Refugees in the permanent mission

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Fifty-five GDR citizens flee to West Germany’s permanent mission on Hannoversche Strasse in East Berlin.

Hans-Otto Bräutigam is head of the mission at the time. He talks about the unbearable conditions that lasted several weeks and how, on 26 June, he was forced to go against the mission’s open-door policy and close it to the public. East and West reach an agreement at the end of July, when the GDR authorities agree not to punish the refugees and guarantee that they will soon be allowed to leave for the West.

Inge Albrecht was 20 when she and her friend took refuge in the mission. She speaks about what it was like.

locations

Ständige Vertretung der BRD in Ost-Berlin, Hannoversche Straße 28, 10115 Berlin

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1

latitude
52.526945

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13.386046
Notaufnahmelager Marienfelde, Marienfelder Allee 66, 12277 Berlin

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170

latitude
52.420447

longitude
13.367089

date

April 1984
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BVG takes over S-Bahn

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1984
Drive-through opens

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1984
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1983
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June 1984
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00:29
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July 28, 1984
Gasometer demolished

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1985
Queuing up for the West

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1985
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1985
West Berlin employs builders from across the border

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1974
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02:37
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February 1990
Evictions trigger riots

On 13 February 1990 a group of squatters occupy a former department store to save it from being demolished. The building stands on Oranienburger Strasse and dates back to the early 20th century. The new residents rename it Kunsthaus Tacheles and turn it into an art centre that becomes a popular tourist attraction. Members of the alternative scene occupy other buildings throughout the city. A lot of squatters from Kreuzberg move East after reunification. When police clear a number of squats in Mainzer Strasse, riots break out and last for days. The clearance is one of the largest police operations in Berlin’s post-war history.

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01:42
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April 06, 1965
Louis Armstrong in East Berlin

The guest performance of the year in East Berlin: legendary jazz musician Louis Armstrong performs at the Friedrichstadtpalast. Armstrong does not comment on the political situation, saying that he is interested in his audiences and not in the Wall.

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00:46
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January 29, 1972
Premiere of Ein Kessel Buntes

A Kettle of Colour premieres on GDR TV. The "Kessel" was the most glamorous and successful evening show ever broadcast on GDR television, fronted by “the three dialecticians”. Lutz Stückrath was one of the presenters. He recalls the programme's success and the initial freedoms the three satirists enjoyed when the show was launched.

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April 1984
Friedrichstadtpalast opens

The Friedrichstadtpalast opens in East Berlin. It has the largest stage in the world and can seat 2,000 theatregoers. Jürgen Nass, who was the assistant director at the time, talks about how the West actually inspired the performances that were presented as examples of good, socialist entertainment.

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02:01
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1983
Youth brigades in action

Youth brigades, part of the Free German Youth organisation, are put to work sprucing up new estates in East Berlin. The unpaid workers, nicknamed “subbotniks”, are also in high demand in the old neighbourhoods around the Eastern portion of the city centre.

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00:41
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August 13, 1961
A career setback at the theatre

In 1961 West Berliner Karola Ebeling is starring in "Love and Intrigue" at the Deutsches Theater in the East of the city. She is in Basel with the ensemble giving a guest performance when news of the Wall going up takes her by surprise on 13 August. Her first question is: how will they return to West Berlin? With some difficulty, she eventually makes it back but her career at the Deutsches Theater is now over. By chance she finds a new role at the Theater des Westens, where she stands in for Karin Hüber in "My Fair Lady" when the lead actress falls ill. The role of Eliza Doolittle helps launch her career on the stage and she finds a new artistic home in West Berlin. 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.

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04:53
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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.

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August 13, 1961
Enlisted to build the Wall

Dieter Weber has a job as a dump truck driver. The weekend of 12/13 August 1961 his company receives orders to transport concrete posts and barbed wire to the border - driving right across the city from Johannisthal to Chausseestrasse in central Berlin. These materials are used to build the Wall. It is a hard job, involving shifts of 14 to 16 hours over two weeks. When Dieter arrives at Chausseestrasse each morning, the Wall has grown a little higher. 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.

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03:52
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1974
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Everyday Life, West, East

01:53
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