A Day in East Berlin: Life Behind the Iron Curtain (1989)

[@ITNArchive]

If you enjoyed this extended footage of life inside East Berlin, we think you'll enjoy this rare and uncut footage of life in North Korea, filmed in May 1995: kzbin.info/www/bejne/omO1dZaOpa6MeK8

[@Andre-Nachtwache]

I saw it live on a school trip in the summer of 1989. At that time, our class was invited to the Palace of the Republic.

[@AA-hg5fk]

didn't enjoy it at all, it was just footage from someone driving around back in 1989, no commentary, no curation, nothing!

[@paulgray2387]

The sad thing is it was only like that because it was run as a Stalinist one party state that ruled all aspects of people’s Iives.

[@sleepmnan22sleepman50]

@@paulgray2387 Well, you're probably happy now!? Modern free medicine, Safety on the streets, The economy of the country, faces on the streets... And many other points..

[@antoniocilia3269]

Una società orripilante.

[@Chris-pf8by]

This is an important historical document. Thank you very much for digitizing and uploading this for the world to see.

[@steffanhoffmann]

Just look like Soviets to me. So completely unimportant. It was smashed just a few years later and Germany reunited; from that hell hole

[@breezyrides6829]

those who forget history are doomed to repeat it @@steffanhoffmann

[@life69467]

​@@steffanhoffmannHow Yugoslaws look to you.Many West tourist come to Dalmatia back then.

[@cv990a4]

No one understood that six months later this would all be kaput. That it would disappear entirely within 18 months.

[@homerp.hendelbergenheinzel6649]

@@cv990a4 at this point ( july 1989) the damage has already been done. our cities were already "kaputt". you have to keep in mind that this is berlin here, where "all" the money went to make it look good. just look at the city of leipzig or chemnitz ( or basically any city in the gdr) how they looked at that point in time.

[@Plymouth2211]

One of the best visual archiv from East Berlin. Quality is really impressive and scene of the ordinary life without any comments are very nice too. Thank you so much for sharing 👍

[@daddybeagleaz907]

I liked the no comments aspect too, very well done

[@michaelwolff305]

This brought back sooo many memories as I visited East Berlin numerous times with my sister and dad as my Grandmother lived in West Berlin. I need to dig up the videos that my dad took. He was one of the many that fled East Berlin before they erected the wall. He went to school in East Germany before WW2.

[@thumperpaul]

I went to Berlin in 1992 with my cousin, and while the Wall had been mostly removed, you could definitely tell the difference between east and west.

[@BB-kt5eb]

The east still has superior infrastructure even today

[@usdepartmentofthetreasury489]

Obviously I mean more then 3 decades

[@rolux4853]

@Eidelmania in 2001? I always thought that Berlin was almost fully restored by the year 2000.

[@TheFrewah]

I was there later and one thing I noticed was that I couldn’t find grocery stores for some reason. It was nice to see though

[@frankdenardo8684]

@rolux4853 I know someone who is a retired United States Army colonel. He was stationed in Berlin, and he mentioned to me that it could be a very tense place to be in. You have to be very careful out there. You had East German and Soviet soldiers out there.

[@susannebrown1860]

I lived in West Germany at the time and I don't think anyone in my friendgroup expected the wall to come down, we had lived with it our whole lives at that point and it was normal. I will always remember the euphoria. We were driving on the Autobahn heading to Vienna in September of 1989 when Hungary opened its borders and allowed East Germans on holiday to drive through to Austria. All of a sudden there was a wave of the tiny East German Trabi cars coming the other way honking with people hanging outside the car windows and we couldn't believe what was happening. Thousands were simply "going around" the wall once the Eastern bloc disintegrated and that increased the pressure on the regime to open the wall.

[@timinwood3180]

Tawas a glorious day when the wall fell. Sad so many ignorant young people want communism now. Damn the professors who rotted their brains with this Marxist tripe.

[@geoffroyfalot3583]

Thanks for the story

[@usdepartmentofthetreasury489]

Surrea

[@daddybeagleaz907]

I remember when it all began, just as you said. My sister at the time had a boyfriend whose folks had escaped Hungary so when that country opened its borders prior to the Wall coming down it sparked much dinner hour conversation and memories!

[@TheFrewah]

I come from Sweden and I remember thinking it was absolutely crazy, not normal at all. I felt the wall and the Soviet system had to come down at some point. When it did, things went fast

[@Hammer332]

This is an amazing piece of history. Thank you for uploading it.

[@frankdenardo8684]

Those cars from other Iron Curtain countries. Polski Fiat, Poland 🇵🇱 Škoda, Czechoslovakia Lada, Soviet Union Gaz, Soviet Union AZLK, Soviet Union Trabant, East Germany Wartburg, East Germany Yugo, Yugoslavia Dacia, Romania 🇷🇴 Buses built by Ikarus of Hungary 🇭🇺 Trucks from IFA, Kamaz, MAZ.

[@spidyman8853]

They were terrible cars. What was the best car out of the above list would you say? I often wondered what was the best eastern car in terms of reliability. I guess they all broke down.

[@florianmeier3186]

Skoda Favorit was not that bad and Wartburg engineers had some advanced ideas, which were stopped by the politics.

[@petrsovicka]

Definitely Lada was the best. It's still being used in the former Soviet Union countries especially in the countryside.@@spidyman8853

[@zombiedodge1426]

The East German nomenklatura didn't want Soviet cars because they sucked, and Mercedes-Benz and BMW were out for obvious reasons, so they mostly used Volvos from Sweden. The gated community near Berlin where Honnecker and co. lived was nicknamed "Volvograd."

