Refugees in the permanent mission

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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.

locations

Ständige Vertretung der BRD in Ost-Berlin, Hannoversche Straße 28, 10115 Berlin

showtime
1

latitude
52.526945

longitude
13.386046
Notaufnahmelager Marienfelde, Marienfelder Allee 66, 12277 Berlin

showtime
170

latitude
52.420447

longitude
13.367089

date

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.

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02:01
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January 09, 1984
BVG takes over S-Bahn

In January 1984, the senate commissions the BVG transport authority with running the S-Bahn in West Berlin. Because the network has fallen heavily into disrepair over the years, the service initially only covers 21 kilometres of the city. East and West Berlin agree that Reichsbahn staff will continue to drive the trains between Lehrter station in the West and Friedrichstrasse in the East. East Berliner Dieter Müller was one of the drivers to operate that stretch.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, West, East

02:38
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1984
Drive-through opens

McDonald’s opens its first drive-through restaurant in Dahlem, West Berlin.

Everyday Life, West

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1984
The bizarre side of the Wall

While the GDR is busy removing anti-tank obstacles from the death strip, the Wall drives artists to stage bizarre performances, and residents to make comments that are equally peculiar...

Border, Politics, Culture, West

01:29
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1983
Udo Lindenberg plays East Berlin

Rock singer Udo Lindenberg receives permission to give a concert in East Berlin in October 1983. He and his Panikorchester perform in the Palace of the Republic to an audience of carefully selected young East Germans. Egon Krenz, head of the Free German Youth organisation, is also in attendance. While the concert is going on inside, police are mistreating and brutally arresting fans who have gathered outside on the street. Nikolaus Becker witnessed the events and talks about what it was like.

Contemporary Witnesses, Culture, West, East

03:24
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June 1984
Maglev train

West Berlin opens a test track for a new maglev train. It runs from Gleisdreieck to Kemperplatz via Bernburger Strasse. But when the Wall falls, all dreams of an M-Bahn network fade. Because the test route lies on a U-Bahn line that is due to reopen, the maglev has to stop operating in 1990.

Everyday Life, West

00:29
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July 28, 1984
Gasometer demolished

The gasometer in the East Berlin district of Prenzlauer Berg is demolished. A new showcase estate honouring revered labour leader Ernst Thälmann is put up in its place. General Secretary Erich Honecker pays a personal visit to Ernst Thälmann Park to see how the project is progressing.

Everyday Life, East

01:10
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1985
Queuing up for the West

Many East Berliners have submitted applications to leave the GDR, but no one knows when or if they will be granted. Most people have to wait a long time before they find out. Author Bernd Wagner is among those who want to get out. When his application is finally approved, he leaves Prenzlauer Berg and settles in Kreuzberg in West Berlin.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, Opposition, East

03:22
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1985
Natural gas and senate stockpiles

Natural gas from the Soviet Union begins flowing to West Berlin in early October 1985. But because the allies are worried that the Soviets could cut the supply at any moment, they build a massive gas storage facility underneath Stössensee lake. West Berlin is preparing for disasters in other ways too. The senate has built up huge stockpiles of essentials so that the city can still retain its freedom even if things take a turn for the worse.

Everyday Life, West

00:56
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1985
West Berlin employs builders from across the border

West Berlin begins importing beer from East Germany in 1985. That same year, construction workers from East Berlin start appearing on West Berlin building sites. Their employers are happy because they can pay them less than their Western counterparts, and the GDR is happy to have the foreign currency flowing into its coffers.

Everyday Life, West, East

01:17
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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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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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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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January 29, 1972
Premiere of Ein Kessel Buntes

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.

Culture, East

03:13
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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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- MD
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- VTT Subtitle
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1983
Youth brigades in action

Youth brigades, part of the Free German Youth organisation, are put to work sprucing up new estates in East Berlin. The unpaid workers, nicknamed “subbotniks”, are also in high demand in the old neighbourhoods around the Eastern portion of the city centre.

Everyday Life, East

00:41
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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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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
Enlisted to build the Wall

Dieter Weber has a job as a dump truck driver. The weekend of 12/13 August 1961 his company receives orders to transport concrete posts and barbed wire to the border - driving right across the city from Johannisthal to Chausseestrasse in central Berlin. These materials are used to build the Wall. It is a hard job, involving shifts of 14 to 16 hours over two weeks. When Dieter arrives at Chausseestrasse each morning, the Wall has grown a little higher. 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

03:52
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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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