East Berlin was the capital city of the German Democratic Republic from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as West Berlin.
East Berlin in 1969
From 13 August 1961 until 9 November 1989, East Berlin was separated from West Berlin by the Berlin Wall. The Western Allied powers did not recognise East Berlin as the GDR’s capital, nor the GDR’s authority to govern East Berlin.
On 3 October 1990, the day Germany was officially reunified, East and West Berlin formally reunited as the city of Berlin.
These color pics were taken by HJ in Ches that show street scenes of East Berlin in 1969.
“In the summer and early autumn of 1969 I worked as a courier (i.e. guide) on a season of 7 coach tours of East and West Germany and Denmark.
These photographs were taken on our sightseeing tours of East Berlin, which Western coach parties could then visit under the auspices of the Reisebüro der DDR (the East German State Travel Office) and with one of their guides conducting the tour. Alighting from the coach was only allowed to a very limited extent and only in specified locations such as the Soviet War Graves at Treptow and at the Interhotel Berolina, where refreshments might be purchased. Because of those restrictions, most of the photographs in this set were taken from a moving coach and so, in some cases, reflexions in the coach windows can be seen.”
East Berlin Skyline, 1969
East Berlin. Berlin Cathedral and GDR Foreign Office, 1969
Leave a Reply