[@usdepartmentofthetreasury489]

Crazy just like Cuba 😢

[@hoderharris]

Thank you so much for downloading this.I am an American who grew up with a fascination of the eastern block countries. I visited Romania for the first 2003. 20 years later, I have been to Romania over 40 times as I now chair a foundation that works with the largest private orphanage in Romania. It was footage like this that I saw as a kid that inspired me to learn more about this part of the world. YOu are doing a valuable service by putting this on KZbin..Thanks again!

[@GeorgeSupremu]

Thank you for helping Romania

[@Умирающаястрана]

@@GeorgeSupremu а что вы должны будете заплатить за их помощь?

[@Ziom-bp3jq]

​@@Умирающаястрана🤨?

[@VladVlad-ul1io]

THANK YOU SIR!

[@hracekk]

big respect from the Czech Republic, former part of the Eastern block.

[@Blackfinger00]

Must be difficult to find your own Trabant when it is parked by the curb😁

[@flitsertheo]

50% of the cars we see are Trabant 601, of the remaining cars again 50% are Wartburg 353. The remainder are a mixture of vintage Wartburg 311/312, Lada (or Fiat Polski), Skoda and a few western cars. Buses are made by Ikarus from Hungary, Vans are mostly Barkas except the Skoda's at 5:00. Trucks are IFA W50 and a Robur at 6:54 Trams are made by Tatra from Czechoslovakia. 4:08 the little green truck left is a Multicar, today the last surviving East-German vehicle manufacturer.

[@jambo140]

Isn’t Tatra Chech?

[@flitsertheo]

@@jambo140 Yes, I corrected that now. Back then it was still Czechoslovakia.

[@bastobasto4866]

@@flitsertheo the remainder? you said 50% and remaining 50% - were there 110% cars in the GDR?

[@flitsertheo]

@@bastobasto4866 if there are 100 cars : - 50% are Trabants = 50 cars - the remaining 50% = 50 cars - of those remaining 50 cars 50 % are Wartburgs = 25 cars 75 cars are now accounted for . The remaining 25 cars are a mix of other brands and models. Clear now ?

[@markhardcastle9820]

Many thanks for the upload. Fascinating. And a great range of mullets on show!

[@dalegribble1560]

So the Commies actually allowed people to have mullets?? LOL

[@tEpicEcho]

I went to a restaurant in that round globe tower in East Berlin and I could see East and West Berlin. The tower would spin 360 in slow motion. It was called the Sphere towering 1,207 feet.

[@AJGeeTV]

Great video. I was there at the same time in East Berlin but took few photos, yet alone a video! This brings back vivid memories. Thanks.

[@rolandvoss3600]

I remember those days being grey rather than in colours 🤔. Amazing footage. Thank you for sharing!

[@flagwaver7650]

My wife and I were in E and W Berlin that summer and saw not a sign of unrest. I was stationed at Ramstein AFB in W Germany and loved to travel to Berlin with all the history and big city attractions.

[@kingarthur5110]

I was based at RAF Gutersloh at the time

[@Умирающаястрана]

Ты американец? Тогда что ты делал на другой стороне земного шара? Если я ошибаюсь - извини.

[@usdepartmentofthetreasury489]

Probably because you didn’t live there

[@kirillnikolaev346]

@@Умирающаястрана на базе военной служил

[@naglim6447]

It’s so interesting for me to see the WW11 bunker at 6:33, on Reinhardtstraße. I’ve stayed near there a number of times and have always found it to be a fascinating structure. To see it here, back in the DDR times with the other surrounding buildings is great, thanks.

[@hefttackerdererste2837]

Wann waren die anderen Weltkriege, wenn es schon der 11. war? Hauptsache wir haben überlebt. 😊 Peace

[@Kuricang31]

Scary for how many wars this world has experienced to the point that there's 11 world wars already 😂

[@LectionesInterbellum]

You mean the Führerbunker? 🧐

[@AtheistOrphan]

@@LectionesInterbellum- No that was in the border zone and had long since been demolished by then. This is a smaller one on Reinhardstasse. See here: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunker_(Berlin)

[@viktorrandolfmunteanu4092]

I don't like the bunkers, they are horrible.

[@eurasian73]

Great video of East Berlin right before the wall came down. I'll be visiting Berlin this November and am interested in seeing the eastern parts of the city.

[@spidyman8853]

A lot has changed. This video is of an era that has long gone.

[@anthonydowling3356]

East and west now look the same .I was there 2 months ago .I lived in West Berlin for a year back in 1977 -78 but went regularly over the wall on day trips then to the East .It was an experience but i was very glad that i was living in the West part .

[@BruceDanton-xw6eg]

Of course too.​@@anthonydowling3356

[@garybrooks3657]

I was a soldier stationed in west Berlin with the 502 airborne in 1982 . I love to watch these old films. Thanks

[@gemmeliusgrammaticus2509]

The sad thing is that it looks nicer and safer than Berlin of today.

[@DaveSCameron]

Indeed!

[@dankwartdenkhardt708]

Safer yes, nicer no, there are a lot of historical buildings restored and even completely rebuilded.

[@mrcat926]

Don't give in to nostalgia. You would not like it if you were put back in that time

[@MotownGuitarJoe]

Watch the film "The Lives of Others" and see how you feel then...

