RIAS report on the East German uprising

For much of the Cold War, RIAS -- Radio In the American Sector -- was West Berlin's communication lifeline with the non-communist world. Founded by the U.S. government in 1946 as DIAS (Wire Broadcasting In the American Sector), RIAS gave Berliners news and entertainment.

RIAS covered many Berlin-based Cold War events, including the 1953 revolt in East Berlin and the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961.

Listen as RIAS reporters, both in the studio and on the scene, describe the 1953 uprising as it unfolds on the streets of East Berlin. Eyewitnesses also give their accounts of what they saw and heard the afternoon of June 17. The end of the report features "natural sound" of Soviet troops shooting -- and voices on loudspeakers appealing for them to cease fire.

The report, in German, is accompanied by an English text translation. (Windows Media Player required)