View source for East Berlin

{{short description|Capital of East Germany (1949–1990)}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = ''Ost-Berlin''<br />''Berlin (Ost)''<br />''Demokratischer Sektor von Berlin''<br/>''Berlin, Hauptstadt der DDR''
| conventional_long_name = East Berlin
| common_name            = East Berlin
| status                 = Capital of [[East Germany]]{{efn|Partially recognised; seen by the [[Western Bloc]] as the [[Soviet occupation zone in Germany|Soviet-occupied]] portion of Berlin}}
| era                    = Cold War
| event_start            = Establishment of [[East Germany]]
| date_start             = 7 October
| year_start             = 1949
| event_end              = [[German reunification|Reunification]]
| date_end               = 3 October
| year_end               = 1990
| p1                     = Allied-occupied Germany
| s1                     = Germany
| s2                     = Berlin
| flag_p1                = Flag of Germany (1946-1949).svg
| flag_s1                = Flag of Germany.svg
| flag_s2                = Flag of Berlin.svg
| image_flag             = Flag of East Berlin (1956-1990).svg
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of Berlin (1935).svg
| image_map              = File:District of Berlin in German Democratic Republic (-water).svg
| image_map_caption      = East Berlin (red) within East Germany
| coordinates            = {{coord|52|31|7|N|13|24|16|E|display=inline,title}}
| stat_pop1              = 1,174,582
| stat_year1             = 1946
| stat_pop2              = 1,055,283
| stat_year2             = 1961
| stat_pop3              = 1,279,212
| stat_year3             = 1989
| leader1                = [[Hans Jendretzky]]
| leader2                = [[Alfred Neumann (East German politician)|Alfred Neumann]]
| leader3                = Hans Kiefert
| leader4                = [[Paul Verner]]
| leader5                = [[Konrad Naumann]]
| leader6                = [[Günter Schabowski]]
| leader7                = Heinz Albrecht
| year_leader1           = 1948–1953
| year_leader2           = 1953–1957
| year_leader3           = 1957–1959
| year_leader4           = 1959–1971
| year_leader5           = 1971–1985
| year_leader6           = 1985–1989
| year_leader7           = 1989–1990
| title_leader           = [[East Berlin District Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany#First Secretaries|First Secretary]]
| title_deputy           = [[List of mayors of Berlin#Lord Mayor of Berlin (1948–1990)|Lord Mayor]]
| deputy1                = [[Friedrich Ebert Jr.]] ([[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|SED]])
| deputy2                = [[Herbert Fechner]] ([[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|SED]])
| deputy3                = [[Erhard Krack]] ([[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|SED]])
| deputy4                = [[Ingrid Pankraz]] ([[Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)|PDS]])
| deputy5                = [[Christian Hartenhauer]] ([[Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)|PDS]])
| deputy6                = [[Tino Schwierzina]] ([[Social Democratic Party in the GDR|SPD]])
| deputy7                = [[Thomas Krüger]] ([[Social Democratic Party in the GDR|SPD]])
| year_deputy1           = 1948–1967
| year_deputy2           = 1967–1974
| year_deputy3           = 1974–1990
| year_deputy4           = 1990
| year_deputy5           = 1990
| year_deputy6           = 1990–1991
| year_deputy7           = 1991
| today                  = [[Germany]]
}}
{{History of Berlin}}

'''East Berlin''' ({{langx|de|Ost-Berlin}}; {{IPA|de|ˈɔstbɛ:ˌliːn|pron|De-Ostberlin.ogg}}) was the [[capital city|capital]] of [[East Germany]] (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the [[Allied occupation zones in Germany|Soviet occupation sector]] of [[Berlin]]. The American, British, and French sectors were known as [[West Berlin]]. From 13 August 1961 until 9 November 1989, East Berlin was separated from West Berlin by the [[Berlin Wall]]. The Western Allied powers did not recognize East Berlin as the GDR's capital, nor the GDR's authority to govern East Berlin. For most of its administrative existence, East Berlin was officially known as '''Berlin, capital of the GDR''' ({{langx|de|Berlin, Hauptstadt der DDR}}) by the GDR government. On 3 October 1990, the day Germany was officially [[German reunification|reunified]], East and West Berlin formally reunited as the city of Berlin.

==Overview==
With the [[London Protocol (1944)|London Protocol of 1944]] and subsequent [[Potsdam Conference]] in 1945,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Potsdam Conference, 1945 {{!}} Harry S. Truman |url=https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/lesson-plans/potsdam-conference-1945 |access-date=2025-09-11 |website=www.trumanlibrary.gov}}</ref> the [[Allies of World War II|Allied powers]] of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union decided to divide [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] into three occupation zones and to establish a special area of Berlin, which was occupied by the three Allied Forces together.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historyandpolicy.org/policy-papers/papers/germany-1945-1949-a-case-study-in-post-conflict-reconstruction|title=Germany 1945-1949: a case study in post-conflict reconstruction|last=Knowles|first=Chris|date=29 January 2014 |website=History & Policy|access-date=19 July 2016}}</ref> In May 1945, the Soviet Union installed a city government for the whole city that was called "Magistrate of Greater Berlin", which existed until 1947. After the war, the Allied Forces initially administered the city together within the [[Allied Kommandatura]], which served as the governing body of the city. However, in 1948 the Soviet representative left the Kommandatura and the common administration broke apart during the following months. In the Soviet sector, a separate city government was established, which continued to call itself the "Magistrate of Greater Berlin".

