Opposition to the GDR

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Mid-January sees the GDR’s leaders gather for the annual Luxemburg-Liebknecht demonstration. The politicians visit Friedrichsfelde in East Berlin, where they pay their respects at the memorial to labour leaders Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht.

While this is going on, the voices of those who oppose the regime are getting louder. People take to the streets and unfurl banners bearing quotes by Rosa Luxemburg. Over 100 protestors are arrested, among them Stephan Krawczyk, Bärbel Bohley, Wolfgang Templin, Vera Wollenberger and Freya Klier.

locations

Grabstätte Karl Liebknecht, Rosa Luxemburg (Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde)

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15

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52.515556

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13.510556
Palast der Republik (Schlossplatz), 10178 Berlin

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1

latitude
52.5175

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13.402222
Alexanderplatz (Weltzeituhr), 10178 Berlin

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6

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52.521172

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13.413308
Frankfurter Tor, 10243 Berlin

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61

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52.515907

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13.453463
Stasi-Gefängnis Berlin-Hohenschönhausen, 13055 Berlin

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168

latitude
52.541667

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13.501111
U-Bahnhof Eberswalder Straße, 10437 Berlin

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192

latitude
52.541667

longitude
13.412222

date

June 12, 1987
Reagan visits West Berlin

President Reagan’s visit to West Berlin in June 1987 sparks rioting in the streets and anti-American demonstrations. To mark the 750th anniversary of Berlin, Reagan gives a speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate. Two short sentences will be remembered forever: “General Secretary Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

Politics, West

00:57
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June 1987
David Bowie plays Berlin

The Eurythmics, Genesis and David Bowie are all on the line-up for a three-day festival outside the Reichstag building in West Berlin. East Berliners gather close to the Wall to try and hear the performances. Protests break out among the crowd, with people chanting things like “the Wall must go”. David Bowie talks about his visit to East Berlin.

Culture, West

00:49
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May 01, 1987
Rioting in Kreuzberg

Kreuzberg stages an alternative celebration marking International Workers’ Day on 1 May 1987. What begins as a peaceful event during the day descends into rioting that night. A supermarket burns to the ground, whole streets are set on fire and 250 police officers are injured. The next morning, parts of Kreuzberg lie almost in ruins. It is the start of a cycle that will see the district erupt into violence on 1 May for many years to come. Helmut Sarwas describes what it was like being a police officer on duty that night.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, West

02:04
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February 1987
Smog alert

West Berlin issues its first Level 1 smog alert of the year. Drivers are banned from using their cars, unless they are traveling between West Berlin and West Germany. It’s a fairly easy loophole to exploit... According to GDR officials, there is no smog. But whatever the politicians say, everyone knows that the problem is being caused by the lignite power plants located in Lusatia, a part of the GDR less than 100 kilometres outside Berlin. Martin Lutz, a meteorologist at Freie Universität Berlin (West), talks about the events of that February.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, West, East

02:38
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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 1988
Lenné Triangle occupied

In 1988, a group of young people occupy the Lenné Triangle, a plot of land that lies right by the Wall, in an attempt to stop a motorway being built there. Although the site is in West Berlin, it is actually the property of East Berlin. The occupation makes a tourist attraction of what was once just a wasteland. Not long after the young people arrive, the Lenné Triangle is handed back to the West and several hundred police officers begin clearing the site. They fire teargas and use water cannons, and the squatters retaliate by throwing paving stones. A lot of the protestors manage to flee across the Wall to East Berlin, where they are given breakfast and later allowed to take the U-Bahn back to the West. Today the site is home to the Beisheim Center.

Politics, West, East

02:47
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June 16, 1988
Pink Floyd at the Reichstag

Pink Floyd are performing outside the Reichstag building in West Berlin. Fans also gather on the other side of the Wall, in the hope of hearing some of the concert. But things take a turn for the worse and the East Berlin authorities make a number of arrests.

Culture, West

01:03
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1989
How much longer will the Wall survive?

Protests in the GDR keep getting louder, but still no one thinks the Wall will fall any time soon. Even in January 1989, Honecker still believes in the border: “The Wall will still be here in 50 years, and in 100, if the reasons for its presence still persist.”

Everyday Life, Politics, West, East

01:02
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January 1989
Karajan retires

Herbert von Karajan leaves the Berlin Philharmonic after 35 years as its principal conductor.

