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Colour video reveals Berlin life after the fall of Hitler's Germany

You can now experience what life was like in Berlin after the fall of the Nazis

Kiran Moodley
Thursday 07 May 2015 09:43 EDT
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(Chronos Media)

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With 2015 marking the 70thanniversary of VE Day, phenomenal new footage sheds light on what it was like to live in the German capital in the weeks after Nazi Germany fell.

May 8 1945 marks the formal acceptance by the Allies of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender at the end of the Second World War. Three days of commemorations will mark the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day in the UK.

For many, the Second World War is either a distant memory or an historic event that took place long before their birth. Yet colour footage from Germany allows many to experience what it was like for German residents of the war-torn capital just a few weeks after the fall of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.

The footage shows the calm of everyday life - people cycling, shopping - juxtaposed with apartment blocks reduced to rubble, with notable landmarks like the Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate and Potsdamer Platz lying in ruins.

Watch the video below to see what Berlin looked like immediately after the Second World War:

The video comes from Konstantin von zur Muehlen, the founder of Chronos Media, which has access to an archive of historic film footage.

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