[@GingerJoberton]

Nope, not a better life. Many beautiful things about East Germany but in general seems like it was a bad situation.

[@red0007maroc]

ايام مذهلة كان والدي يعمل دورة تدريبية في شركة الرافعات العملاقه لجمهورية المانيا الشرقية ، قمنا بزيارته في صيف 1989 كان عمري انذاك 13 سنة كنت لا اعرف كلمة واحدة بالامانية لكن كنت الهو وامرح مع الشباب والشابات الالمانيات كنا نلعب كرة القدم كل يوم ،كانت ايام جميلة جدا مازلت احتفض بكل الصور ، شكرا جمهورية المانيا الشرقية على كل شيء ، الان انا اعيش في فرنسا المجتمع الرأسمالي المستهلك حيات بلا ذوق.

[@brigitnunez6735]

Great video

[@spidyman8853]

ايام جميله قضيناها في الزمن الجميل

[@69waveydavey]

Like it was filmed yesterday, fantastic, wish I'd seen it for real. I've been since, Berlin is a cool city.

[@lloydchen1697]

I traveled from West Berlin via checkpoint to East Berlin as a Chinese student in April 1986. Being forced to fill out so many forms as a kid from a socialist country when entering western countries, I was so delighted that I just had to wave my China passport, warmly welcomed by East Germany's border officials (girls) and walked into East Berlin. I saw American kids sitting in a separate room filling out forms, I felt so revenged. Haha .... However this feeling was very short lived, as I walked down the commercial-less street, I was approached by young men asking me to exchange west german marks..... sad. What a memorable trip! LONG LIVE GERMANY.

[@DeathobJail]

前辈现在还在国内吗，还是移民了？现在国内发展还不错，有空回来玩玩😊😊

[@johnvoltageltd]

Wonder what that guy smoking the cigar was feeling when he realized that camera was still there. He seemed quite a character. Wonder what he did for work

[@xgamerbih]

A world without ads on every spot? Without billboards and stupid flashy signs saying “BUY THIS!”.

[@leonardos2925]

Yep, but you're on KZbin saying this, LOL. They wanted to move out, the *commies* had to literally build a wall to keep them from escaping the State's perpetual exploitation at the expense of their economic progress (West Germany/Berlin were way more prosperous, no question). It was a paradise... for bureaucrats and whoever was in charge, the rest (whose economic and social freedoms were restricted) can't say the same thing. Socialism is always so good... to whoever is outside of it, LOL. Don't fail to "act your words" out and move to Venezuela, North Korea, or Cuba (as you can see, only "fantastic" options)... the economy function just the wat you support.

[@merlest9263]

Yeah, it seems so great! Especially when you can't even get a modern pair of Jeans and need to go to Poland, because it's more liberal there 🤡

[@xgamerbih]

@@merlest9263 Jeans were something only the west had. But the west didn’t have enough housing and food for it’s people (and still doesn’t).

[@josemariapena4226]

But he see a flashy signs that said " Buy Jeans" lol!

[@yabgu26]

@@merlest9263 what did the west have other than jeans? :D

[@marcellocolona4980]

When I was a US naval officer in the 1980s, I went into the Soviet Zone of Berlin. The contrast was stark and very depressing. I walked in with a UK RN officer to “see the sights,” felt a sigh of relief going back to West Berlin through Checkpoint Charlie.

[@КолтуновСерёга]

"The contrast was stark and very depressing." Why was there such a contrast between West Germany and East Germany?

[@marcellocolona4980]

@@КолтуновСерёга There was an uneasy feeling of gloom and depression. Very few decent cars driving around, very few smiling people, dearth of necessities and consumer goods, a lot of armed DDR and Soviet military personnel, carrying a camera made you an instant mark, glaring eyes of the Vopos and Stasi. Of course, we attracted scrutiny as we were in uniform, but back then US, UK and French military could enter the Soviet Zone at will. We only recognised the authority of the Soviets and were told not to interact with any DDR state personnel as they had no authority over Allied military personnel. Let’s face it, you don’t build a wall to keep your citizens in if they’re contented and happy.

[@КолтуновСерёга]

@@marcellocolona4980 "Let’s face it, you don’t build a wall to keep your citizens in if they’re contented and happy." German Wikipedia address "Deutsche Demokratische Republik" The GDR was a country of emigration.[12] In 1950, approximately 18.388 million people lived in the GDR and East Berlin. At the last stage of the state’s existence in 1990, there were 16.028 million people[13]. (18,388,000 - 16,028,000 = 2,360,000 population decline over 40 years. 2,360,000 / 40 years. = 59,000 average population loss per year. ) German Wikipedia address "Ostdeutschland" In 2010, the total population of East Germany by 1950 area was only 14.214 million, a further decline of 906,000 in 10 years. [1] (16,028,000 - 14,214,000 = 1,814,000 population decline over 20 years. 1,814,000 / 20 years. = 90,700 average population loss per year. ) ( Let’s face it, the absence of a wall did not change the trend. )

[@naipigidi]

​@@marcellocolona4980 you are probably the most brainwashed person ive ever seen, pretty sad

[@mwbpo1]

I visited the DDR in the early 1980s, the contrast with the west was astounding. Thanks for sharing this film.

[@tEpicEcho]

I was in West Berlin 1981-1983. I went to East Berlin, the west and east was like day and night an interesting experience.

