WDR and MDR Release AR App with Eyewitness Accounts of the Berlin Wall Construction

Elke Rosin as Central Narrator

In addition to Rosin, Uwe Rutkowski and Jörg Hildebrandt also have their say, likewise contributing their experiences from the time of the GDR. According to the broadcasters, the app development was co-led by Davide Strizzella, who directed the technical implementation. In terms of content, the offering is oriented around locations such as Bernauer Strasse in Berlin, which is regarded as a central site of remembrance.

Both broadcasters emphasize that the contemporary witnesses speak for themselves in the accounts, without being commented on or evaluated. The app combines the audio recordings with historical photos and maps, so that users looking through their smartphone can see an overlay of the situation as it was then and as it is today.

According to WDR and MDR, the focus is on direct contact between the contemporary witnesses, who are now in some cases very elderly, and a young audience growing up without their own memories of the division. The makers explicitly understand the project as a contribution to political education.

Technology and Sites of Remembrance

The app was released on August 11, 2026 and, according to the broadcasters, is available free of charge in the common app stores. Teachers as well as memorial sites in Berlin and Halle have, according to reports, received access to accompanying teaching materials.

With the release, WDR and MDR are tying in with earlier digital remembrance projects in which audio and video interviews with contemporary witnesses were recorded. The new application expands these approaches with a spatial component that directly links historical locations with the individual narratives.

Reactions and Outlook

In an initial reaction, several educational institutions pointed out that they want to use the app in classroom teaching and in memorial site tours. Other public broadcasters also expressed interest in reviewing the format after a test phase.

Those responsible announced that they want to integrate further eyewitness accounts – also from other European countries – into the app. In this way, the offering is to be expanded in the long term into a cross-border platform for oral history.