Elizabeth II and Queen visit Berlin

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Queen Elizabeth II graces West Berlin with a visit in May. Her first visit, in 1965, was about reconciliation between the UK and Germany. This time, she is here to show her support for West Berlin’s freedom, which British forces are helping to guarantee.

Her Majesty is not the only monarch drawing crowds in West Berlin. Freddy Mercury and his band Queen are here to give what turns out to be a spectacular concert in the Deutschlandhalle arena.

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Deutschlandhalle in West-Berlin

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30

latitude
52.50161004

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13.27440262
Kurfürstendamm in West-Berlin

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1

latitude
52.50374238

longitude
13.32843304

date

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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1978
Airplane hijacked

A passenger plane belonging to Poland’s LOT airline lands in Tempelhof, bringing to an end a hijacking that began in Gdansk. Ingrid Maron is on board – not as a passenger but as one of the hijackers. She was planning to use forged papers to flee from Gdansk to the West by ferry. When the plan fell apart, she and an acquaintance, Detlev Tiede, decide to escape by hijacking a Polish plane. In this film, Ingrid talks about how the incredible situation came about.

Border, Escaping, Contemporary Witnesses, West, East

03:43
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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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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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1979
Allied troops on parade

Troops in West Berlin are out on parade for the annual Allied Forces Day. The allied soldiers have been ensuring the freedom of West Berlin since 1945, but their parade along the Strasse des 17. Juni is also a show of strength directed at the East.

Politics, West

00:27
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January 01, 1979
Conscription dodgers move to West Berlin

Under allied law, West Berliners don’t have to do military service. That makes the city attractive to any West Germans who want to escape conscription. In East Berlin, meanwhile, military service is still very much a part of life, despite the city’s demilitarised status. The only way to avoid it is to do non-military building work – but that still means you have to join the army. Anyone who refuses conscription outright has it hard. Nevertheless, Michael Frenzel, a church social worker in East Berlin, decided to take that route. It landed him in jail.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, West, East

01:37
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April 02, 1979
Congress centre opens

The International Congress Centre (ICC) opens in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, West Berlin. It is one of the biggest congress centres in the world. The building (320 metres long, 80 metres wide and 40 metres high) was designed by Berlin architects Ralf Schüler and Ursulina Schüler-Witte. It cost 924 million Deutsche marks and took just four years to build. With 80 conference halls and rooms for 20 to 9,100 guests, multifunctional facilities, state-of-the-art technology, and a wide range of services, the ICC is ideal for all kinds of conferences and events. Harald Juhnke, a well-known Berlin entertainer, is extremely impressed.

Everyday Life, West

01:25
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April 16, 1979
Forum checks

GDR citizens used to be able to purchase goods with foreign currency (e.g. the Deutsche mark) in a special chain of shops called Intershop. Now they have to exchange the money for “Forumchecks” before they can buy anything there. The government has introduced the rule so that it can quickly siphon off the Western money that its citizens bring into the GDR. Visitors from outside the GDR, however, can still pay with foreign currency as long as they show their passport.

Politics, East

00:49
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June 1979
Free German Youth gathering

The GDR celebrates its 30th anniversary in 1979. The event is the focus of the Whitsun gathering of the Free German Youth. Teachers, who are required to turn their pupils into good socialist citizens, make sure every child is aware that this is a special year. But young people in the GDR don’t toe the line as much as the government would like them to. They idolise Western celebrities, listen to rock music, and wear denim. In fact, they are starting to look more and more like their peers on the other side of the Wall.

Politics, Culture, East

01:16
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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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April 02, 1979
Congress centre opens

The International Congress Centre (ICC) opens in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, West Berlin. It is one of the biggest congress centres in the world. The building (320 metres long, 80 metres wide and 40 metres high) was designed by Berlin architects Ralf Schüler and Ursulina Schüler-Witte. It cost 924 million Deutsche marks and took just four years to build. With 80 conference halls and rooms for 20 to 9,100 guests, multifunctional facilities, state-of-the-art technology, and a wide range of services, the ICC is ideal for all kinds of conferences and events. Harald Juhnke, a well-known Berlin entertainer, is extremely impressed.

Everyday Life, West

01:25
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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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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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1967
Kommune 1 and the extraparliamentary opposition

In January 1967 Fritz Teufel and almost a dozen other students found the living community Kommune Eins in West Berlin. It has emerged from the APO, the student movement's extraparliamentary opposition. The students aim for nothing less than revolutionising the way they live and love. How they'll achieve this is still unclear. Their attempts to explore an alternative model to the conservative society of the day shock ordinary citizens. "Kommune 1" hits the headlines with its plans to carry out a "pudding assassination" on US Vice-President Humphrey, who visits West Berlin in April 1967. German student Detlef Michel was one of the original communards.

Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, Politics, Opposition, West

02:37
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1982
Smog alert in West Berlin

West Berlin issues several smog alerts in 1982. Citizens are told that, due to high levels of carbon and sulphur dioxide, they should leave their cars at home, keep windows closed and avoid exercising outside. Smog hits Berlin whenever the wind blows from the southeast and brings pollution over from Czechoslovakia and the GDR’s chemical plants located just outside the city. East Berlin, however, acts as if nothing is wrong. As far as the official line is concerned, there is no smog.

Everyday Life, West, East

00:31
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1963
Food from vending machines

Modernisation continues unabated. The latest trend in West Berlin: the "silent vendor". Staff canteens are selling food in vending machines and business is booming...

Everyday Life, West

00:41
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1964
Skiing on Teufelsberg

In 1964 Teufelsberg - a hill rising up to 112 metres - is equipped with a ski lift and floodlights, creating Alpine-like conditions for skiers in the walled-in city. Berliners can take skiing courses free of charge. This urban winter sports location even features a ski jump. However, over the years, American agents working in the listening station on Teufelsberg claim that the skiers are disrupting their work. In 1999 the entire infrastructure is dismantled.

Everyday Life, Culture, West

01:55
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1985
Princess Diana visits Berlin

Diana, Princess of Wales, visits West Berlin. She is the honorary colonel-in-chief of the Royal Hampshire Regiment.

Politics, West

00:34
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1961
House-keeping day and men ironing

Everyday life in divided Berlin: The introduction of housekeeping days and ironing courses for men aims to promote gender equality.

Everyday Life, West, East

00:50
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