The Wall

The fall of the Berlin Wall was one of the 20th century's most significant moments. It signalled the end of the Cold War and was a symbolic act of people power. But as the wall came down, a terrifying truth emerged about the dictatorship that ruled in the East. This programme reveals what life was like in the shadow of the wall, unveiling the sinister world of the Stasi, the secret police who controlled every aspect of life in the East. We hear powerful stories from people who risked their lives to escape the Communist regime; journalists who endured years of surveillance and censorship; people who were imprisoned for no reason other than for wanting freedom and democracy. We trace its development from a barbed wire barrier into a menacing, deadly edifice known as the Death Zone. With gripping interviews, rarely seen archive footage and access to the Stasi Museum and Archives, this documentary uncovers how the wall is continuing to affect the people of Berlin.

The Good Friday Agreement promised to bring an end to the violence of Northern Ireland's 'Troubles'. But three decades on, some areas are as divided today as they have ever been with towering walls keeping the Catholic Nationalists and the Protestant Unionists apart. Filmed with communities living in the shadow of Northern Ireland's 'Peace Walls', we meet inspirational people who are fighting to undo the damage caused by generations of division and hostility. Former paramilitaries who turned their backs on violence, brave individuals who are turning their painful experience of terrorism into something positive. People dedicated to offering hope to the youth of Northern Ireland - despite the area having devastatingly high suicide rates amongst young people.

This is perhaps the world's most fiercely disputed Wall. Stretching for over 700km through one of the holiest lands on earth, this towering concrete wall encircles the Palestinian West Bank. Built in response to escalating terrorist attacks, for Palestinians on the other side it breeds resentment and despair. We meet people whose land and livelihood has been lost to this new wall. We visit hotly disputed Israeli Settlements as well as those on whose lands they're being built. We discover the devastating effect of the wall on the children who are brought up in its shadow and see how the wall has become a magnet for world famous graffiti artists to paint murals resisting the occupation. We hear incredible stories of two inspiring fathers who have both lost their daughters in the conflict.

Events at the Korean Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) have often captured world headlines. Ever since the end of the Korean war in 1953, this 4km wide strip of no man's land splitting the peninsula in two has been one of the world's most hostile borders. At the border on the southern side, we see busloads of tourists eager to catch a glimpse of the secretive North, a country that has been cut off from the rest of the world for nearly 70 years. We hear emotional stories of families separated in the melee of war and daring accounts of people who risked everything to flee the repressive regime in North Korea, many speaking openly for the first time. As well as war veterans, defectors and separated families, we meet world famous artist Sun Mu, his identity a closely guarded secret, who escaped the North. He now uses art to cast a critical eye over the leaders of both North and South Korea.