporter (over tv): Russia
sent more troops, tanks
and military vehicles

Into eastern ukraine today.

Reporter: Kremlin claims
there is no proof that moscow

Interfered in the
2016 us elections.

Reporter: Confrontation in the
skies between u.S. Fighter jets

And nuclear capable
russian bombers, not far
from american shores.

Baker: People ask me
all the time, 'are we
in another cold war?'

My answer to that is
absolutely we are.

When we have russian
jets buzzing our
aircraft and ships,

There's no other
way to look at it.

Back in 1989 we envisioned

A world that would be
free of cold war tensions.

That's not the case today.

In russia and in china the
political system is still

A very much as closed
as it was then.

Wong: In china the leaders saw
what happened to the soviet
union and to the eastern bloc,

And they actually doubled
down on everything,

Which is why today,

I think china has a real
dictatorship in xi jinping.

He saw what gorbachev
did, so they sort of
fed off each other and

They each took away
a different lesson.

Everybody thought china
would get more liberal
as it became richer.

No one thought it
would go the other way.

Baker: The jury is still
out on whether or not this
wonderful economic model

That they've created can
continue to survive without
any political freedom.

You can't have that economic
freedom without giving the

People political
freedom as well.

Wong: It's very hard to
predict the future of china.

If china has
capitalism which it has,

How long can it have a
communist party running it?

And we saw in the
soviet union how it just
collapsed overnight...

Any day now the whole thing
can fall apart in china.

They could have democracy.

Baker: True democracy
and truly free markets,
is a proven paradigm,

And it will succeed in my view
for the next 30 years as well.

Wong: I think the lessons of
1989 for the world, is that,

We have to treasure
the democracy we have,

Because it is fragile and
it can easily be subverted.

Don't take democracy
for granted.

Captioned by cotter
captioning services.