[@LuckyRowlands]

@@BethanyLloyd-h6t United States and Soviet Union were the major winners of World War 2, so after 1945 they split the most powerful and dangerous enemy, the defeated Germany responsible for innumerable atrocities (Hitler started the war and the holocaust), into two spheres of influence to control it: West Germany managed by the americans (nato), East Germany managed by the soviets (warsaw pact). That ended between 1989 with the fall of Berlin's deviding wall, and formally in 1990 with the reunification of Germany.

[@bearsmith3655]

Same here! Totally agree

[@vibovitold]

​​@@LuckyRowlandsHitler started the war hand in hand with Stalin. There would even be no Hitler to begin with if it weren't for the Soviets.

[@kkiwi54]

I was in the DDR after the wall came down - everything looked dilapidated compared with West Germany. They sure liked their mullets, but I guess we did in the West too 😉

[@ichundgrisu3823]

Thank you for the wonderful video

[@Refue1248]

ein absolut wichtiges und tolles Zeitdokument.

[@johncreed2627]

Would be good if there was a modern visual of the same locations to see the changes. What is striking of the 1989 footage is the absence of 'commercial' signage, ads!

[@BruceDanton-xw6eg]

Yes indeed so too.

[@mrpeel3239]

So great to get a tour of the East German streetscape barely a month after the Wall fell. Would be great to re-drive the same streets to record the differences over 34+ years make.

[@AtheistOrphan]

This was filmed on 12 July 1989, several months BEFORE the wall fell. (November).

[@mrpeel3239]

@@AtheistOrphan Many thanks for clarifying. Especially loved the uncertain looks on the faces of the Honor Guard!

[@AtheistOrphan]

@@mrpeel3239 - Perhaps he was having premonitions of what was coming!

[@anthonywalsh7613]

The quality of this film is superb. I was in West Berlin 1988-90 & visited East Berlin more than once. I witnessed the collapse of the regime too

[@dangerous_ideas16]

The town is so comforting for the eyes and ears. No commercials and billboards all around the city.

[@Magic_beans_]

There were some upsides to life in the Eastern Bloc. As you say there was no need for advertisements plastered everywhere. Employment was secure and basic needs were met, so rather than climb the corporate ladder people spent time with their families. Of course there were also some huge drawbacks.

[@vibovitold]

​@@Magic_beans_yeah, no need for advertisements, but you had to go all over the city to buy something like a baby bathtub. or wait in ridiculously long queues. Soviet bloc economies suffered from perpetual shortages. the burden was on customers. comforting for the eyes - perhaps. far from great for daily life

[@viktorrandolfmunteanu4092]

Ich habe das erlebt, es war komisch, wenn man die Grenze zwischen den politischen Systemen passiert hat, war es als ob man ins Badezimmer geht, die Türe aufmacht und dann,... in einer ganz anderen Welt landet.

[@marcofreyssonnet9673]

Faszinierend

[@craiglarge5925]

You simply entered the twilight zone.

[@petarswift5089]

Respect for this video from Serbia. I remember as a child all these cars. It was like in a past life, thanking Gorbachev, whom my Serbs do not like for many reasons.

[@Wayne_Schlagel]

Koje si godište?

[@kapiton9985]

А кто эту иуду любит вообще?

[@cestarrivepresdechezvous1789]

The following month, GDR citizens took to the streets and the Monday demonstrations began. My friends and I held our own demonstration against the state in Frankfurt Oder. Until a truck full of cops came and beat us apart. Some were arrested. That night, state power had won. But 2 months later, the people of the GDR triumphed. On November 9th the Wall fell. The next day I stood on the wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate.

[@red0007maroc]

انت غير محق انتصرت امريكا وأصبحت الدولة الشرقية مهملة وشعبها عبيد عند الألمان ودمرت الشركات والمؤسسات الحكومية الكل فقد عمله ومنزله وحياته واصبح عبدا عند المانيا الغربية

[@TheAxeaman]

How is it there now?

[@serkancengiz7098]

wunderschöne Aufnahmen

[@BruceDanton-xw6eg]

Very nice to see this. Thank you too.

[@videotaperetro1126]

Many more of these high quality Betacam SP originals should be published so that we can all enjoy these increasingly historic images. But even better deinterlace and upscale. Quality can be even better.

[@dilbaum]

you even recorded how a WBS 70 panel apartment is built

[@vanishingfolklore]

totally amazing to be able to see this- a slice in time

[@oscarg2692]

this was the peak of human civilization.

[@michaelroth2783]

Yes

[@LemonHead-sq5ws]

I don’t understand how ??

[@gate8475]

This is fascinating, thanks for this. At this time, was it already possible to go to west berlin with passport or was it literally sealed of until the very end, i always wondered. The footage looks so fresh, must a very good camera, if it wasnt for the fashion and hairstyles id never say im watching a footage from a such a long time ago. I wonder what happened to those kids and how theyre doing. Those apartments and all that they were building, I wonder if they are still in use. East Berlin looks really impressive here. They really built it good during all those decades. But again, I think this whole division never should have happened in first place. it disrupted lives of many people, they should have left germany intact somehow, its still going go take a decade or so even more to all that to fizzle out. I wonder what todays people think, is the difference still there or is it going away finally

[@kovesp1]

I don't know about the East Germans. I do know that pensioners were allowed to visit West for up to 4 weeks per year starting in 1964 giving rise to the joke that only in the GDR do people look forward to old age. I went to West Berlin several times between about 1986-89 from Hungary. The first time I was required to have a room in a hotel in East Berlin and commute to West Berlin every day via the U-Bahn. Subsequently I would fly to Shönefeld airport with Interflug (the East German airline). There was an hourly shuttle bus from this airport to the centre of West Berlin. There was a border crossing where our passports were stamped with an entry stamp marked with Polizei Präsident West Berlin (remember, legally West Berlin was not a part of the Federal Republic). These later times I stayed with my West Berliner friends and travelled back the same way. Every passport control (both East and West) was very routine, just a glance at my passport.

