Druzhba: The Friendship Pipeline

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History Documentary hosted by Hans Henrik Wohler, published by MDR in 2021 - German narration

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"Jahrhundertbauwerk Trasse – wie das russische Erdgas in den Westen kam" The Pipeline of the Century -- How Soviet Natural Gas Came to the West. Today, more than 200,000 kilometres of natural gas pipelines invisibly connect Eastern and Western Europe. The lion's share of this gigantic construction was built under the toughest of conditions and highly sensitive political circumstances. In the 1970s and 1980s, more than 25,000 GDR citizens worked in the Soviet Union. They are laying what was then the largest natural gas pipeline in the world. For the workers it is the adventure of a lifetime. Their "Trasse" cross the large and mighty rivers Dnepr and Dnestr. For the first time "Trassniks," the workers from the German Democratic Republic in the Soviet Union experience a touch of freedom that they do not feel in the GDR. They earn a lot of money on the construction, but they have to endure just as much. They are exposed to danger, barrenness, wild nature and loneliness. In addition, they are also monitored by their state in the Wild East. All of this is told in the film "Pipeline of the Century," which for the first time analyzes in depth the natural gas pipeline projects politically and historically. For what is seen primarily as a socialist progress project in the Eastern bloc is also a construction of the century for the West. Since the 1960s there have been attempts to profit from the Soviet wealth in raw materials. The resulting 1970 natural gas pipe deal is nothing short of the largest West-East trade deal in post-war history. Western Europe supplies pipes and gives loans. The East builds and supplies gas. Defying all the adversities of the Cold War, international tensions and American embargoes, the pipelines are completed and are still an integral part of Western Europe's energy supply today. In the end, are they even involved in the fall of the Wall? The film ventures a thesis. It is a true political thriller that took place in the midst of the Cold War: The UK, France and West Germany invested billions into business deals with the USSR, their sworn political enemy. At the same time, the USA emerged as both an opponent of and a profiteer from the project. The film traces clever arrangements of Western steel pipes and state-of-the-art technology being traded for Eastern gas. Yet permeated by the events of the time, the narrative is driven by the story of the construction workers, who lived a battle against nature and a clash of cultures. The promise of wild nature and above-average wages enticed thousands from across the Eastern Bloc to work on the pipelines, including 35,000 from East Germany. While some enjoyed the greatest adventure of their lives, there were also cases of forced labour. Exemplary for the many different nationalities working on the construction, witnesses from the former GDR and USSR are at the heart of the film. "The Pipeline of the Century -- How Soviet Natural Gas Came to the West" by director Matthias Schmidt shows touching personal memories. The production is a treasure trove of material in which previously unpublished visual material about the construction of the century and its builders can be seen. Writer & Director Matthias Schmidt ; A Co-Production by LOOKSfilm and MDR in Cooperation with ARTE

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[edit] Technical Specs

Video Codec: H.264 CABAC High@L4.2
Video Bitrate: 3 694 Kbps
Video Resolution: 1920x1080
Display Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Frames Per Second: 50.000 fps
Audio Codec: AAC (LC)
Audio Bitrate: 192 kb/s VBR 48.0 kHz
Audio Streams: 2
Audio Languages: german
RunTime Per Part: 1 h 29 min
Number Of Parts: 1
Part Size: 2.42 GB
Source: WEB DL
Capper: DocFreak08