East Berlin struck by coffee crisis

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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.

locations

Weißenseer Weg 2 (Wohnung Peter Pragal), 10367 Berlin

showtime
44

latitude
52.527795

longitude
13.479612

date

1976
Wolf Biermann and Lothar Loewe expelled

The GDR does not take kindly to criticism. East Berlin singer-songwriter Wolf Biermann has been banned from appearing in the GDR for the past 11 years. Then, in November 1976, completely out of the blue, he receives permission to perform in the West. But after he gives a concert in Cologne, the GDR authorities announce that he will not be allowed to return home. Lothar Loewe, a reporter for West German broadcaster ARD, is among those to sense that the mood in East Berlin is shifting. When he gives a less-than-rosy report of the situation on a December edition of ARD’s Tagesschaunews show, the GDR authorities waste no time in expelling him. The comments that led to their decision went something like this: “Everyone knows full well that border troops are under strict orders to shoot people as if they were mere rabbits.”

Border, Politics, Opposition, Culture, West, East

03:43
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1976
Gardening in an exclave

It doesn’t matter what side of the Wall they live on, Berliners everywhere love their summerhouses and gardens. The Fichtewiese allotments are unique because they occupy an exclave, which means they’re in West Berlin but surrounded on all sides by East Berlin territory. To reach their gardens, the owners have to walk through the death strip and can only make the trip at certain times of the day. Marianne Schemmel had one of the allotments. She still has vivid memories of the routine, and talks about how it just became a part of normal life.

Border, Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, West

02:00
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1976
Double agent's cover blown

Heinrich Burger’s cover as a double agent is blown. A spokesman for the West Berlin SPD, he was spying for both the Stasi and the West Berlin intelligence services. He is sentenced to seven years in jail, but is released two years later as part of an exchange of spies, and moves to East Berlin. The passing of time has given Heinrich a different perspective on his actions.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, West, East

02:18
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May 18, 1976
9th SED conference: cementing the divide

As well as increasing social spending, the 9th SED party conference (18-22 May 1976) also agrees a new manifesto. Designed to cement the GDR’s ideological separation from the West, the document does away with any mention of German unity.

Politics, East

00:37
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April 23, 1976
Palace of the Republic opens

The Palace of the Republic opens in East Berlin with a celebration for its builders, technicians, engineers, architects, and anyone else who was involved in its construction. Two days later it opens to the public. The building is home to the People’s Chamber (the parliament of the GDR) and is also a conference and events centre. Built on the site of the old city palace, the imposing structure is the new jewel in East Berlin’s crown. Caretaker Bernd Wolfgang spent weeks preparing everything for the grand opening. In this film he talks about his first days on duty in the palace.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, East

02:49
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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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1977
The German Autumn

In 1977, during what became known as the German Autumn, the RAF terrorist group plunges West Germany into turmoil. The West Berlin police get involved in helping to hunt down the people who kidnapped Hanns Martin Schleyer, president of an employers’ association. Andreas Baader and Gudrun Ensslin, two RAF terrorists being held in custody, commit suicide when they hear that the hostages on a hijacked Lufthansa plane have been freed in Mogadishu, Somalia. Birgit Roehl from West Berlin was one of the 86 hostages freed that day. On 19 October, the body of Hanns Martin Schleyer is found. He was murdered by the RAF.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, West

01:11
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November 01, 1977
Expulsion of Pannach, Kunert and Fuchs

In November 1977 the Free German Youth gathers in East Berlin to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the Russian revolution. At the same time, a year since Wolf Biermann’s expulsion from the GDR, East Berlin’s cultural life is losing its lifeblood. Anyone who criticises the state is promptly banished to the West. Singer-songwriters Gerulf Pannach and Christian Kunert, and the author Jürgen Fuchs all suffer this fate.

Politics, Opposition, East

00:47
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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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1978
The Wall keeps growing

Work on expanding and improving the Wall continues in 1978. Vast stretches of fencing mean escapees can be spotted long before they reach the border zone, and spring guns are installed to make it impossible to reach the other side.

Border, Escaping, West, East

00:33
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location

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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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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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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March 20, 1981
SEZ complex opens in East Berlin

The SEZ sports and leisure complex opens in Friedrichshain, East Berlin. It attracts 16 million visitors in the first five years alone. The complex, which had swimming pools, sports halls, an ice rink and several restaurants, was designed to welcome up to 22,000 visitors a day. Heide-Maria Heyde used to work there and recalls the long queues that were a daily sight outside the complex.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, East

01:56
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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 1988
Opposition to the GDR

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.

Politics, Opposition, East

03:20
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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
A Sunday outing that was not to be

Each time Ursula Rahn visits the Brandenburg Gate, it brings back memories of her personal story 50 years ago. On 13 August 1961 she has organised a Sunday outing. That morning Ursula and her friend meet in front of the Brandenburg Gate, planning to go for a cycle ride. 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, Contemporary Witnesses, East

04:54
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October 07, 1974
The GDR's 25th anniversary

The GDR is turning 25. In October 1974, the Republic's birthday is marked in a fitting manner: a military parade through the centre of East Berlin. State-owned enterprises have exceeded their targets.

Politics, East

00:32
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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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