GDR censorship: What East Germans were allowed to read
Rayna Breuer
November 7, 2022
The East German regime nurtured an educated and well-read society — but literature was heavily censored. A look at bookshelves in the GDR.
A replica of a children's room in a GDR museum in Auerbach, GermanyImage: Hendrik Schmidt/picture alliance/dpa
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It was said that the people of East Germany, or the German Democratic Republic (GDR), loved to read, from classics like Tolstoy's "War and Peace," Boccaccio's "Decameron" and Hugo's "The Wretched," to science fiction and reports about places that could only be visited in the imagination due to travel restrictions.
As in many other areas of social life, politics dictated literary choice, with the East German Communist Party controlling what was read.
The educated nation
To the outside world, the GDR presented itself as an well-educated nation, having coined the term "Leseland DDR" (Reading Nation GDR) to highlight a fondness for consuming literature.
Memorials to fabled German poets Goethe and Schiller in the city of Weimar were maintained, their works having been proudly presented as GDR cultural assets.
"What wonderful times those were for literature. Customers queued up in front of the bookshops and the book bazaars were overrun by literature lovers," writes Stefan Wolle, author and curator of the exhibition "Leseland DDR," which is organized by the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Eastern Germany.
"But on the other hand, what terrible times those were, when every printed word was subject to strict censorship," he added. "The party believed in the world-changing power of the word and at the same time feared — perhaps unduly — the effect of critical texts."
Looking back at German reunification
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The ambivalence between nurturing literature on the one hand, and petty censorship on the other, is the focus of "Leseland DDR."
Casting a spotlight on everyday life in East Germany, the Berlin exhibit includes 20 panels and invites visitors on a vivid literary journey behind the Wall.
While the exhibition is partly about the country's writers, it also shows how citizens opened up the world to themselves through reading — including to the places they couldn't travel.
"The exhibition is a heroic story of the people who always found ways to get the literature they actually wanted to read," Ulrich Mählert, contemporary historian and staff member of the foundation, told DW.
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Educating young East Germans
Every child's bookshelf in the GDR likely included volumes about Alfons Zitterbacke, or Alfi, a bright boy with daring ideas who wanted to become a cosmonaut. The stories survived the fall of the Berlin Wall and also became popular in the West.
Alfi was a mirror into the GDR's youth policy, according to Mählert. "The educational message of the story is that no one can set out alone on the path to the cosmos," he says. "The individual is supposed to subordinate himself to the collective."
What ended up on the bookshelves of GDR youth was closely scrutinized.
Comics featuring Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge, gangster stories, or romance novels from the West, were considered immoral literature.
It was not uncommon for satchels to be checked at school: Anyone who smuggled in forbidden literature was noted in the class register — or the parents were called in for a talk.
In the immediate post-war period, Mählert says the GDR first banned Nazi literature. But soon books from the West that were not politically aligned with the regime, or literature by communist dissenters, were prohibited.
In some cases, the libraries collected the books in the so-called poison cabinet: Only with special permission could the literature be consulted.
The Trabant: Celebrating East Germany's iconic vehicle
Production of the iconic East German car, the Trabi, ended on April 30, 1991. DW takes a look back at the former GDR's most popular ride.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Büttner
Trabant 601
The Trabant was to the East what the VW Beetle was to the West — a vehicle for the masses. It was cheap to produce, with an outer body made of hard plastic. The car's moment in the spotlight came with the fall of the Berlin Wall, as citizens of the GDR spilled over the newly open East-West border in their "Trabis." There are still more than 30,000 Trabants on the streets of Germany today.
Image: Imago/Sven Simon
The Trabi: As popular as ever
The Trabi was the dream of many East Germans — and the butt of many jokes in the West. Still, it was the most popular car in the GDR, and, even today, the Trabi has fans all over Germany and beyond. This image shows a convention in 2019 where hundreds of fans gathered at the 25th International Trabi Meeting in the eastern German town of Anklam.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Büttner
Crazy competitions
At the five-day meet-up, more than 800 cars from Germany, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Norway were registered to participate. The list of events included engine-throwing and pulling a Trabant through an obstacle course. The car's name means "satellite" or "companion" in German.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Büttner
Cheers to the Trabi!
