33 Vintage Pics of East Germany Before the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Photos from the country of punk and Communism.

Published 1 month ago

Get a look at life behind the Iron Curtain.

In the aftermath of World War II, Germany was occupied by the Allies with France, the U.S. and Great Britain occupying the western half, while the Soviet Union took hold of the east. The German Democratic Republic, better known as East Germany, was a communist state whose policies were fully dictated by the Soviets from 1949 until its collapse in 1990.

Despite Russia’s tight grip, East Germany developed its own cultural identity complete with civilian protests, military parades, punk concerts, theatre, and everything else in between.

Here are some of the citizens of Communist Germany living their lives on the other side of the Berlin Wall.

1
A man rests under the dandelion fountain in Dresden, in the city center of Prager Strasse.
by Thomas Hoepker

2
Fashion photo for the magazine Sibylle, Berlin-Marzahn, 1982
by Ute Mahler

3
Prima ballerina Jutta Angelika Deutschland, Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg, 1981
by Ute Mahler
4
Department store 1984
by Chris Niedenthal

5
Portrait of East Germany’s leader Erich Honecker on the wall, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, 1984
by Ute Mahler
6
Schoolchildren on a class outing having an ice cream break in front of a shop in Erfurt, 1974.
Thomas Hoepker
7
Children playing with a soccer ball at the Berlin Wall in 1963.
by Thomas Hoepker

8
A Free German Youth Organization band plays in front of a statue of Vladimir Lenin in East Berlin, 1974.
by Thomas Hoepker
9
A parade marking the 35th anniversary of the proclamation of East Germany held at the Karl Marx Allee in East Berlin, 1984.
Thomas Hoepker
10
Neusterlizt 1984
by Chris Niedenthal

11
A "hooligan" in East Berlin, 1987.
by Thomas Hoepker
12
During an airshow in Magdeburg in 1974, a soldier and his girlfriend spend some personal time together.
by Thomas Hoepker
13
Parade in East Berlin
by Thomas Hoepker

14
A German punk youth in East Berlin, 1984.
by Thomas Hoepker
15
A pantomime theater group eats on a rooftop in East Berlin, 1984.
by Thomas Hoepker
16
The Betriebskampftruppen paramilitary group marches through East Berlin, 1974.
by Thomas Hoepker

17
Celebrations of 25 years of DDR Parade, 1974
by Thomas Hoepker
18
A May Day demonstration march passes by new apartment housing for workers
19
Celebration of 40 Year of the DDR

20
Magdeburg. View from the train station, 1980
by Thomas Hoepker
21
Halberstadt, Straßenbahn, 1980
by Thomas Hoepker
22
Magdeburg street scenes, 1980
by Thomas Hoepker

23
Magdeburg. Hotel International, 1980
by Thomas Hoepker
24
Wernigerode, 1980
by Thomas Hoepker
25
The Berlin Wall, circa 1980s

26
40th Anniversary of the GDR. Military parade in East Berlin 1989
by Chris Niedenthal
27
Neubrandenburg 1984
by Chris Niedenthal
28
Old Age Pensioners' Home, Neubrandenburg 1984
by Chris Niedenthal