[@Herrhuy]

Где совок там происходит жопа

[@kovesp1]

@@Travis1.979 I worked with them first in Nijmegen in the Netherlands, then in West Berlin when they moved there. They also came to Budapest several times.

[@kovesp1]

@Supernova1.980 We moved to Canada in '94 because things were getting worse both politically and economically. They did improve for a while (as reported by friends and family). We were actually convinced we would retire there. But the Orbán's "illiberal" regime has made that impossible. All apart from the fact that the inflation for 2023 was 17.6%, but for food it was 26%.

[@mattnik]

It was pretty much sealed until the day the border opened.

[@tax7836]

The first scene with the change of the GDR-soldiers were not filmed at the German Wall. This "event" happened in front of the New Guard (dt. Neue Wache) on the street Under the Linden, ca. 1 km to the German Border at the Brandenburg Gate.

[@Davidlp70]

The kid with the thumb in his mouth waiting for the slide at 13:15 is Stasi

[@nmvcm1683]

Meine Kindheit....DANKE!❤❤❤

[@helgeschneider9069]

was war an der kindheit schön? ich kann nur mit dem kopf schütteln! für mich als kind war das eine katastrophe!

[@geoffroyfalot3583]

@@helgeschneider9069 What city did you live in ?

[@helgeschneider9069]

@@geoffroyfalot3583 Central saxony

[@kapiton9985]

Warum?​@@helgeschneider9069

[@НиколайИванов-н]

@@helgeschneider9069 Ist es eine Katastrophe, in einer Stadt zu leben, in der es keine Migranten oder Drogenabhängigen gibt? Es ist eine Katastrophe, wenn ein Kind nicht alleine im Garten herumlaufen kann und ihm eine schwule Orientierung aufgezwungen wird!

[@collectioneur]

Was there in 1985 and in Budapest in 1989 when East Germans could go to the West via the border between Hungary and Austria. Very memorable times...

[@ssg9offical]

Definitely more interesting than the modern world.

[@thomasnygaard4514]

Brilliant video!! Thanks for sharing. Went to Berlin in 1985 as a 14-year old kid (school trip). This video kinda makes up for the photos I wish I'd taken. I only took a few by the wall. One question: Do you know where the buildings being erected at 20:35 are / were situated?

[@rolandvoss3600]

Probably Hellersdorf.

[@flitsertheo]

6:53 So this odd construction really did exist : Robur lorry with a half cabin half tarpaulin back. I have a rare 1/87 scale plastic miniature of this vehicle though constructed on an IFA W50 lorry.

[@BerigVintrange]

I'm an old America guy now but in 1985 we drove from Ansbach to Berlin via autobahn, through Halle, stayed in Berlin at my friend's apartment, I walked along the Mauer (sp?), stepped up on a platform to look over into East Berlin, went to KaDeVe large department store, thing I remember is on the autobahn once we entered the east the smell of coal was evident, also the cars were quite unlike what I saw in Bavaria, it was interesting, I'm still very much in contact with my friend who's been back in Bavaria for many years, his and my family are like family exchanging many visits, always been interested in Germany, love the people, culture, language, the country in general, very impressive,

[@Rasarel]

Exactly! 😅 The smell of the coal was terrible. We couldn't open windows sometimes for 3 days because of the Russian smog. Russians made electricity Trolley 🚎 Bus illegal and obligated buying Diesel from Soviet Union. Such evil times, when you are a kid and you know they are trying to poison you... Emigrated to the west as soon as I could.😊

[@cartaerisparmia7911]

Again, the Americans didn't mind their own business and didn't respect the facts. In fact, if they had also respected the pacts that Reagan discussed with Gorbachev, NATO would not have widened its borders after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

[@helgeschneider9069]

complete bullshit! shiw the signed letter, that nato would not move east! and every country has the right to decide by themself! i am happy, that germany is part of nato!

[@bhcgirl7096]

Egal wer sich hier wieder aufregen könnte, die Stadt, dass Land war damals sicher und ordentlich. Abgesehen das ich damals noch gerne in Berlin war. Heute meide ich diese Stadt.

[@STAD99]

Ist in allen Diktaturen so. Der Preis dafür ist sehr hoch. Im Gefängnis ist es auch „sicher und ordentlich“. Der Lebensstandard war dafür miserabel.

[@lutzehlert8908]

Stimmt genau.

[@notroll1279]

Ja, da hatte der Staat das Monopol auf Kriminalität und setzte es durch. Ihr habt es nur nicht gemerkt oder wolltet es nicht wahrhaben.

[@jodieshannon5033]

The cars on the streets look like they’re all the same and we’re just parked there to give a certain impression ( parked too close together)

[@sullybiker6520]

The change in demeanor of the gentleman in the suit and tie when he realizes he is being filmed is much more pronounced than you'd expect. Perhaps the consequence of a surveillance society - or maybe he is a 'somebody' in the GDR.