Culture, West

00:22
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1989
Last shoot-to-kill death at the Wall

Chris Gueffroy, a 20-year-old from East Berlin, is shot and killed as he attempts to flee on 8 February 1989. He is the last person to die as a result of the shoot-to-kill order at the Wall. He and a friend were trying to cross the death strip along the branch canal between Treptow in the East and Neukölln in the West. Their route ran close to two sets of allotments, one called Harmony and the other Carefree. Chris’ friend survives and spends a short time in an East Berlin jail before West Germany buys his freedom.

Border, Escaping, West, East

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location

1966
Shopping centre opens in Lichtenberg

In April 1966, the GDR's most modern shopping centre opens in the East Berlin district of Lichtenberg. Manfred Lauchardt recalls how the GDR's popular WM66 washing machine was not only used in East German households, but also came in handy on Berlin's Alexanderplatz to keep sausages warm.

Everyday Life, East

01:08
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January 15, 1990
Dissolving the Stasi

The GDR’s secret service (Stasi) is being dissolved. Protestors storm its headquarters in East Berlin. For decades the Stasi spied on its own citizens and hounded political opponents. Its staff included numerous full-time spies as well as so-called “unofficial collaborators”. After the Wall fell, the GDR government initially had no plans to dissolve the Stasi. It is largely thanks to the Central Round Table and the citizens’ committees that the Stasi (which by then had been renamed the Office for National Security) was eventually abolished. Carlo Jordan represented the Greens at the Round Table.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, Opposition, East

01:44
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1977
East Berlin struck by coffee crisis

In an effort to save Western currency, the GDR creates a new brand of coffee. Kaffee-MIX is ground coffee combined with roasted peas, rye, barley and sugar beet. It quickly earns itself a nickname: Instant Erich. Peter Pragal, then a correspondent for the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, was living in East Berlin with his family at the time of the coffee crisis.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, East

01:42
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January 1978
Honecker the estate agent

Work on a huge new housing estate in Marzahn has been underway for a year now. The 11-storey prefab blocks are assembled from large panels and take about 110 days to put up. Housing construction is still a high priority for the GDR, which is why Erich Honecker personally hands over the keys to the family moving into the millionth flat.

Everyday Life, East

00:33
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1975
Buying freedom

West Germany has been buying political prisoners out of the GDR since 1962. In 1975, GDR citizens file 16,000 applications for exit visas - more than ever before. The same year, West Germany breaks its own record by spending more than 100 million Deutsche marks on freeing detainees. Although the GDR has signed the Helsinki Final Act, it is still putting people on trial for political reasons. West Berlin lawyer Reymar von Wedel helps the prisoners on behalf of the protestant church.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, East

01:33
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1982
Blues Masses in East Berlin

A church in East Berlin starts holding what will become known as Blues Masses. The events attract those who are unhappy with the regime. Dirk Moldt, an 18-year-old watchmaker’s apprentice, is among them. The young people who gather here feel protected by the church and safe from the repression of the state. Father Rainer Eppelmann and Robert Havemann, a staunch critic of the government, publish their "Berlin Appeal", in which they call for disarmament and freedom of speech.

Contemporary Witnesses, Opposition, East

01:37
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1978
Sigmund Jähn honoured

Cosmonaut Sigmund Jähn opens the Allee der Kosmonauten, a new thoroughfare in East Berlin. He is also made an honorary citizen of Berlin for becoming the first German in space after taking part in a Russian mission aboard Soyuz 31.

Politics, East

00:46
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May 1989
Local elections in the GDR

The GDR holds local elections in May 1989. A group of young civil rights activists monitor the vote counting. When the official figures show that 98.85 percent of the population voted for the candidates put forward by the SED, the activists accuse the party of ballot rigging. As a member of the peace group in Weisensee that organised the monitoring, Mario Schatta experienced the events first hand.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, Opposition, East

02:23
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August 13, 1961
Escaping across the allotments

The allotment garden on Kiefholzstrasse in Treptow was home to both East and West Berliners who happily lived side by side – until 13 August 1961. When the Wall went up, the allotments were the only escape route for some, such as Monika Schönicke. Her father, who had already escaped to the West and was waiting on the other side, used garden shears to cut through the allotment's wire-mesh fence. 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, East

03:48
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August 13, 1961
A last-minute escape

When radio mechanic Manfred Roseneit heard the Wall was going up on 13 August 1961 he set off on his motorbike and headed to the border to see if there was still a chance of getting across. Once he had found a spot to escape, he made a quick dash home to pick up his most important documents... 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, East

03:34
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