New York City – Straight into the Heart
One Week in September
Radiofeature von Egon Koch
Produced by WDR, NDR, and SWR, 2002
Edited by Gisela Corves
Chronology of the events: busy New York City; everyone in the street is a perfect stranger . . . and on the morning of September 11, 2001 suddenly, completely out of the blue, the totally unexpected: Two airplanes destroy the twin towers of the World Trade Center.
The attack on the symbol of globalized progress creates a state of emergency for the whole city, the whole country. Those who have not lost any loved ones withdraw, out of sheer helplessness and shock, into their homes. However, amidst the politicians‘ and the media’s cries for revenge and war nobody can stand being alone for too long. Slowly, the New Yorkers venture out into the streets again, visit the memorials downtown, find first words for the inexpressible; they talk with one another, pray, help.
One week in September: The catastrophe has shown New Yorkers how vulnerable their metropolis and their way of life are; it has shaken their identity at the core. But it also prompted wide-ranging questions: What is freedom, civilization, and security? What is the relationship between „good“ and „evil“? Does the destruction also hold hope for a new start?
Airing on
WDR 3 – March 10, 2002
SWR 2 – March 11, 2002
Radio 3 – March 12, 2002
DRS 2 – September 1 & September 6, 2002
WDR 5 – September 11, 2002
SR 2 – September 29, 2002
WDR 5 – September 11, 2011