GDR dissident Florian Havemann

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The GDR is preparing for its 20th birthday. Alexanderplatz is being redeveloped and the new centre is gradually taking shape. Everything must be finished in time for grand celebrations in October.

Not all young GDR citizens are in the mood for celebrating. Florian Havemann, the son of dissident Robert Havemann, has just been released from prison, where he was sent for his involvement in protests against the invasion in Prague. Florian Havemann is among a group of dissidents who are fighting for "socialism with a human face".

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Berlin-Ost, Reichsbahnausbesserungswerk

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38

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52.44465

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13.52864
Berlin-Ost, Alexanderplatz

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5

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52.5218316

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13.413168
Berlin-Ost, Mokka Milch Eisbar Karl-Marx-Allee

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74

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52.52021636

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13.4231472

date

November 04, 1968
The Battle of Tegeler Weg

The Battle of Tegeler Weg breaks out during a court hearing against Horst Mahler, the lawyer of the APO, marking the violent climax of the extraparliamentary opposition movement. Charges have been brought against Mahler for his involvement in the protests at the Springer publishing house on 11 April 1968, the evening of the assassination attempt on Rudi Dutschke. The case sparks violent clashes between students and the police on Tegeler Weg, resulting in 130 injured police officers and 22 injured protesters. The incident is viewed as a watershed in the history of the APO – the end of a peaceful movement.

Politics, Opposition, West

00:46
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October 26, 1968
Olympic gold medallist Manfred Wolke

East and West German athletes are competing in different teams at the Olympic Games for the first time – with different anthems, but still with the same flag. Boxer Manfred Wolke wins a gold medal for the GDR.

Contemporary Witnesses, Culture, East

00:46
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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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June 01, 1968
Prague Spring

East Berlin in the early summer of nineteen sixty-eight. Alexanderplatz is a huge building site: socialism is getting a makeover and the GDR capital is set to become a modern showcase of the Republic. In June 1968 18-year-old Toni Krahl, who will later front the rock band City, travels to Prague and is impressed by what he finds there: "socialism with a human face". However, on 21 August 1968 half a million soldiers from the Warsaw Pact countries invade the CSSR, crushing the Prague Spring. The authorities in East Berlin welcome the intervention and convict 1,200 people who take to the streets in protest, including Toni Krahl.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, Opposition, East

04:00
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1968
Attack on Rudi Dutschke

Nineteen sixty-eight is the year of student protests, above all against the war in Vietnam, the clampdown in Prague and the emergency laws. West Berlin's Ku'damm has gone from shopping boulevard to protest hub, much to the outrage of many born-and-bred Berliners. One of the leaders of the extraparliamentary opposition, or APO, is Rudi Dutschke. He survives an assassination attempt on 11 April 1968, but is seriously injured. The protesters accuse the Springer press of being complicit in the attack. Michael Ludwig Müller looks back at that turbulent year.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, Opposition, West

04:07
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1969
The women's movement and anti-authoritarian kindergartens

The advancement of women is a growing priority in the GDR. The Action Committee on the Liberation of the Woman and anti-authoritarian kindergartens are founded in West Berlin. Film director Helke Sander recalls how she, too, needed a kindergarten place back then. She was still a student and made use of one of the new childcare facilities set up in empty shops. However, some of the committee's plans to promote women's lib and an anti-authoritarian approach to raising children fall by the wayside.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, West, East

02:40
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1969
Migrant workers in West Berlin

Due to the shortage of skilled labour in West Berlin, workers are recruited from other countries in the 1960s. Many of Berlin's new residents come from Turkey. Hairdresser Suleyman Ilkan works in a salon at Zoo Station and learns German on the job, allowing him to act as an interpreter for his fellow countrymen when they arrive at Zoo Station.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, West

02:18
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1969
The Wall: video surveillance and tourist attraction

West Berlin customs officials have started to document events at the Wall. The Wall has also long been a tourist attraction. The Berlin Wall Memorial is the central memorial site documenting Germany's partition, located at the historic site of Bernauer Strasse: http://www.berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de

Border, Escaping, West, East

00:38
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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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1969
The GDR's 20th anniversary

Presents to celebrate the Republic's birthday: the World Time Clock and the TV Tower on Alexanderplatz – at 368 metres, it is still Germany's tallest building today.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, East

01:36
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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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1973
A car made in West Berlin

A new car is being built in West Berlin: "the shopper". It is the curious product of lavish state subsidies allocated to the walled-in city to attract industry. But the new vehicle is too small, too impractical and too expensive. After just one year, the manufacturer declares itself bankrupt. Fewer than 2,000 “shoppers” have rolled off the production line.

Everyday Life, West

00:59
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1978
East and West united - in football

East Berlin has two football teams: Eisern Union and BFC Dynamo. With Stasi boss Erich Mielke as its chairman, BFC is very much the team of the state. Eisern Union, on the other hand, is the club for those who oppose the status quo. Unsurprisingly, the Stasi see it as a group of troublemakers. Based in the blue-collar district of Köpenick, Eisern Union is popular with fans over in West Berlin. When the team plays FC Magdeburg, West Berliner Manfred Sangel is in the crowd. He tells us how, after a misunderstanding caused by the blue-and-white Magdeburg strip, a friendship developed between Eastern and Western football fans that proved stronger than the Wall.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, West, East

02:52
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GDR dissident Florian Havemann

locations

information

locations

The Battle of Tegeler Weg

Olympic gold medallist Manfred Wolke

Introduction of transit visas

Prague Spring

Attack on Rudi Dutschke

The women's movement and anti-authoritarian kindergartens

Migrant workers in West Berlin

The Wall: video surveillance and tourist attraction

Election of President of the Federal Republic, Gustav Heinemann

The GDR's 20th anniversary

Prague Spring

Queuing up for the West

Environmental library in Zion Church

Local elections in the GDR

Stefan Heym speaks on Alexanderplatz

An escape fit for the circus

A car made in West Berlin

East and West united - in football