Hertha in the Bundesliga

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Berliners on both sides of the Iron Curtain share a passion for football. West Berliners' pride and joy: the club Hertha BSC. The “Champions of the Berlin City League” have been promoted to the new Bundesliga. As manager and vice president of the club, Wolfgang Holst helped Hertha get in the Bundesliga. However, Wolfgang recalls how the Berlin club was not a popular choice for star footballers from the Federal Republic.

The situation in the GDR league couldn't be more different: it is home to two East Berlin teams. The army sports club “Vorwärts” is competing for points against the State Security Service's club “Dynamo”. Neither of these clubs has any trouble attracting top players.

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Berlin-West, Olympiastadion

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5

latitude
52.5146108

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13.2396646
Berlin-Ost, Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark

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82

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52.5436337

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13.4084916

date

1963
Expansion of the border fortifications

The Wall is refortified. The restricted zone behind the Wall is extended and surrounded by barbed wire and anti-tank trenches. A special permit is now required to enter the border area. The chances of escaping grow ever slimmer in 1963. Work is also underway on West Berlin’s sector border. The authorities install markers in the Havel Lakes to alert and protect West Berlin's water sports enthusiasts.

Border, Politics, West, East

00:57
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June 26, 1963
Kennedy and Khrushchev in Berlin

The Cold War is raging. US President John F. Kennedy arrives in West Berlin in the morning of 26 June 1963. As he drives through the walled-in city, excited Berliners line the streets and give him a rapturous welcome. Children are given the day off school and businesses are closed. A reported 1.5 million people have come out to get a glimpse of Kennedy. His visit culminates with a speech in front of Schöneberg Town Hall, at that time the official seat of Berlin's mayor Willy Brandt and his successors. It is here that the young president and bearer of hope for West Berliners utters the legendary words "ich bin ein Berliner" to huge applause and cheers from the crowd. Just two days after Kennedy, the GDR authorities retaliate by inviting Kremlin leader Nikita Khrushchev on a state visit to East Berlin. But the East Berliners' enthusiasm for Khrushchev is muted in comparison...

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, West, East

03:59
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1963
Bowling, the new trend

Berliners get on with their day-to-day life in the walled-in city. Despite the gloomy situation, they still find plenty of ways to enjoy their leisure time. A new sport is all the rage in 1963: bowling. Played by both East and West Berliners – albeit using slightly different technology.

Everyday Life, West, East

00:29
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December 27, 1962
An escape fit for the circus

As a fireman in West Berlin, Werner Grützmann is often called out to the border between East and West. These operations generally involve him and his colleagues holding out rescue nets for East Berliners escaping by jumping out of windows. Just before Christmas in 1962, his unit is sent to Teltow Canal to respond to an unusual call for help. In 2011, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Wall going up, the rbb interviewed Berliners to find out what the division of the city meant to them. The Wall had a profound impact on the way each person went about their daily lives - no matter what side they found themselves on. Overnight people were cut off from their friends and relatives, from their offices, factories and schools, and from places where they enjoyed spending their leisure time. The division of the city tore families apart, ruptured biographies and claimed many lives.

Border, Escaping, Contemporary Witnesses, West

04:00
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1962
Supply of goods in East and West

Everyday life for Berliners in the divided city: customers in the West are flocking to self-service stores. In East Berlin, however, shoppers are often met with empty shelves in 1962.

Everyday Life, West, East

01:02
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October 15, 1963
The Philharmonic Concert Hall opens

A new landmark emerges in West Berlin. The Philharmonic Concert Hall opens its doors in October 1963. Berliners are soon referring to the tent-like structure as Karajan’s Circus after the much-loved conductor. The hall was designed by architect Hans Scharoun and boasts a unique feature: the audience can see the orchestra from all angles.

Culture, West

00:41
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1963
The new heart of East Berlin at Alexanderplatz

The new heart of East Berlin is taking shape around Alexanderplatz: Kino International and Café Moskau are almost complete. The café will treat its guests to original Russian dishes. Modern residential areas are also under construction in East Berlin, aiming to bring living standards up to the level of the West.

Everyday Life, Culture, East

01:21
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1963
Food from vending machines

Modernisation continues unabated. The latest trend in West Berlin: the "silent vendor". Staff canteens are selling food in vending machines and business is booming...

Everyday Life, West

00:41
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December 17, 1963
First border pass agreement

For the first time since 1961, small gaps start to appear in the Wall. The border pass agreement is signed on 17 December 1963, 28 months after the Wall goes up, allowing West Berliners to visit their relatives in the other part of the city over Christmas. More than 700,000 West Berliners take advantage of this long-awaited chance to see their loved ones on the other side of the Wall. Some 1.2 million cross over to the East between 19 December and 5 January. GDR post office workers are responsible for processing the permit applications. Although they are state employees, they do not represent East German public authorities like police or customs officials. As a result, the Federal Republic views the border pass agreement as an administrative agreement which does not signify recognition of the GDR. The SED regime, on the other hand, does everything it can to give the agreement the character of an international treaty. A total of four border pass agreements are negotiated up until 1966.