[@ingeborgvanderveer789]

Thank you for posting this very interesting and unique documentary. Was it part of a special DDR or ITN program? Because the man with the children on the playground later appears in the making of a Plattenbau appartement. So i assume it must have been approved by the DDR officials? I wonder what became of the future of this man and it’s family after the fall of the Wall. Can you tell anything about that? Greatings from the Netherlands, in may 1988 i was in Berlin with my schoolclass and privileged to visit Berlin every year since 1995. Always wonderfull to meet real Berliners, East and West, and talk about the days back then.

[@donofon1014]

You have to play "Who is Stasi" in every scene. The number of informants was staggering, and I had not thought about Mr Slide Guide. Of course. I have visited Havana, and every street has its up front and self proclaimed neighbourhood revolutionary committees. But ... Slide Dad maybe he serves on the "housing council". Can I recommend the German TV trilogy .. "Deutschland 1983" und so weiter

[@valyshknee4203]

to be honest, its exactly how my grandfather said it, you might have cheap and depressing buildings in east berlin, but they tried to make the most of it and because of that, people are way nicer because they want to get away from that thought of the city being depressing, and they go outside wayyyyy more often to socialize, even in that time where there were little things to do in the house but watch tv

[@DaveSCameron]

Great comment and despite being told we were glued to the TV 📺 I would say now we are concreted into WiFi. 😂

[@g2000g]

I read and watched quite a bit about DDR. Even S..x workers who came to “new federal states” said they liked Easter German guys . They were gentler while Western German customers acted entitled and could do whatever they could do. They know how money power s.x mating works in a capitalist society. I heard in DDR people learned to look at the whole persons.

[@arvaneret_329]

​@@g2000g “Sex workers”, there's a word for that: prostitutes.

[@intifadayuri]

homelessness is more depressing that ugly apartments

[@daddybeagleaz907]

One thing that I thought was interesting when the border opened up, quite a few East Berliners went over but then returned home to the East side. The reason? Many simply wanted to go over to the West to see it but not stay. Just as a ranking E. German politician had predicted many years before during an interview with National Geographic I believe.

[@leogerman1090]

Awesome. A time travel... I would have taken 3 hours of this

[@alisharifian535]

Italians have built a few buildings out of premade building materials in our city which are still around after 45 years or so. I see these East German builders are using the similar stuff. It is cheap and durable.

[@GUITARTIME2024]

And looks like crap.

[@alisharifian535]

@raleighman3000 exactly

[@donofon1014]

There was no "other choice" of what being East German could be. Secure, conservative. All this when revolutionary socialist were remaking the age. Sandinistas, Angola and Mozambique, Cuba, Nothing could be more frightening to the East German bureaucratic state .. than revolutionaries.

[@ilyatsukanov8707]

I think Markus Wolf had something about that in his memoirs. Regretting that the Cuban revolutionaries seemed more vibrant than their German counterparts socially and culturally. But I would take the East German conservativism before Garbageov's reactionary pseudo-revolutionary politics any day.

[@johnearle1]

The Volksarmee were secretly all Devo fans.

[@TSUTENKAKU007]

Despite huge difference in GDP between East Germany and West Germany at that time, these folks in the city area seem to be living quite well. There are lots of cars on the street, able to buy cigarettes and smoking, dressed up with colorful attires. I don't know how well the folks in the country side lived as not shown here. The streets seem to be clean, well maintained.

[@bagkid5645]

a significant portion of gdp would go to the capitalist/owner class in a capitalist country. depending on how big that portion is, a communist country could have more funds available for public infrastructure despite producing less overall

[@hrhr9664]

in the 70`s we had bunch of East-Europe block tourists coming to Mamaia, Black Sea Coast. i was always wondering how DDR`s tourists reach our resort in such a long journey in their Trabant.

[@MrLorchen]

Das sind qualitativ wirklich hochwertige Aufnahmen.

[@rombous-77]

And soon enough... it was all gone.

[@marioperasso5480]

Bellissimo video. Grazie

[@michaelzabrodin7717]

Probably Germany had better living conditions than any other country behind the iron curtain.

[@Ketis1985]

Yes East Germany and Czechoslovakia had the best living conditions in eastern block.

[@MausTheGerman]

Would be cool to watch a video of 2023, side by side, driving the exact same streets.

[@BruceDanton-xw6eg]

Yes why not indeed.

[@HerbertDuckshort]

The Trabbies, the concrete, the terrible food, the Stasi, the empty shops. Such memories.

[@janmo519]

Dont forget the smell from a Mix of two-stroke engine, lignit coal and linoleum

[@geoffroyfalot3583]

​@@suspiciouswatermelon7639😂

[@cosmicdebris2223]

@@suspiciouswatermelon7639 do you mean "defectors"?

[@jeremynv89523]

As a fan of Brutalism, I think East Berlin was beautiful. I'd have lived there in a heartbeat.

[@dalegribble1560]

@@jeremynv89523 Too bad it doesn't exist anymore so all these "woke" American Leftists would have somewhere to go live.

[@lotuslotus718]

First thing I noticed is parking issues.People look normal and happy very well taking care of. I was aspecting North Korea stile looks and famine.

[@Agencetourix]

Life in the DDR was horrible under the surface. Make no mistake. All the case files of the MfS are open for you to peruse if you aren't in denial.

[@lundsweden]

Hardly any advertising (I like that tbh).

[@christerbillgren6182]

Fantastic blast from the past😊

[@nowhere474]

THIS IS FAR MORE HONOURABLE THAN WHAT GERMANY HAS DEGRADED INTO!

