East Berlin

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This article is about the capital of former East Germany. For the town in Pennsylvania, see East Berlin, Pennsylvania.

Ost Berlin East Berlin Soviet-occupied sector of Berlin, East Germany ← 1949 – 1990 → Flag The four occupation zones of Berlin. East Berlin is in red Historical era Cold War  - Established 1949  - Reunification 3 October 1990 Area  - 1989 409 km² (158 sq mi) Population  - 1989 est. 1,279,212       Density 3,127.7 /km²  (8,100.6 /sq mi)

East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a de facto part of West Germany. Despite its status as part of an occupied city, East Berlin was claimed as the capital of East Germany. From 13 August 1961 until 9 November 1989 East Berlin was separated from West Berlin by the Berlin Wall. The East German government referred to East Berlin simply as "Berlin" or often "Berlin, Hauptstadt der DDR" (Berlin, capital of the GDR). The term "Democratic Sector" was also used until the 1960s. (See also Naming conventions)

The Western Allies (the USA, Britain and France) never formally acknowledged the authority of the East German government to govern East Berlin; the official Allied protocol recognized only the authority of the Soviet Union in East Berlin in accordance with the occupation status of Berlin as a whole. The United States Command Berlin, for example, published detailed instructions for U.S. military and civilian personnel wishing to visit East Berlin.^[1] In fact, the three Western commandants regularly protested the presence of the East German National People's Army (NVA) in East Berlin, particularly on the occasion of military parades. Nevertheless, the three Western Allies eventually established embassies in East Berlin in the 1970s, although they never recognized it as the capital of East Germany. Treaties instead used terms such as "seat of government."

On 3 October 1990, West and East Germany were reunited, thus formally ending the existence of East Berlin.

[edit] East Berlin today

Map of East Berlin in 1987

Since reunification, the German government has spent vast amounts of money on reintegrating the two halves of the city and bringing services and infrastructure in the former East Berlin up to the standard established in West Berlin. Despite this, there are still obvious differences between eastern and western Berlin. Eastern Berlin has a distinctly different visual aspect, partly because of the greater survival of prewar façades and streetscapes, some still showing signs of wartime damage, and partly because of the distinctive style of urban Stalinist architecture used in the GDR. As in other former East German cities, a small number of GDR-era names commemorating socialist heroes have been preserved, such as Karl-Marx-Allee, Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz and Karl-Liebknecht-Straße; this followed a long process of review in which many such street names were deemed inappropriate and were changed. Still visible throughout former East Berlin are the characteristic "Ampelmännchen" on some pedestrian traffic lights. These days they are also visible in parts of the former West Berlin following a civic debate about whether the "Ampelmännchen" should be abolished or disseminated more widely.

[edit] Soviet and East German Commandants of East Berlin

Marx-Engels-Platz and the Palast der Republik in East Berlin in the summer of 1989. The Fernsehturm (TV Tower) is visible in the background

[edit] Boroughs of East Berlin

Boroughs of East Berlin

At the time of German reunification, East Berlin comprised the boroughs of

• Friedrichshain
• Hellersdorf (since 1986)
• Hohenschönhausen (since 1985)
• Köpenick
• Lichtenberg
• Marzahn (since 1979)
• Mitte
• Pankow
• Prenzlauer Berg
• Treptow
• Weißensee

[edit] Images of East Berlin

Karl Marx Allee apartments	Wall plaque of Lenin, off Wilhelmstraße	GDR-era mural of Meissen porcelain on former Council of Ministers building, facing Leipziger Straße	The Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park
Cafe Moskau in Karl Marx Allee	The Palace of the Republic, being dismantled	New Synagogue, Oranienburger Straße	"Hochhaus" in Weberwiese- the first high rise apartment that was built after the war
People's Theatre under restoration, Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz	Late-1980s GDR apartment blocks on the Wilhelmstraße	Strausberger Platz with constructivism style building	Proletarian hero, Alexanderplatz
Statues of Marx and Engels, Marx-Engels-Forum

[edit] See also

• History of Berlin
• Berlin Wall
• Bonn
• Cold War
• Checkpoint Charlie
• Ghost station
• History of Germany since 1945
• West Berlin

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Berlin Photos 1989-1999
• East Berlin Past and Present
• Pictures of the GDR and East Berlin 1949-1973
• Old East Berlin Fades Away Amid Renovations
• The Lives of Others official website

v • d • e Mayors of East Berlin Friedrich Ebert | Herbert Fechner | Erhard Krack | Ingrid Pankraz | Dr. Christian Hartenauer | Tino Schwierzina | Thomas Krüger

v • d • e Boroughs and localities of Berlin Boroughs: Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf • Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg • Lichtenberg • Marzahn-Hellersdorf • Mitte • Neukölln • Pankow • Reinickendorf • Spandau • Steglitz-Zehlendorf • Tempelhof-Schöneberg • Treptow-Köpenick Boroughs (west), (1920-) 2000: Charlottenburg • Kreuzberg • Neukölln • Reinickendorf • Schöneberg • Spandau • Steglitz • Tempelhof • Tiergarten • Wedding • Wilmersdorf • Zehlendorf Boroughs (east), (1920-) 2000: Friedrichshain • Hellersdorf (1986) • Hohenschönhausen (1985) • Köpenick • Lichtenberg • Marzahn (1979) • Mitte • Pankow • Prenzlauer Berg • Treptow • Weißensee Localities: Adlershof • Britz • Dahlem • Friedenau • Frohnau • Gatow • Grunewald • Hansaviertel • Haselhorst • Heiligensee • Hermsdorf • Karlshorst • Kaulsdorf • Kladow • Lichterfelde • Mariendorf • Marienfelde • Märkisches Viertel • Moabit • Rosenthal • Staaken • Tegel • Wannsee • Westend

v • d • e Subdivisions of Allied-administered Germany (1945-1949/1990) American zone Bavaria · Bremen · Hesse (Greater Hesse) · Württemberg-Baden British zone Lower Saxony · Hamburg · North Rhine-Westphalia · Schleswig-Holstein French zone Baden · Rhineland-Palatinate · (Saar) · Württemberg-Hohenzollern Soviet zone Brandenburg · Mecklenburg-Vorpommern · Saxony · Saxony-Anhalt · Thuringia Berlin (1949–90) West Berlin (UK, FR, USA) · East Berlin (USSR)