{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-c03aa079.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-517835be.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='CZECH REPUBLIC: FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL: DEMOCRATIC CHANGES' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54bc87d8eafeecae12d590' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54bc87d8eafeecae12d590' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nCZECH REPUBLIC: FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL: DEMOCRATIC CHANGES\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eEng/Czech/NatThe fall of the Berlin Wall ten years ago led to democratic changes throughout Eastern Europe, especially in Romania, Bulgaria and the then Czechoslovakia.And democracy brought with it free enterprise.Since the early 1990's,...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eEng/Czech/Nat\u003cbr/\u003eThe fall of the Berlin Wall ten years ago led to democratic changes throughout Eastern Europe, especially in Romania, Bulgaria and the then Czechoslovakia.\u003cbr/\u003eAnd democracy brought with it free enterprise.\u003cbr/\u003eSince the early 1990's, German business has enjoyed a fringe benefit from the fall of the wall, gobbling up many outdated, inefficient East Bloc enterprises.\u003cbr/\u003eThe Czech car manufacturer Skoda was known ten years ago for churning out gas-guzzling, low-quality cars, but since entering into a joint venture with Volkswagen, Skoda has boomed.\u003cbr/\u003eToday is a big day at the Skoda plant in the provincial town of Mlada Boleslav in the Czech Republic.\u003cbr/\u003eThey are opening a new line which will produce engines and transmissions for Skoda cars.\u003cbr/\u003eAnd the German bosses have flown in to help celebrate.\u003cbr/\u003eFrom World War Two until the demise of Communism, Skoda was a state-owned enterprise.\u003cbr/\u003eBut since 1991, the Czechoslovak and now the Czech government has been slowly selling off the pride of the Czech car industry.\u003cbr/\u003eIn today's global automotive industry, only the strong and large survive.\u003cbr/\u003eAnd Skoda needed foreign investment to stay alive.\u003cbr/\u003eIt is now seventy-percent owned by Volkswagen and the Czech government plans to divest even more of its remaining share to VW in the next few months.\u003cbr/\u003eSkoda's chief says that if his company didn't join up with Volkswagen, they would simply have died.\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE: (Czech)\u003cbr/\u003e\"The joint venture for Skoda was a question of survival. If we look at all the other car manufacturers in Eastern Europe, who do not have strong strategic partners, we see that all of them are disappearing or have only marginal influence in the market.\"\u003cbr/\u003eSUPERCAPTION: Vratislav Kulhanek, President of Skoda\u003cbr/\u003eSkoda is one of the Czech Republic's oldest firms, producing its first automobile just after the turn of the century.\u003cbr/\u003eAfter Communist takeover in 1948, Skoda was nationalised and remained so until 1991, two years after the Velvet Revolution of November 1989.\u003cbr/\u003eMlada Boleslav is very much a company town, but in a part of the Europe where many provincial towns are dying a slow death, Mlada exudes an air of confidence.\u003cbr/\u003eSkoda employs some 23,000 workers and the new line will employ some 3,000 more.\u003cbr/\u003eAlthough some employees may be unhappy that the nearly century old pride of the Czech Republic has been sold to their historic rival Germany, most admit that in today's market Skoda would have ceased to exist without VW's financial help.\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE: (Czech)\u003cbr/\u003e\"Even though I'm not too happy with that (German control), I know that the concern (VW) has the strength to develop Skoda for the future.\"\u003cbr/\u003eSUPERCAPTION: Quality Control Engineer\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE: (Czech)\u003cbr/\u003e\"Well, when Volkswagen came, everything, the work conditions was put into order and they also obtained a market for the cars for us. Without them we wouldn't have the markets.\u003cbr/\u003eSUPERCAPTION: Welder\u003cbr/\u003eThis has been a Catch-22 for not only the Czech Republic, but for all of the transforming economies of the former East Bloc.\u003cbr/\u003eThey have two choices: to sell-out to Western businesses or compete against them alone, something that would most surely end in bankruptcy.\u003cbr/\u003eThe Czech Republic's former Prime Minister and current speaker of the Parliament, Vaclav Klaus, says that his country has done the right thing by choosing the middle path, selling some industry, but not all.\u003cbr/\u003eSOUNDBITE: (English)\u003cbr/\u003e\"I think there are extremes on both sides. There are people who don't want to sell anything to the rest of the world. There are extremes who want to sell everything. So to sell everything or nothing is not real, is not rational, so it seems to me the way we did it was quite normal, quite rational. So some firms are in foreign hands, some are in Czech hands and it's probably appropriate.\" \u003cbr/\u003eSUPERCAPTION: Vaclav Klaus, Czech PM 1992-1997\u003cbr/\u003eThanks to Volkswagen's help, Skoda today can sell its cars throughout Europe, but its largest markets are still to be found east of the former Iron Curtain.\u003cbr/\u003eAnd it was the revolutions of 1989 that opened up one more corner of the world to globalisation.\u003cbr/\u003eNovember 1 1999, Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic, 5th November 1999 Prague and File     XFA\u003cbr/\u003e1. Various of band playing at opening\u003cbr/\u003e2. Wideshot of ceremony with factory behind\u003cbr/\u003e3. Pan of managers, from Germans to Skoda President to Vaclav Klaus, former Czech Prime Minister\u003cbr/\u003e4. Various of cornerstone preparation\u003cbr/\u003e5. Midshot of Klaus giving ceremonial tap to cornerstone\u003cbr/\u003e6. Midshot toasting cutaway\u003cbr/\u003e7. SOUNDBITE: (Czech) Vratislav Kulhanek, President of Skoda\u003cbr/\u003e8. Various of old cars in Skoda museum\u003cbr/\u003eFile:\u003cbr/\u003e9. Various of assembly lines inside Skoda plant\u003cbr/\u003e1st November 1999, Mlada Boleslav:\u003cbr/\u003e10. Wideshot of main workers entrance to Skoda plant\u003cbr/\u003e11. Midshot of entrance with workers\u003cbr/\u003e12. SOUNDBITE: (Czech) Quality Control engineer\u003cbr/\u003e13. SOUNDBITE: (Czech) Welder\u003cbr/\u003e5th November 1999, Prague:\u003cbr/\u003e14. Various of crowds on Wenceslas Square\u003cbr/\u003e1st November 1999, Mlada Boleslav:\u003cbr/\u003e15. SOUNDBITE: (English) Vaclav Klaus, former Czech Prime Minister\u003cbr/\u003e16. Various of Skoda plant\u003cbr/\u003e17. 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id='concepts-heading'\u003eConcepts\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='clearfix'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='details-list concepts' data-identifier='Boclips::VideoDecorator' data-type='concepts'\u003ebusiness, eastern europe, europe, western europe, germany\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='concepts-toggle-buttons' data-identifier='Boclips::VideoDecorator'\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='false' class='more btn-link' type='button'\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eShow More\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fa-solid fa-caret-down ml5'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='true' class='less btn-link' style='display: none;' type='button'\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eShow Less\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fa-solid fa-caret-up ml5'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-labelledby='additional-tags-heading' class='rp-info-section'\u003e\n\u003ch2 class='title' 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