WHATWASHERE_Berlin

WHATWASHERE is an interactive city guide on the history of Berlin. The app takes users to more than 30 historically significant locations in Germany's capital. “What happened at this site?” - No matter whether it's the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie or the Reichstag building, WHATWASHERE provides you with the answers accompanied by original historical visual footage that covers more than a century of Berlin's history. In addition to the narrated films, information texts provide information for reading and listening to all the historic sites. This audio-visual history aid combines a unique Berlin sightseeing tour guide and an unforgettable experience. The location-based service application navigates the streets of Germany’s capital with the aid of an interactive Berlin map. It provides the user with detailed information about Berlin museums, restaurants and hotels in the immediate vicinity of the historic sites and their connection to public transport. WHATWASHERE_Berlin is a project by history-vision.de and is sponsored by the Media Board Berlin-Brandenburg. The Berlin app is available for Android phones and tablets. Users running the app have the option to directly download the entire content so that the application can be used offline.



Information on the video footage

The impressive and in some cases rare historical footage provides a deep insight into the turbulent German history which was often being written in Berlin and has influenced no other German city to this extent. From the days of the Kaiser until today, more than 150 minutes of commented visual footage document a variety of historical events from the fields of politics, sports, culture and great historical moments of world importance. Among them: the proclamation of the German Republic by Philipp Scheidemann from a Reichstag window in 1918, a torchlight parade through the Brandenburg Gate to celebrate the Nazi’s takeover in 1933, the book burnings by the Nazis on the Opera Square, Goebbel’s “Total War” declaration at the Berlin Sports Palace in 1943, the erection of the Berlin Wall in 1961 as well as the famous leap to freedom at the border crossing on Bernauer Strasse by the young policeman Conrad Schumann, the raid of the Stasi headquarters at Normannenstraße by the GDR citizens' movement in 1990 and also the reunification celebrations at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. In addition, some uncounted historical snapshots illustrate the daily life in Berlin's past.


Historic Sites

Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, Potsdamer Platz, Wilhelmstraße and Wilhelmplatz, Olympic Stadium, City Palace/Palace of the Republic/State Council of the GDR, Alexanderplatz & TV Tower, Unter den Linden West, Unter den Linden East, Berlin Cathedral & Lustgarten, Ku' Damm, Messegelände – Exhibition Grounds, Avus, Tiergarten, Berlin-Tempelhof Airport, Friedrichstrasse, Schöneberg City Hall, Berlin Sports Palace, Kammergericht Kleistpark (Berlin Court of Appeal), Invalidenstrasse at Hamburger Bahnhof, Bornholmer Str., Bernauer Str., Chaussee-/Liesenstr., Checkpoint Charlie, Lindenstraße/Kochstraße, Karl-Marx-Allee (former Stalinallee), Stasi Headquaters Normannenstraße, Deutsche Oper (German Opera House), Haus des Rundfunks/Funkturm, Wannsee, Glienicke Bridge, Potsdam


Features

- Commented historical footage on all the historic sites via Stream/Download
- Navigation to 32 historic sites on an interactive Berlin city map
- Background information on all historical locations for reading and as an audio guide
- Navigation and detailed content with extensive information about Berlin museums, restaurants and hotels in the immediate vicinity of the historic sites
- Information on access to public transport
- The content can be filtered, sorted or reviewed via theme categories.
- Languages: English and German (language switch is available via the imprint of the App)
- Total run time of history videos: 150 min