Before describing the history of East Berlin, one has to bear in mind the political scenario of the place at that time. East Berlin was the capital of East Germany or scientifically called the German Democratic Republic or GDR. The GDR was a socialist country and had very close links with Soviet Union and had aimed at being a communist state.

Explaining the Measure in Question with Reference to the Political Structure of the GDR

The GDR was founded in 1949, the year following the Second World War, and was also known as East Germany. It was established on Marxist-Leninist principle and the Socialist Unity Party of Nigeria was the governing party. The SED governed all the ministries, all economic and social life, and was the ruling political party of East Germany.

In the communism era the factors of production such as the factory, land, and even resources belonged to the state. The government made more concentrated controlling of the economic activities and resources for achieving the purpose of equality.

The plan was made by central planning which included state owned enterprises .

The GDR was administration oriented, because it carried out central planning which focused on decisions concerning production, quantity, and price. The idea behind this approach was to make sure all people have their needs fulfilled, and that resources are being utilised appropriately.

The state-owned enterprises form a large part of the GDR’s economic structure, as mentioned before. These enterprises were under state control, which implies that while people would be employed in the operations, the revenues out of such ventures would revert to the state rather than independent personages or organizations.

Although this socialist system was aimed at treating all the citizens equally in terms of employment opportunities it suffered from lack of creativity, competitveness and customers’ satisfaction.

The limitation of power and control over people’s lives.

The government in East Berlin also applied much tyranny to the people in their control. Democracy: rights and freedoms: individualisms freedoms such as freedom of speech, freedom of press, and freedom of assembly were sharply curtail. Mr. Honecker retained a highly efficient security system The Ministry for State Security (the Stasi) keep a particularly watchful eye on dissidents.

In addition, the measures of the stay-at-home policy were implemented, and citizens were restricted to leaving the country. The barrier in the form of a wall was constructed in 1961 to long the eastern side of Berlin and acted as the divide between east & west Berlin.

Life in East Berlin

Education and Healthcare

Liberalisation of education and health care was a feature of the GDR as a socialist state. It was mandatory to be educated and everyone was able to get an education, the state spent a lot on universities and technical schools.

Similarly, the healthcare services were made available at a one point through a provision of service without charging the patients one cent for their medical services. Nevertheless, these services’ quality and accessibility were not uniform across the whole territory.

Standard of Living

As was the case with the rest of the GDR, East Berlin never provided a better living standard than that of the capitalist West Germany. Consumer goods and necessities especially could hardly be easily obtained, and the state-run economy was unable to fully supply the people’s needs. Western stables were not very developed, and gaining a foothold in the global economy was almost impossible.

Moreover, the living conditions were determined by the local government housing provision. Living space was scarce, and people had little options as to where they lived; ownership of property meant a great deal as well.

Political System and Opinions

As for the political system in East Berlin it can highlight the following: The system did not have unity of power and open political pluralism and the opposition. The Society for Education and Democratization remained unrivaled, and it came with a price when you dared oppose the authorities.

Nonetheless there were some citizens of East Berlin did not fully support the communism regime in the country. Opposition groups and dissidents were there but advocating for change would come with a lot of danger to them.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

As the transformation takes place on other countries in Eastern Europe specifically in the late 80s, pressure for political and economic change proven in East Germany persisted. In November 1989 after a series of protests and political toppling down the Berlin Wall was opened a bit early for everyone meaning people could move freely between the divided cities.

Effectively this was the beginning of the end for the GDR. The Germans were reunified in 1990 and since then East Berlin was no more as a separate formation.

In Conclusion

East Berlin being that of the German Democratic Republic, was arranged on a communists basis that has strong linkages with the Soviet Union. Actually, the GDR was striving for social justice due to centralized planning, state ownership of business, and severe restrictions on the personal pursuits. However, the problems that this system had encountered with regards to economic development, innovations, results in terms of human freedoms.

GDR will eventually erupt in fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany. Today it symbolises the civilizational split of East and West Berlin and the fight for political and economic liberty.