Premiere of Ein Kessel Buntes

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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.

locations

Berlin-Ost, Friedrichstadt-Palast, Friedrichstraße 107

showtime
5

latitude
52.524058

longitude
13.389055

date

1972
The "get trim" campaign

West Berlin has been gripped by a "get trim" craze. Supported by the government, health insurance companies and business, the German Sports Association launches a campaign to combat a rise in circulatory disorders and help people lose weight.

Everyday Life, West

00:20
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November 03, 1971
Four Power Agreement

Twenty-five years after the end of the war, talks are launched in an attempt to finally clarify the status of Berlin. After lengthy negotiations, the US, the UK, France and the Soviet Union sign the Four Power Agreement on 3 September 1971. It confirms that Berlin (West) is not a part of the Federal Republic of Germany, but acknowledges the special ties between Berlin (West) and West Germany. It also lays down provisions concerning transit traffic between the FRG and Berlin (West), the rights of West Berlin residents to visit the Eastern part of the city and the GDR and the extent of West German presence in Berlin (West). The agreement brings about noticeable improvements to the lives of Berliners – tensions between East and West are gradually easing.

Politics, West, East

01:20
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August 13, 1971
Ten years of living with the Wall

On 13 August 1971 Berlin has been divided for ten years. The Wall has become a tourist attraction and popular backdrop for films, with its freshly raked death strip, signal fences, guard dogs, carpets of spikes and watchtowers. Almost 100 people have perished trying to get over to the other side. East Germans try to adjust to life with the Wall. Gert Roth talks about life in the GDR. A huge propaganda campaign is launched to mark the Wall's 10th anniversary and justify its existence.

Border, Escaping, Contemporary Witnesses, West, East

01:25
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May 03, 1971
Honecker succeeds Ulbricht

The Central Committee has a spring clean: in May 1971 Walter Ulbricht steps down from the post of General Secretary and First Secretary of the SED Central Committee at the age of 77 due to health reasons. He is succeeded by Erich Honecker. Ulbricht has been ousted from power with Moscow's blessing.

Politics, East

00:56
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May 1971
Centrum Warenhaus on Alexanderplatz

The Centrum Warenhaus on Alexanderplatz is the shopping Mecca of East Germany. It opens its doors in 1970. Sales assistant, Gert Roth, is there from day one. He recalls the store's beginnings and special promotional offers. When Erich Honecker enters office, he not only promises flats, stable prices and a better supply of goods. He also "treats" GDR citizens to 150,000 pairs of blue jeans, a product imported from the West. This much-coveted item of clothing is only available at the Centrum Warenhaus on Alexanderplatz.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, East

01:19
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April 1972
Entry permits over Easter

For the first time since 1966, West Berliners will be allowed to travel to East Berlin over Easter. Applying for a visitor's permit is a complicated process. Nevertheless, over three days nearly 60,000 people submit travel applications at five specially set-up offices. The applications are processed by undercover Stasi agents from East Berlin. Gert Knecht remembers the situation in the offices only too well, but also recalls the joy of seeing friends and relatives again for the first time in six long years.

Border, Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, West, East

02:48
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May 1972
Escaping in a car

The Transit Agreement is signed in East Berlin by State Secretaries Egon Bahr (FRG) and Michael Kohl (GDR). The agreement clarifies practical issues concerning transit and cross-border traffic. It also brings an easing of travel restrictions for West German citizens who want to travel to the GDR and for GDR citizens who wish to visit the Federal Republic to deal with urgent family matters. Up until now, only pensioners have been allowed to do this. Wolfgang Herrmann takes advantage of the relaxed conditions to flee across the border, assisted by escape helpers. Hermann describes his adventurous escape hidden in a car.

Border, Escaping, Contemporary Witnesses, West, East

02:38
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August 30, 1972
Steinstücken exclave

A few streets, a few houses, a few trees – Steinstücken measured a mere twelve hectares. Between 1945 and 1971, this area belonging to the Western district of Zehlendorf was West Berlin's only permanently inhabited exclave located in the Soviet-occupied zone/the GDR. In 1972 Berlin's mayor Klaus Schütz opens an access road connecting Steinstücken to West Berlin. Gert Knecht talks about living in the exclave.

Border, Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, West, East

02:49
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December 1972
The Basic Treaty

For the first time since 1965, West Berliners are able to travel to East Berlin for Christmas. Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik is easing tensions. On 21 December, the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR sign the Basic Treaty. It is part of a strategy adopted by the West German government under Chancellor Willy Brandt, aiming to normalise relations with the GDR. The FRG acknowledges Germany's partition, but also includes a clause stating the objective of reunification.

Politics, West, East

00:28
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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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location

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.

Contemporary Witnesses, Culture, East

02:01
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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.

Culture, East

00:46
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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.

Politics, Culture, East

01:42
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June 1984
Refugees in the permanent mission

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.

Escaping, Contemporary Witnesses, Opposition, West, East

03:12
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1974
West Germany's Permanent Mission in East Berlin

The two German states establish official relations. Although the governments of the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR did not open embassies in Bonn/East Berlin – the Federal Republic did not recognise the GDR as a foreign country under international law – they did establish Permanent Missions on 2 May 1974. The Basic Treaty signed in 1972 paved the way for this step. The staff of West Germany's Permanent Mission lived and worked in East Berlin. However, their children went to school in West Berlin. A life divided between two very different worlds. Ministry official Hans-Otto Bräutigam vividly recalls this time.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, West, East

02:37
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1974
Intershops open

In 1974 GDR citizens are allowed to purchase Western goods in foreign-currency shops - known as Intershops - for the first time. The product lines in these stores featured a small selection of high-quality GDR merchandise and a large range of goods produced in the FRG or other countries in the non-Socialist economic area. Shoppers could pay in Deutsche marks (Western marks) or in other currencies, such as the US dollar or the Austrian shilling. Prices were marked in Deutsche marks and set by the GDR authorities. Special conversion tables were provided to convert West German marks into other currencies, but they had little relation to the actual rates. The Intershops, a source of tax-free goods, were very popular among West Berliners. Smuggling goods for personal use virtually became a national sport.

Everyday Life, West, East

01:53
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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.

Escaping, Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, West, East

02:43
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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.

Border, Escaping, Contemporary Witnesses, West

04:53
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November 02, 1964
Travel permits for East German pensioners

The Wall opens to East Berliners for the first time. The GDR Council of Ministers has decided that pensioners from the GDR will be allowed to travel to the West. The pensioners are allowed to visit relatives in the Federal Republic of Germany or West Berlin once a year for up to four weeks. When they return via border crossings in West Berlin, their bags are packed full of Western goods. The GDR authorities see this as a minimal risk: the economy has little need for elderly East Berliners. As it is, only one in a thousand stay in the West anyway.

Border, Everyday Life, Politics, East

00:26
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April 1977
Hotel Metropol

The Hotel Metropol opens in East Berlin. Guests pay in Western currency and enjoy Western comforts in the heart of the GDR. Helga Lindner works at the hotel, in the team responsible for looking after the (Western) guests.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, East

01:56
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