The GDR's 20th anniversary

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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.

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Berlin-Ost, Alexanderplatz Weltzeituhr

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5

latitude
52.521045

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13.413222
Berlin-Ost, Unter den Linden

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58

latitude
52.5168707

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13.3885118

date

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
GDR dissident Florian Havemann

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".

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, Opposition, East

01:53
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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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October 21, 1969
Willy Brandt becomes Federal Chancellor

In October 1969, the new Bundestag elects Willy Brandt as Federal Chancellor. His policy of Ostpolitik is based on the principle of "change through rapprochement".

Politics, West

00:43
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December 1969
Christmas in Steinstücken

Santa Claus flies into the exclave of Steinstücken by helicopter. An exclave was a plot of land belonging to West Berlin but surrounded by GDR territory and therefore cut off from the West. During the Cold War, there were ten such exclaves in Berlin (West).

Border, Everyday Life, West

00:24
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1970
Four Power talks begin

Many Berliners have pinned their hopes on Willy Brandt, who has been Federal Chancellor since 1969. Will he help ease tensions between the two Germanies? After a ten-year hiatus, the Western allies and the Soviet Union go back to the negotiating table and begin the Four Power talks on Berlin. They aim to improve conditions for Berliners by securing permanent visiting arrangements and introducing new regulations for transit traffic. Klaus Schütz, SPD, was mayor of Berlin (West) and looks back at this period.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, West, East

02:07
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January 1970
The socialist metropolis of East Berlin

East Berlin is flourishing. The “capital” is evolving into a socialist metropolis. The construction of 14-storey tower blocks next to the Wall aims to send a clear signal to the West. The first foundation stones are laid here in January 1970. In East Berlin city centre, meanwhile, city planners are creating a cult of the personality: a 19-metre-high statue of Lenin forms the centrepiece of the square named after the revolutionary leader. It was inaugurated by head of state, Walter Ulbricht.

Everyday Life, East

00:30
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1970
Everyday life in East and West

The West Berlin Senate is trying to attract young skilled workers from the Federal Republic to address the rising average age of the city's residents. In 1970 one fifth of West Berliners are already over 65. A Berlin Bonus aims to attract young people to the city. East Berlin, on the other hand, is a popular destination for young people. Those who study here try to stay if they can.

Everyday Life, West, East

02:32
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July 01, 1990
Monetary union: Western marks for all

The economic, monetary and social union of West Germany and the GDR comes into force on 1 July 1990. The changes spell the end of the Eastern mark. GDR citizens finally have access to the Western mark, a long-time symbol of West German prosperity. Adults can change up to 4,000 Eastern marks at a rate of 1:1. For pensioners the maximum is 6,000. Savings in excess of those limits will be changed at a rate of 2:1. Wages and pensions are converted 1:1, and debts are halved. Brigitte Wnuck von Lipinski, landlady of Gittis Bierbar in Mitte, talks about the night before GDR money went out of circulation.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, West, East

01:53
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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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November 04, 1989
Stefan Heym speaks on Alexanderplatz

On 4 November, 500,000 people gather at a rally on Alexanderplatz in East Berlin. It is the biggest non-state-organised demonstration in the history of the GDR. The crowd calls for democracy, constitutional laws, and freedom of speech and the press. A group of East Berlin stage actors were the first to have the idea of a rally, and the event sees more than 20 speakers step up to the microphone. Among them are politicians like Günter Schabowski, Stasi official Markus Wolf, theologian Friedrich Schorlemmer, lawyer Gregor Gysi, university rector Lothar Bisky, authors such as Christoph Hein, Stefan Heym and Christa Wolf, playwright Heiner Müller, and the actors Steffie Spira, Ulrich Mühe and Jan Josef Liefers. The poet Stefan Heym is also among those to speak.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, Opposition, East

03:51
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November 04, 1989
Jan Josef Liefers speaks on Alexanderplatz

On 4 November, 500,000 people gather at a rally on Alexanderplatz in East Berlin. It is the biggest non-state-organised demonstration in the history of the GDR. The crowd calls for democracy, constitutional laws, and freedom of speech and the press. A group of East Berlin stage actors were the first to have the idea of a rally, and the event sees more than 20 speakers step up to the microphone. Among them are politicians like Günter Schabowski, Stasi official Markus Wolf, theologian Friedrich Schorlemmer, lawyer Gregor Gysi, university rector Lothar Bisky, authors such as Christoph Hein, Stefan Heym and Christa Wolf, playwright Heiner Müller, and the actors Steffie Spira, Ulrich Mühe and Jan Josef Liefers. This is a recording of actor Jan Josef Liefers' speech on Alexanderplatz.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, Opposition, East

01:29
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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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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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November 04, 1989
Christa Wolf speaks on Alexanderplatz

On 4 November, 500,000 people gather at a rally on Alexanderplatz in East Berlin. It is the biggest non-state-organised demonstration in the history of the GDR. The crowd calls for democracy, constitutional laws, and freedom of speech and the press. A group of East Berlin stage actors were the first to have the idea of a rally, and the event sees more than 20 speakers step up to the microphone. Among them are politicians like Günter Schabowski, Stasi official Markus Wolf, theologian Friedrich Schorlemmer, lawyer Gregor Gysi, university rector Lothar Bisky, authors such as Christoph Hein, Stefan Heym and Christa Wolf, playwright Heiner Müller, and the actors Steffie Spira, Ulrich Mühe and Jan Josef Liefers. Writer Christa Wolf also speaks the rally. This film shows her speech.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, Opposition, Culture, East

03:16
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July 29, 1973
World Festival of Youth

For the second time since 1951 East Berlin is organising the World Festival of Youth and Students. Eight million people descend on the city, transforming Alexanderplatz into a huge festival arena. The GDR, with its new head of state and Party leader Erich Honecker, wants to present a cosmopolitan image. Free love, long hair: a colourful chaos. Suddenly almost anything seems to go in the GDR capital, turned upside down for nine days. West Berlin sports teacher Gunnar Rohn talks about his experiences at the festival. A different kind of provocation is coming from East Berlin's cinemas: the film The Legend of Paul and Paula escapes a ban by the skin of its teeth. It is to become one of the most successful DEFA films of all time.

Contemporary Witnesses, Culture, East

03:24
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November 04, 1989
Rally at Alexanderplatz

On 4 November, 500,000 people gather for a rally on Alexanderplatz in East Berlin. It is the largest non-state-organised demonstration in GDR history. The crowd calls for democracy, constitutional laws, and freedom of speech and the press. A group of East Berlin stage actors were the first to have the idea of a rally, and the event sees more than 20 speakers step up to the microphone. Among them are politicians like Günter Schabowski, Stasi official Markus Wolf, theologian Friedrich Schorlemmer, lawyer Gregor Gysi, university rector Lothar Bisky, authors such as Christoph Hein, Stefan Heym and Christa Wolf, playwright Heiner Müller, and actors Steffie Spira, Ulrich Mühe and Jan Josef Liefers.

Politics, Opposition, East

00:36
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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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