Day 25: Interviews in Little Berlin
At the University of Erfurt, history students Tim (A) and Lena (B) pitch an interview project to their professor, Professor Hofmann (C).
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a German word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native German, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Frau Hofmann, wir möchten fĂŒr unsere Hausarbeit Zeitzeugen in Mödlareuth befragen, dem Dorf, durch das einst die Mauer lief.
Professor Hofmann, for our essay we'd like to interview eyewitnesses in Mödlareuth, the village the wall once ran through.
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B
Und zwar möglichst bald, zumal viele Zeitzeugen inzwischen hochbetagt sind.
And as soon as possible, all the more so as many of the eyewitnesses are very elderly now.
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C
Gern, sofern Sie eines bedenken: Erinnerungen verÀndern sich jedes Mal, wenn man sie erzÀhlt.
By all means, provided you bear one thing in mind: memories change every time they're told.
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A
HeiĂt das, wir sollen den Leuten nicht glauben? Das wĂ€re ihnen gegenĂŒber doch respektlos.
Does that mean we shouldn't believe people? That would be disrespectful to them, surely.
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C
Keineswegs. Hören Sie genau zu, aber gleichen Sie das ErzÀhlte mit den Akten und den im Museum gesammelten Fotos ab.
Not at all. Listen carefully, but check what you're told against the files and the photos collected at the museum.
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B
Sie klingen, als sprÀchen Sie aus eigener Erfahrung.
You sound as if you're speaking from personal experience.
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C
Das tue ich: Ich bin selbst in einem geteilten Dorf aufgewachsen, und mein Bruder erinnert sich an eine ganz andere DDR als ich.
I am: I grew up in a divided village myself, and my brother remembers a completely different GDR from me.
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