[@damonmelendez856]

You don’t like all the vibrancy and diversity now? 😂

[@KevinBaker-i4r]

The NBA were the last REAL German Army,in the sense that they were allowed to keep most of their military traditions, obviously it was mostly Communistic in Politics,as they had no options, because of the Soviets and those they put in power.Modern Germany is a saddening sight for any European person to see nowadays,but they did elect a ex Stasi agent in Merkel to fully bring about this situation.

[@KevinBaker-i4r]

@@damonmelendez856 Only a suicidal German would embrace that, don't you think 🤔

[@KevinBaker-i4r]

@@damonmelendez856 Oy Vey,you must be Sephardic,the GOYIM know.

[@Heimfelder78]

Wow, great stuff, thanks!

[@thehodge168]

Watching those kids play, probably around my age today with parents probably the same age as mine now. I hope they are all well and enjoying life. Their parents would have known nothing but the GDR. For the kids itd be a very faint memory. Two generations seperated by two epochs of Germanys history (and if you throw their grandparents in, just wow)

[@BruceDanton-xw6eg]

Yes I wonder where these people are now too. I hope they are alright of course too.

[@onlyoneamong300]

Great video! Lots of Trabants, Wartburgs, Polskis! Some Ladas, Nivas, Skodas, and Passats! Very few Volvos, Warszawas, Volgas! Loved the Wartburg station wagons with their squarish bodies, ample cabin space, and rubber mudguards dangling! Most Western Europeans used to demonize Eastern European cars because of their mechanical unreliability and polluting combustion systems, but with all the permanent economical embargo from the West, it's a miracle that Eastern Europeans managed to produce cars! Stylewise though, some of their cars looked really nice like the Wartburg station wagons, the Ladas, and the Nivas! I grew up in Nicaragua during the ultra right wing Somoza regime and yet there were already East European cars in Nicaragua back in the 70's like the Skoda (Czechoslovakia), the Zastava (Yugoslavia), and the Aro (Romania). And then, after the Somoza regime fell, and the ultra left wing communist regime took over in the 80's, there were plenty of Ladas and Nivas which I totally fell in love with! Ironically though, 43 years later, just like the rest of the world, Asian cars have taken over and that's all you see everywhere, even in the Americas and Europe! So, Westerners used to complain so much about the unreliability of Easterners, and yet they allowed Asians to decimate their own car industry! That's why we all drive digital cars that are better at not polluting, but when they break, they can't be repaired at home because they're totally run by a computer system! To add insult to injury, they all look the same! That's why we all long for older cars because they might have pollute more, or fail at crashing, but had individual styles and components that made them look unique! Therefore, it would be nice to bring car individuality back but with XXI century requirements!

[@DixieBanjo]

The moral of the story. Never lose a war.

[@UKsoldier45]

The fact is there was no crime in the DDR. Now, Berlin is a mess!

[@neilwalsh4058]

Great aerial views at the end. Guess from whats now the Park hotel on Alexander Platz ? Shame the Peoples Palace Of The Republic (left of cathedral) was pulled down and replaced by that fake 19th century lookalike building that cost 100's of millions of euros. Dismantled a piece of Eastern Bloc history there sadly 😢

[@chebbak]

That building was full of asbestos and wouldn't be able to be used today. Demolition cost fortune.

[@thumperpaul]

I’ve often wondered why the Honour Guards use the SKS carbine as opposed to a Mosin Nagant or the SVT 40. The SKS wasn’t officially deployed in any Soviet conflicts.

[@MarkyMarkWalberg]

same reason why the US honour guards use the m14 rifle and not the m1903. It's the most modern of the old-style rifles (as opposed to assault rifles like ar and ak).

[@DavidDuVivier]

This clip creates a somewhat distorted picture of GDR reality. In the early postwar period up through the Détente Era things were much more rigiid. By 1989 Gorbachev was long since in power in the USSR, and things had started changing in the entire eastern bloc. The haircuts and "fashions" of the people shown here to a large extent mirror that which one saw in West Germany (where I've lived continuously since 1977). Still, it's interesting to see the automobiles (the automotive industry in the eastern bloc countries was by that time far behind western Europe and Japan) and prefab construction techniques (which today may seem a little primitive, but which were not entirely devoid of sound and efficient civil engineering and fitout principles... those prefab apartment blocks, while primitive, are often qualitatively superior to what one sees in U.S. public housing).

[@TomasGraf-rr6co]

"those prefab apartment blocks, while primitive, are often qualitatively superior to what one sees in U.S. public housing" - That's not saying much.

[@brunokirchensittenbach9294]

…Ehrenvoll in der NVA gedient von 1985-89..Da Werden erinnerungen wach auf sehr Stolz die Ehemalige DDR Einfach Toll..!!!🇩🇪🇷🇺🇩🇪👊💥👊🇩🇪🇷🇺🇩🇪

[@helgeschneider9069]

ja, wahrscheinlich sind die sie der größte loser überhaupt. stolz auf ein unrecht-regime! gehts noch?! ich schäme mich echt ossi zu sein wenn ich so einen müll lese!

[@amielcohen]

It doesn’t look oppressive. It looks nice.

[@gregorypaulbox3035]

Clean too (and not overrun by illegal migrants).

[@helgeschneider9069]

it was horror!!!

[@samyacoub4858]

@@gregorypaulbox3035yeah human stupidity always amazes me

[@jeremynv89523]

​@helgeschneider9069 why was it horrible?

