East German history

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From human smuggling to forced labor, from skateboarding to the Peaceful Revolution, DW takes a closer look at the history and legacy of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), known as East Germany.

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Reports & Analysis

'Vogue of the East': GDR's underground fashion mag

Sewing your own clothes in the GDR was a subtle act of resistance against the regime.

Life at the Berlin Wall

The former Berlin border crossing at Checkpoint Charlie has a new attraction. A 360-degree panoramic picture by artist Yadegar Asisi presents a day in the life of the divided German capital during the 1980s -- looking from the West across the wall to East Berlin.

East German trade secrets

The GDR was a source of cheap labor for Western companies.

Illustrated History – Divided Berlin in comic book form # 12.08.2012 # Arts.21

How do you communicate life in a dictatorship to young people? With a comic book! At least, that’s what two Berlin graphic artists decided. “Berlin- A City Divided” depicts true personal stories and events, is excellently researched and illustrated with loving attention to detail.

The price of freedom

During the Cold War, West Germany bought the freedom of East German political prisoners.

Life as a student either side of the wall

The start of the construction of the Berlin Wall on August 13,1961 divided Germany and turned lives upside down. Joachim Rudolph was a student from East Berlin. He wanted to see the world, but the Berlin Wall destroyed his dreams of a career abroad. Over in West Berlin, Klaus Köppen found himself separated from his fiancée on the other side.

Discliplined and cool

Erich Honecker's former butler reveals how the former GDR chief was in private.

Farewell to the West - A growing number of East Germans are returning home

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, many people in East Germany headed west in search of work, wealth and a better life. An increasing number are now returning. Like the Behrenbruch family who are leaving Wolfsburg and moving to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. They used an agency - MV4You - to help them go home.

Shuttered society

An exhibition in Berlin honors East German art photography from 1945 to 1989.

Flashback: Leap to Freedom

It's a picture that went around the world: the photograph of a young East German border guard leaping over barbed wire. On the third day after work on the Berlin Wall began, Conrad Schumann managed to flee from East to West Berlin. A young photographer, Peter Leibing, pressed the shutter at just the right moment and took the iconic picture.

Shuttered Society

A new exhibition in Berlin explores four decades of art photography in the GDR.

Reunification memorial

The people of Leipzig are divided over how to memorialize the Peaceful Revolution.

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