Escaping, Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, West, East

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1964
Beat music and baby classes

Gender roles are changing. In West Berlin, women are dancing on their own to beat music and fathers-to-be are taking baby courses organised by the Red Cross.

Everyday Life, Culture, West

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June 01, 1974
Football World Cup

In June 1974, the Federal Republic organises the Football World Cup. West Berliners are not limited to television viewing: games will also be held at the Olympic Stadium. The fact that both German teams will play group matches here is a particularly sensitive point. However, they will not face each other in Berlin.

Everyday Life, West, East

00:57
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1965
Beatlemania and the Rolling Stones

Young people are crazy about the Beatles and not just because of their music - much to the bemusement of many older Berliners. The Rolling Stones give a legendary concert in the West Berlin venue, the Waldbühne. The fans leave a trail of destruction in their wake. East Berlin quickly uses the incident in its propaganda war against the West, classifying beat music as a decadent, Western influence and banning numerous bands.

Culture, West, East

01:47
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1966
Soviet plane crashes into Stößensee

A Soviet plane crashes into Stößensee. Apart from the pilots, no one is hurt and a disaster is narrowly avoided on West Berlin's densely populated Heerstrasse. A plaque on Stößensee bridge commemorates the fighter jet crash: "On 6 April 1966, Soviet pilots Captain Boris Vladimirovich Kapustin and Lieutenant Yuri Nikolayevich Yanov steered their faulty aircraft into Stößensee, losing their lives in the crash. Thanks to their selfless act, they avoided an unforeseeable disaster in the nearby residential area. This plaque honours the sacrifice made by the Soviet soldiers as a symbol of humanity in the midst of the Cold War."

Politics, West

01:36
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1964
Skiing on Teufelsberg

In 1964 Teufelsberg - a hill rising up to 112 metres - is equipped with a ski lift and floodlights, creating Alpine-like conditions for skiers in the walled-in city. Berliners can take skiing courses free of charge. This urban winter sports location even features a ski jump. However, over the years, American agents working in the listening station on Teufelsberg claim that the skiers are disrupting their work. In 1999 the entire infrastructure is dismantled.

Everyday Life, Culture, West

01:55
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1985
Natural gas and senate stockpiles

Natural gas from the Soviet Union begins flowing to West Berlin in early October 1985. But because the allies are worried that the Soviets could cut the supply at any moment, they build a massive gas storage facility underneath Stössensee lake. West Berlin is preparing for disasters in other ways too. The senate has built up huge stockpiles of essentials so that the city can still retain its freedom even if things take a turn for the worse.

Everyday Life, West

00:56
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1987
One birthday, two parties

East and West Berlin hold separate celebrations to mark the city’s 750th birthday. East Berlin spruces itself up and completely renovates the historic Nikolai Quarter. Chancellor Kohl attends the celebrations in West Berlin. Erich Honecker has been invited, but doesn’t show up. When it becomes clear that the two sides still disagree over Berlin’s divided status, the East feels cheated and promptly retracts the invitation it had extended to Mayor Diepgen.

Politics, West, East

00:54
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March 05, 1969
Election of President of the Federal Republic, Gustav Heinemann

On 5 March 1969, the West German Federal Assembly elects Gustav Heinemann to the post of Federal President in West Berlin. His election is taken as a sign of the political reorientation in Bonn: in autumn 1969 a social-liberal coalition comes to power in the Federal Republic, led by Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt. East Berlin accuses the West Germans of violating the city’s special status by holding the presidential election in West Berlin and seals off transit routes. GDR chief commentator Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler lashes out on East German television, remarking that there is a village in the West German state of Schleswig-Holstein called Berlin. He suggests the Federal Assembly go and elect its Federal President there.

Politics, West

01:04
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May 1978
Elizabeth II and Queen visit Berlin

Queen Elizabeth II graces West Berlin with a visit in May. Her first visit, in 1965, was about reconciliation between the UK and Germany. This time, she is here to show her support for West Berlin’s freedom, which British forces are helping to guarantee. Her Majesty is not the only monarch drawing crowds in West Berlin. Freddy Mercury and his band Queen are here to give what turns out to be a spectacular concert in the Deutschlandhalle arena.

Politics, Culture, West

00:58
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1968
Introduction of transit visas

In 1968 West Berliners travel on holiday by long-distance coach. But this method of transport is not without its drawbacks: in mid-June 1968 the GDR introduces a mandatory passport and visa fee for transit traffic between Berlin (West) and the Federal Republic. The charge of five West German marks per person will give a significant boost to the GDR's foreign currency reserves.

Border, Politics, West, East

01:13
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April 02, 1979
Congress centre opens

The International Congress Centre (ICC) opens in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, West Berlin. It is one of the biggest congress centres in the world. The building (320 metres long, 80 metres wide and 40 metres high) was designed by Berlin architects Ralf Schüler and Ursulina Schüler-Witte. It cost 924 million Deutsche marks and took just four years to build. With 80 conference halls and rooms for 20 to 9,100 guests, multifunctional facilities, state-of-the-art technology, and a wide range of services, the ICC is ideal for all kinds of conferences and events. Harald Juhnke, a well-known Berlin entertainer, is extremely impressed.

Everyday Life, West

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