The GDR in brief: 1949-1990
The GDR was born in 1949 in the Soviet occupation zone, with East Berlin as its capital. A single party, the SED, ran the country. Between 1949 and 1961, millions of people fled to the West, often through Berlin. On 13 August 1961 the GDR closed the border and built the Wall, which divided the city until 9 November 1989. Reunification took place on 3 October 1990.
Two things are worth keeping in mind as a traveller: the GDR was a state of control, with a powerful Ministry for State Security (the Stasi), and a state that wanted to build a "socialist" capital, hence the very recognisable architecture east of the centre.
Understanding surveillance: the Stasi and political prisons
The Stasi Museum occupies the ministry's former headquarters in Lichtenberg: you can see Minister Erich Mielke's office, listening devices and the machinery of mass surveillance. For repression, the Hohenschönhausen Memorial is the Stasi's former prison; the guided tours are often given by former prisoners or specialists, which makes it one of the most striking places in the city. For Cold War espionage, see also the Spy Museum.
The Wall and its traces
The Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Straße is the place that best shows how the border cut through a street: a preserved section of Wall, a watchtower and the death strip. The East Side Gallery, a long stretch of Wall covered in murals, is more colourful and very busy. In Mitte, Checkpoint Charlie recalls the Allied border crossing, and the Tränenpalast, at Friedrichstraße station, tells the story of the farewells at the inner-German border. Our route in the footsteps of the Berlin Wall links them together.
The socialist capital: tower, avenue and square
The TV Tower, opened in 1969, was meant to show socialism's modernity. Around it, Alexanderplatz keeps the World Clock and the memory of the demonstration of 4 November 1989. Further east, Karl-Marx-Allee, formerly Stalinallee, lines up the "workers' palaces" with their ceramic façades. On the Spree, the Humboldt Forum replaced the Palast der Republik, the East German parliament building, demolished between 2006 and 2008 after its closure in 1990. To the south-east, Treptower Park is home to the Soviet memorial opened in 1949.
Everyday life: museums and Ostalgie
The DDR Museum, on the banks of the Spree, is a hands-on visit: a reconstructed apartment, a Trabant cab, a kitchen, clothes. It is the best introduction to ordinary life. The Trabant, a people's car built in Zwickau, remained the country's symbol; you can still see them on the streets of the centre, often turned into sightseeing cars.
The little figure on the pedestrian lights, the Ampelmännchen, was designed in 1961 by Karl Peglau and became an emblem of the East: you will find it on magnets, lamps and other items in several shops in the centre, including the Hackesche Höfe. This is the "Ostalgie" side, a sometimes ambiguous nostalgia: a memory for some Berliners, a sensitive subject for others, who lived through the surveillance.
A day in the footsteps of the East
- Morning: DDR Museum (check opening times on the official website), then the TV Tower at Alexanderplatz.
- Early afternoon: take the U5 to Karl-Marx-Allee and walk to Frankfurter Tor.
- Late afternoon: Hohenschönhausen (guided tour, book ahead) or the Stasi Museum, depending on your interest.
- The next day: Bernauer Straße and the East Side Gallery.
Practical information
Most of these places can be reached with the U5 (Alexanderplatz, Karl-Marx-Allee, Lichtenberg) and trams M4 and M5. Hohenschönhausen is reached by tram, with a final walk. Opening hours, prices and tour languages change: check them on the pages. Our guide to getting around Berlin explains the tickets.
Going further
For an overview, see the guide to the 25 must-sees in Berlin and the Friedrichshain district, which touches Karl-Marx-Allee. For the city's memory, continue with the Topography of Terror.
