322. East Germany: Life Behind the Iron Curtain

The German Democratic Republic was born in the ashes of the Second World War, and described itself as a socialist “workers’ and peasants’ state”. The country struggled for much of the latter half of the 20th century, relying on economic support and political backing from the USSR, until its dissolution in 1990. But what was life like for the average East German? In today's episode, Tom and Dominic are joined by historian Katja Hoyer as they discuss living standards, police surveillance, access to luxury goods, elections and political unrest in the now defunct East Germany.
*The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*:Tom and Dominic are going on an international tour in 2023 and performing in London, Edinburgh, Salford, Dublin, Washington D.C. and New York!
Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com
Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook

[@johndavenport8843]

Again, a wonderful podcast.

[@seanoconghaile9546]

I've already read the book and it is excellent. Highly recommended. Good podcast also BTW. Inquisitive without the usual daft questions.

[@user-qn6ty1oc2z]

Please let me download the show. I live in the jungle of Laos and it's the only way we can listen to your awesome channel without constant buffering. 😢

[@CL-we8tn]

Please, I live in south africa

[@RRRRRRP]

KZbin has a "Download" button to watch/listen offline

[@XS-03_Apollo]

@@RRRRRRP Thats premium only

[@CL-we8tn]

@@XS-03_Apollo oh ok thanks

[@jackjackson8908]

KZbin to mp3 converter

[@baltasarnoreno5973]

Good point. A united Germany would have been far too big and far too important to be neutral, and its neighbours in the east and west would have constantly sought to pull it into their sphere. The neutrality model worked for Austria because Austria was too small and too insignificant to be worth starting a war over.

[@colinmagnier1232]

I have spoken to two teachers, then teens, who lived in West Germany around the end of the 80s start of the 90s and they told me the visible difference was stark. Not only in appearance but also in way of life. The celebration of biryhdays - no longer as significant as it was in the West. Lack of colour in clothes. Many glaring deficiencies when resources are appropriated so everybody can have for example a fridge.

[@sambcg]

Would be cool to see an episode on the Soviet sporting programs of last century with all the steroid scandals and such.

[@eveb.6568]

Amazing guest!!!! Do some more episodes with her and try to not interrupt her next time!!! Also, let her read her own book's exerpts.

[@umar5490]

She says gdr had a very distorted picture of the west... Kind of like social media .. would be really interested to see how communism would cope with FB and Twitter... Assuming that they allowed it of course

[@system1912]

China is your best model for that. They have their own servers and government controlled social media.

[@paulmitchell1714]

Carpets

[@ianmedford4855]

In hindsight, the DDR is the weirdest nation that ever existed.

[@seanoconghaile9546]

Obviously you were never there. That's a BS opinion. Example North Korea. Example 2 Northern Ireland. I was there often enough to get a 330 page (and growing) Stasi file.

[@andersbjrnsen7203]

​@@seanoconghaile9546so youre saying your Stasi file is still growing? Might be you didnt quite follow the news ca 1987-1991? Jokes aside, totally agree it wasnt the weirdest, but it has to be in the top 15 or so.

[@seanoconghaile9546]

@@andersbjrnsen7203 I got an extra 10 pages in 2001. There still sticking them together. I didn't see the news I was in Berlin making it and writing about it. You happy now.

[@andersbjrnsen7203]

@@seanoconghaile9546 if you just told me Stasi was operative in 1990 I am certainly not happy.

[@seanoconghaile9546]

@@andersbjrnsen7203 I wouldn't let it bother you. You don't appear to have enough interest to have read anything about it. The Stasi was wound up in 1990 . Now go buy a book. Try Katja Hoyer.

[@yingyang1008]

East Germany: Brought to you by British carpet bombing of German cities

[@baltasarnoreno5973]

Rubbish. West Germany was far more heavily bombed than the East and the West completely recovered far faster than the East and far outdistanced its pre-war Germany by the mid 1950s. Meanwhile the USSR continued to remove vast amounts of infrastructure from the East well into the 1950s in the name of 'reparations'.

[@KeithWilliamMacHendry]

The carpet bombing as you call it was called pest control here in Scotland. 🤪