This is our complete guide to East Berlin during the Cold War. This blog will take you through the history of this city divided, and how it had a central role in one of the most important geopolitical conflicts of the 20th century.

1. The Division of Berlin

Knowing what East Berlin meant during the Cold War is a way to understand the importance of East Berlin. At the end of World War II, Berlin, along with the rest of Germany, was divided into four zones of occupation controlled by the Allied powers: These were the four: United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom and France.

After the formation of the new Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) West Berlin was a part, while East Berlin remained the capital of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). But the division of Berlin was not just physical, the West stood against capitalist principles, which the East chose communism as its socio-economic system.

2. Berlin Wall Construction

During the Cold War, the Berlin Wall was one of the most defining features of East Berlin. The wall was built in 1961 and physically separated the city into an East and a West by stopping people from moving freely between the two sides. The wall symbolized so well the division between the communist and the capitalist worlds.

Families and friends were separated overnight by the Berlin Wall. The physical and ideological divide in Cold War Europe was reflected by this one.

3. Daily Life in East Berlin

Life in East Berlin in the Cold War was very different from life in the West. The communist regime controlled the media, education and employment in every way.

The food and consumer goods were also scarce. West Berliners dined at restaurants and enjoyed the services of goods like the Western counters and electronics, but East Berliners were stuck with just basic product and long waiting lists for essential items.

By installing a surveillance state. In East Berlin there was the omnipresent secret police, the Stasi, monitoring the activities of its citizens. The atmosphere of fear and mistrust bred among the population was created by this constant surveillance.

4. Attempts to Escape

But that risk was often taken by East Berliners willing to flee West in search of more personal freedoms and economic opportunities. Some attempted to scale the heavily fortified border, others just found ways to do it.

Often, the tunnels, secret compartments in cars, or even hot air balloons were these escape attempts. Each escape was a testiment to the human spirit, to freedom.

5. Falls of the Wall

For almost three decades, the Berlin Wall was a physical, and ideological barrier. But when the Cold War ended, the tides began to turn.

An unprecedented wave of protests that in 1989 swept through East Germany ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9. In December 1989 this was an historical moment which started and ended the reunification between East and West Germany and the end of the Cold War.

Conclusion

It was a city divided, surveilled, and with few freedoms, during the Cold War, in East Berlin. The Berlin Wall was built and with it attempts to escape from it were a symbolic part of the greater conflict between the communist and capitalist blocs. That however, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the reunification of Germany, places an end to oppression and symbolises the triumph of liberty.

We hope this guide was useful for you so you can learn a little about East Berlin back during the Cold War. We hope that if you’re further interested in learning more, you will explore further resources to learn about this tumultuous period in history.