Wir sind wir

Vídeo interessantíssimo de Peter Heppner, que assisti na última aula de alemão do semestre passado. No clip, várias cenas históricas são mostradas, como a de um soldado passando por uma brecha no muro de Berlin antes de ser totalmente proibida a passagem:

Não reuni muitas informações sobre a foto - mas você pode ler um pouco mais nesse blog aqui - que falei nem sobre as outras, mas quem conhece ou já se interessou pelas guerras mundiais - no sentido pedagógico ou histórico da coisa - eis um bom vídeo com muitas imagens quase tão verídicas quanto as fotos. E pra quem saca inglês, essa aqui é a descrição do vídeo no canal de onde o retirei.

"Wir Sind Wir" ("We Are We", i.e. "We are who we are"), a Germany song) was released as a stand-alone single by Paul van Dyk in 2004. Unlike most of his other singles, this was not released on any official studio album by van Dyk. The song features Peter Heppner on vocals, and was only recorded in German, presumably because it speaks directly to Germans and Germany.

Are we the land of poets and thinkers, the land of the Wirtschaftswunder [economic wonder], the land of two world wars, the land which was divided and thereafter reunited? [1]

"Wir Sind Wir" deals with the deep feeling of emotional insecurity that permeates the German society in the early 21st century. In 2004, Germany was in an economic slump, the controversial Hartz IV law had diminished the state welfare programs, and there was a lingering feeling of division between the one-time West German and East German provinces. The fact that Germany had turned itself from a one-time pariah into a valuable friend of the Western great powers (Britain, France, the United States) and had reunited itself with the end of the Cold War were suddenly unimportant. There was little pride in being German, and patrotism was a suppressed emotion.

This is reflected in the lyrics: despite having turned "ash into gold", people were feeling angst and fear of the future (40 Jahre zogen wir an einem Strang, aus Asche haben wir Gold gemacht/ (...) was vorher war ist heute nichts mehr wert). Heppner and Van Dyk then ask, where do the Germans stand, and answer "we are we, we are one, this is just a bad period, and we won't give up" (wir sind wir/ wieder eins in einem Land/ das ist doch nur ein schlechter Lauf/ so schnell geben wir doch jetzt nicht auf).

The song is a powerful statement for all Germans that they are neither bad nor good, but just themselves (we are we). For 40 years, everything went well, and now after some bad years, it is time to stand united and face the future together. The lyrics highlight the positive qualities of German culture and society and stand as a beacon of hope.

The video shows Peter Heppner as an ageless camera man who films well-known images of German history: * The destroyed Reichstag * Bombed-out cities, a one-legged man limping on his crutches * Trümmerfrauen (rubble women) salvaging scraps in a bombed-out post-WWII city * The US "Raisin Bombers" dropping food into the starving West Berlin during the Berlin Airlift * The soccer Miracle of Bern 1954, widely considered as a watershed moment for West Germany * The building of the Berlin Wall, families crying as they were divided, the East German soldier Conrad Schumann jumping over barbed wire to defect into West Berlin (a timeless still image that captured the desperation of German Cold War division) * The German Wirtschaftswunder, with new housings, cars and a new level of luxury * The Oil Crisis * The Fall of the Berlin Wall * The rebuilt Reichstag in central Berlin

The video is a mix of new footage, and original footage where Heppner has been inserted by chroma key.

Paul van Dyk appears only twice, fleetingly on both occasions, initially reading a newspaper, and later listening to the radio in a Pilstübe (bar).

The song reached the German Top 10 and was received very favourably. Germans were touched by the hauntingly beautiful atmosphere of the song and the powerful images in the video. It left such a deep impact that Matthias Platzeck asked Heppner and Van Dyk to perform Wir sind Wir in the official 2005.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Wir sind wir - Peter Heppner

Tag um Tag, Jahr um Jahr,
Wenn ich durch diese Straßen geh',
Seh ich wie die Ruinen dieser Stadt
Wieder zu Häusern auferstehen.

Doch bleiben viele Fenster leer,
Für viele gab es keine Wiederkehr.
Und über das, was grad noch war,
Spricht man heute lieber gar nicht mehr.

Doch ich frag, ich frag mich wer wir sind.

Wir sind wir! Wir stehen hier!
Aufgeteilt, besiegt und doch,
Schließlich leben wir ja noch.

Wir sind wir! Wir stehen hier!
Das kanns noch nicht gewesen sein.
Keine Zeit zum Traurigsein.
Wir sind wir! Wir stehn' hier!
Wir sind wir!

Auferstanden aus Ruinen dachten wir,
Wir hätten einen Traum vollbracht.
40 Jahre zogen wir an einem Strang.
Aus Asche haben wir Gold gemacht.

Jetzt ist mal wieder alles anders
Und was vorher war, ist heute nichts mehr wert.
Jetzt können wir haben was wir wollen,
Aber wollten wir nicht eigentlich viel mehr?

Und ich frag, ich frag mich wo wir stehen.

Wir sind wir! Wir stehen hier!
Wieder Eins in einem Land,
Superreich und abgebrannt.

Wir sind wir! Wir stehen hier!
So schnell kriegt man uns nicht klein,
Keine Zeit zum bitter sein.
Wir sind wir! Wir stehn' hier!
Wir sind wir!

Wir sind Wir!
Aufgeteilt, besiegt und doch,
Schließlich gibt es uns ja immer noch.

Wir sind wir!
Und wir werden's überstehen,
Denn das Leben muss ja weitergehen.

Wir sind wir!
Das ist doch nur ein schlechter Lauf.
So schnell geben wir doch jetzt nicht auf.

We are we

Day by day, year by year
When I'm walking along this street
I'm seeing the ruins crowing up to houses

Many windows still stay empty
There was no return for many people
About the things what just happened
No one speaks about it anymore

But I'm still asking who we are

We're what we are
We're standing here
Divided, defeated and else
We are still alive!

We're what we are
We're standing here
It can't be over yet
No time for sadness
We're what we are
We're standing here
We're what we are

We thought 'resurrection from the ruins'
Dreams had to come true
40 years of united power
We made ashes into gold

Now everything changed
Things from the past are worthless today
Now we can get everything
But didn't we want more than that?

And I'm asking where we are

We're what we are
We're standing here
Reunited in one country
Rich and burned out

We're what we are
We're standing here
we're not going down
No time to be angry
We're what we are
We're standing here
We're what we are

We're what we are
Divided, defeated and else
Finally, we still exist!

We're what we are
We will get over it
Because life has to go on

We're what we are
This is just a bad phase
We will never give up!

Viel Spaß!