But not everyone sought such strenuous activities. These gentlemen celebrated Father's Day in retro suits. In the GDR, receiving a Trabi was a reason to celebrate, as well. If you wanted a car in the country where supply of pretty much anything was chronically tight, you had to sign up on a list and be patient. A waiting time of over 10 years wasn't unusual.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Büttner
'Spark plug with a roof'
Trabi enthusiasts take good care of their cars, such as this Trabant 600. And original owners in the former GDR also had to treat their automobiles with kid gloves. Spare parts were extremely hard to come by and construction quality was poor, with the body of the car made of duroplast, a hard plastic made from recycled cotton waste.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Büttner
Don't forget to fill up!
When you finally received your Trabant, you couldn't drive around as carefree as these guys at the Anklam convention. You had to keep track of how much gas was still in the tank — regular Trabis didn't have a fuel gauge. The only sign that the car was running out of fuel was when the engine started sputtering. That was the driver's cue to find a gas station, and fast.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Büttner
Versatile vehicle
The meeting in Anklam wasn't just host to regular Trabis. The iconic car was turned into this firefighter version by Trabant enthusiasts themselves. No word on whether it has ever been used in an actual emergency.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Büttner
April Fools'
The convention wasn't the only place to spot an unusual Trabi. On April 1, 2018, police in the eastern-German city of Görlitz presented this Trabant 601 as part of their new fleet. Excited Trabant fans, however, were soon disappointed when it turned out the cute crime fighting machine was nothing but an April Fools' joke.
This Trabi convertible on the other hand is real. What would you call the color — Panama-green or Capri-green perhaps? Though the Trabant was built in the GDR, which restricted where its residents could travel, the names of the nuances it came in were rather exotic. In addition to the greens, you could also get the car in Bali-yellow or Persian-orange, for example.
Image: Imago Images/S. Zeitz
Luxury Trabi
The Trabant wasn't exactly known for its comfort. Passengers in the backseat had very little room. That's different in this deluxe version. For friends of the cult car, it's the best of both worlds: They can revel in nostalgia while also stretching out their legs. A Trabi dream come true!
Image: Imago Images/F. Sorge
Hollywood star
The Trabi also has fans in the United States, not least of whom is the Hollywood star Tom Hanks. The actor fulfilled a dream back in 2014, when he became the proud owner of this sky-blue Trabant P 601 de luxe. But, rather than driving it down California's streets, he said he wanted to have it exhibited in a Los Angeles automobile museum.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/G. Markert
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Writers in the GDR
Was GDR society reflected in its literature? Mostly not, according to Stefan Wolle, author of "The Ideal World of Dictatorship: Daily Life and Party Rule in the GDR, 1971-89," who contributed texts to the exhibition.
During that period, the authorities did everything to prevent literature from reflecting life in the GDR, Wolle says. Instead, writers were tasked with creating a reality "that doesn't exist at all."
Writers were supposed to serve socialism. They were courted by the authorities, but also punished if they strayed from the prescribed path.
Every book was scrutinized by the Ministry of Culture, with an especial focus on political statements.
But because there were no uniform standards, censorship was often unpredictable and subjective. In the end, if writers were more loyal to the government their books received high circulation. The opposite was true for authors deemed critical of the regime.
This led to some authors censoring themselves in order to have any chance at all of having their book published, according to Stefan Wolle.
Some writers, however, dared to at least touch on taboo subjects, including the celebrated Christa Wolf.
"We didn't have any debates about nuclear power plants or Chernobyl," said Wolle. "But books like 'Störfall' by Christa Wolf then filled this gap."
People read her books, he says, to become engaged in "public debates that should have existed but didn't."
'They Divided the Sky' by Christa Wolf
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GDR literature in the West
The literature of Christa Wolf and other dissenting writers was received with enthusiasm by the West.
"A political standard was applied," said Wolle of perception of GDR literature west of the Wall. "What displeased the authorities in the GDR was good and interesting and was discussed in the feuilletons [culture section of newspapers]."
Although the GDR no longer exists, it lives on in the people who inhabited it, and in subsequent generations, Wolle believes.
"Through the books, films and stories, this country reproduces itself again and again," he said.
Berlin Alexanderplatz — a journey in time
It isn't exactly pretty, but Berlin's Alexanderplatz is a square that is recognized the world over. Tourists love it, too. Alexanderplatz was, and remains, one of the liveliest places in Berlin.