[@helgeschneider9069]

@@jeremynv89523 no freedom of speech, poorness, dirty enviroment, less products, bad qulaity products, no modern products, no chance to move to different coutries, even not the communistic one........militarism, anti-semitic, anti-western, anti-democratic...

[@KINGMJ1990]

The city looks better than most cities in India in 2023. I don't see why this is depressing. Somebody in africa would kill to have this kind of a city in 2023 as their capital

[@functhefucc5798]

Matter of perspective. Compare it with a west german city of the time, and it will seem depressive.

[@andrewerner4672]

GDR ( DDR,East-germany) was a good State but it wasn't so perfect. But the people don't poor, the have work, homes ( flats) nobody sleeps under brigdes /out , enough food, not hungry people. A lot of people today in Germany there are going to the "Tafel" for food. The people don't be afraid for the next day. The school system was perfect . The people life in harmony together not so brutal.

[@stephanobarbosa5805]

True!! The former GDR did not have the traditional problems of countries like Ethiopia, Liberia, Brazil etc.

[@stephanobarbosa5805]

A similar situation occurs in Cuba today. Yes, the country has its imperfections. But it doesn't have the poor chronicle like Haiti. Several people sleeping in the streets etc.

[@birgitrother2472]

Genau so war es,keine Angst vor dem nächsten Tag, es ging uns soweit gut, man konnte nachts als Frau rausgehen, kein Vergleich zu heute, sie sollten sich nicht zu weit aus dem Fenster lehnen, es war viel sicherer als heute

[@keinschnee]

@@birgitrother2472 Absolut, ich konnte mein Fahrrad irgendwo stehen lassen, das war nach einer Woche immer noch da und es fehlte nichts. Als Frau hätte man in der DDR nachts auch nackt durch den Park laufen können, es wäre nichts passiert! Männer wären schon gar nicht über sie hergefallen, ja man hätte von Männern sogar Hilfe bekommen und ne Jacke damit man nicht friert und sich bedecken kann ...

[@BlueFlashCZE]

Great picture quality from early 3CCD BetacamSP camcorder. :o)

[@g2000g]

Someone please tell me what the space needle tower was. And anyone who can tell me about oderberger strasse? Was it in East Berlin? A major street? What does oderberger mean?

[@ArieVisker]

That is the "Fernsethurm" aka tv-tower. Its on Alexanderplatz . Its a TV broadcasting tower and a restaurant with bar and viewing station. It still is on the same location and was build by the DDR.

[@cjmillsnun]

@@g2000g It's still in use as a TV transmission tower.

[@Charon.1]

Oderberger Straße was in East Berlin. I don't know what you define as "main street". You can look it up on Google Map. "Oderberg" is a city in Brandenburg and it's just named after that.

[@Charon.1]

@@g2000g I'm no Ossi and I was born in 1998, so I'm afraid I can't help you further 😅

[@divebomb99]

I suspect it was built by the Communists to help broadcast propaganda in the DDR. Our friends in Deutschland can perhaps confirm.

[@harrymedina7470]

Wow Thank you for Sharing

[@alexandre210613]

Quand Berlin était encore allemand.

[@lonelyguitar345]

Nice Video . Thanks

[@UrbexSniperHunter]

Ich möchte meine DDR zurück !!!

[@joemartinez2586]

Excellent video! I happened to be in East Berlin on that same exact day!

[@stephenmoerlein8470]

Thanks for posting this very interesting footage. Note the shocking demographic change in the city. East Berlin was a German city, whereas contemporary Berlin is full of migrants.

[@spidyman8853]

Bro Don't be horrible. It's not nice to be like that. I lived in Ost Berlin for a while and the Ost Berliners were friendly to foreigners at the time. They were very much welcoming and kind. And yes, DDR was a safe city at that time.

[@damonmelendez856]

Disgusting what it’s become now

[@garylantz7653]

Wow, Berlin looks different back then. Unter den Linden is totally different.

[@tabakofpipes3389]

Даже гидроизоляцию клали в комнатах. В наших таких же типовых домах в 89-м строители просто клали деревянный пол поверх бетонных плит

[@sullybiker6520]

31:54 "What's your job?" "Oh, I fill buildings with slurry"

[@petrovichbauer5105]

A sunny day in Berlin? Whaaaaat?

[@spidyman8853]

The Berliner weather is like UK weather

[@sanchoodell6789]

Its interesting seeing all those crapy Trabants, Ladas and Skodas dominating the streetscape in (East) Berlin!

[@danielkauss4121]

Been to Berlin in June. Its not looking better today in many places 😩😂

[@trupman]

There's definitely more graffiti and dirty streets

[@ralftolosa]

sorry, either you are blind or just jealously over the capital of germany.

[@leebarrr]

Those East German SKS's are very rare.. Very nice

[@hanbyol19]

The quality of this very interesting video makes it seems like it was filmed yesterday, and the outfits of the people helped. This can help a lot to refute the cliches disseminated by the Western propaganda during the Cold War.

[@Davidlp70]

Yes, as an American I am interested in seeing real life in east block countries during the cold war years. This is truly amazing to see they appear to be no different than us in the west, (except East Germans had better health care and pensions for their senior citizens than we did). We were always taught everything was decrepit and drab olive grey there.

[@bubba842]

​@@Davidlp70Some towns in Northern England were alot more drab and uglier than East Berlin in the 80s.