Image: Jochen Tack/picture alliance
At the heart of Mitte
Berliners simply refer to it as Alex. This rectangular square in what today is Berlin's central Mitte district has served as a parade ground, a marketplace and a space for demonstrations since the 18th century. It has always been a major traffic junction in Berlin, and has served as one of the city's busiest squares. It originally got its name in 1805 when Russian Czar Alexander I visited Berlin.
Image: Marcel Ibold/CHROMORANGE/picture alliance
Full circle view
Measuring 368 meters (1,207 feet) in height, the TV tower dominates the Alex. This is Germany's tallest edifice, built in 1969 as part of the central Berlin urban renewal initiative by the East German government. Located just below the top floor is an observation deck and a revolving restaurant, featuring the best 360-degree panoramic view of Berlin in the city.
Image: Markus Mainka/picture alliance
Rotating clock
In 1969 — the same year the TV tower was inaugurated — the Weltzeituhr (Global Time Clock) also opened on the Alexanderplatz. Since then, it has been a popular meeting spot for Berliners and tourists alike. The clock rotates in a way that it shows the time in the respective time zone in any part of the world. It is embellished with a model of the solar system.
Image: Jörg Carstensen/dpa/picture alliance
Communist spirit — with capitalist opportunities
The colorful focal point of the Alex is the Fountain of Friendship between Peoples. The nearby frieze features plant and animal motifs and is made of materials including stone, metal and enamel. When the square was still part of East Germany, the fountain was also known by another, seedier name: "Nuttenbrosche," or "prostitutes' brooch." Here, young women would wait for their paying clients.
Image: Christian Behring/POP-EYE/picture alliance
From Berlin, with love
The East German regime wanted to send a welcoming message of confidence out into the world by designing Alexanderplatz as cosmopolitan space. Designed for casual socializing and big enough to hold mass events, the Alex became the most important square in East Berlin. It quickly was seen as the crown jewel of the East German metropolis.
Image: Rolf Schulten/imageBROKER/picture alliance
Prefab housing for the masses
Starting in the 1960s, the East German government built mass housing for thousands of people right around Alexanderplatz. These prefabricated buildings, which are seen as typical of East Germany, still epitomize the image of Berlin's Mitte today. Located next door is Berlin's Red City Hall. It is now the seat of the mayor and the Berlin Senate. Tourists are welcome to have a look inside.
Image: Marcel Ibold/CHROMORANGE/picture alliance
A tall order
The former Interhotel Stadt Berlin at Alexanderplatz towers over the square in the truest sense of the term, at 128 meters (420 feet) in height. When it was built in the late 1960s, it was the GDR's highest habitable building. Today it is a Park Inn hotel and is still the highest hotel building in all of Germany. Visitors can enjoy a special view of the TV tower from its terrace.
Image: Jens Kalaene/dpa/picture alliance
Out and about
Over the course of its history, Alexanderplatz has evolved into one of Berlin's most important transport hubs. Various networks, including regional trains, the InterCity Express rail and three subway lines all cross paths here. There's been a shopping mall to fill the passages between the various platforms since the very beginning. This is why the Alex has always been considered a shopper's dream.
Image: picture-alliance/Bildagentur-online/Joko
Shop till you drop
People flocked to the Alex for (window-)shopping since the early 20th century. At that time, various large department stores were built here — such as the famous Tietz department store (pictured right). This was during the heyday of Alexanderplatz. This tradition was taken up again after the fall of the Berlin Wall, with large department stores and shopping malls being built all over the Alex.
In addition to various department stores, office buildings joined the Alex in the 1930s. Berlin was a rapidly growing metropolis on edge. In 1929, a famous novel was published set in the Berlin of that time: "Berlin Alexanderplatz" by author Alfred Döblin. This erudite testimony to these troubled times has since became one of the most important German novels.
Tomorrow's Berlin
With Germany's reunification in 1990, a new era began to dawn for Alexanderplatz. The square opened up for redevelopment. The transformation plans included the erection of 10 residential and office blocks, each measuring roughly a 150 meters (492 feet) in height, all designed by Berlin architects Kollhoff & Timmermann. So far, however, none of the designs from 1993 have been realized.