When the German Democratic Republic was established in 1949, it immediately claimed East Berlin as its capital—a claim that was recognized by all [[communist countries]]. Nevertheless, East Berlin representation in the {{Lang|de|[[Volkskammer]]|italic=no}} initially only consisted of non-voting delegates, indirectly elected by the Magistrate, until an amendment to the electoral law providing for direct elections was passed on June 28, 1979, taking effect on June 14, 1981.<ref>[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ByuVTw_dGjUC&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&dq=east%20berlin%20volkskammer%201979&pg=PA1336#v=onepage&q=%22volkskammer%20elections%20in%20east%20berlin%22&f=false ''Documents on Germany, 1944-1985''], U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, 1985, page 1336</ref>
 
In June 1948, all railways and roads leading to West Berlin were [[Berlin Blockade|blocked]], and East Berliners were not allowed to emigrate. Nevertheless, more than 1,000 East Germans were [[Republikflucht|escaping]] to West Berlin each day by 1960, caused by the strains on the East German economy from war reparations owed to the Soviet Union, massive destruction of industry, and lack of assistance from the [[Marshall Plan]]. In August 1961, the [[Politics of East Germany|East German Government]] tried to stop the population exodus by separating West Berlin by the [[Berlin Wall]]. It was very dangerous for fleeing residents to cross because [[Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic|armed soldiers]] were trained to [[Schießbefehl|shoot illegal emigrants]].<ref name="Conrad">{{Cite book|title = Berlin|last = Stein|first=R. Conrad |publisher=[[Children's Press]]|year=1997|page=29|isbn=9780516205823}}</ref>

East Germany was a [[Socialist state|socialist republic]]. Eventually, Christian churches were allowed to operate without restraint after years of harassment by authorities. In the 1970s, the wages of East Berliners rose and working hours fell.<ref name="Grant">{{Cite book
| title = The Berlin Wall
| last = Grant
| first = R. G.
| publisher = [[Raintree Steck-Vaughn]]
| year = 1999
| isbn = 9780817250171
}}</ref>

The [[Soviet Union]] and the [[Communist bloc|Communist Bloc]] recognized East Berlin as the GDR's capital. However, [[Western Bloc|Western Allies]] (the [[United States]], [[United Kingdom]], and [[France]]) never formally acknowledged the authority of the East German government to govern East Berlin. 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.<ref>{{cite web | title = Helpful Hints for US Visitors to East Berlin | publisher = [[United States Army Berlin|Headquarters, U.S. Command Berlin]] | date = 1981-11-09 | url = http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/USCOB_Hints_on_Visiting_East_Berlin_-_19811109.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230305215400/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/USCOB_Hints_on_Visiting_East_Berlin_-_19811109.pdf |archive-date= Mar 5, 2023 }}</ref> In fact, the three Western commandants regularly protested against the presence of the East German [[National People's Army]] 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".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DhuQAwAAQBAJ&q=sitz+der&pg=PA159|title=Architecture, Politics, and Identity in Divided Berlin |last=Pugh|isbn=9780822979579|first=Emily|publisher=[[University of Pittsburgh Press]]|date=2014|page=159}}</ref>

On 3 October 1990, East and West Germany and East and West Berlin [[German reunification|were reunited]], thus formally ending the existence of East Berlin. Citywide elections in December 1990 resulted in the first "all-Berlin" mayor being elected to take office in January 1991, with the separate offices of mayors in East and West Berlin expiring at the time, and [[Eberhard Diepgen]] (a former mayor of West Berlin) became the first elected mayor of a reunited Berlin.<ref name="NYT 1990 Mayoral">{{Cite news |last=Kinzer |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Kinzer|date=1990-12-01 |title=Berlin Mayoral Contest Has Many Uncertainties |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/01/world/berlin-mayoral-contest-has-many-uncertainties.html |access-date=2023-01-04 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

== Historical population ==
East Berlin reached its highest population in 1988 with 1.28&nbsp;million. The lowest value was in 1961, the year the Berlin Wall was built, with under 1.06&nbsp;million registered. The figures in the following table, unless otherwise indicated, are from the official central statistical office of East Germany. 

{| class="centered"
|
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Population
|-
| 29 October 1946 ¹ ||style="text-align:center"| 1,174,582
|-
| 31 August 1950 ¹ ||style="text-align:center"| 1,189,074
|-
| 31 December 1955 ||style="text-align:center"| 1,139,864
|-
| 31 December 1960 ||style="text-align:center"| 1,071,775
|-
| 31 December 1961 ||style="text-align:center"| 1,055,283
|-
| 31 December 1964 ¹ ||style="text-align:center"| 1,070,731
|}
|
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date !! Population
|-
| {{0}}1 January 1971 ¹ ||style="text-align:center"| 1,086,374
|-
| 31 December 1975 ||style="text-align:center"| 1,098,174
|-
| 31 December 1981 ¹ ||style="text-align:center"| 1,162,305
|-
| 31 December 1985 ||style="text-align:center"| 1,215,586
|-
| 31 December 1988 ||style="text-align:center"| 1,284,535
|-
| 31 December 1989 ||style="text-align:center"| 1,279,212
|}
|}
==Post-reunification==
{{main article|German reunification#Unified Berlin}}
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.

After reunification, the East German economy suffered significantly. Under the adopted policy of privatization of state-owned firms under the auspices of the {{Lang|de|[[Treuhandanstalt]]|italic=no}}, many East German factories were shut down—which also led to mass unemployment—due to gaps in productivity with and investment compared to West German companies, as well as an inability to comply with West German pollution and safety standards in a way that was deemed cost-effective. Because of this, a massive amount of West German economic aid was poured into East Germany to revitalize it. This stimulus was part-funded through a 7.5% tax on income for individuals and companies (in addition to normal income tax or company tax) known as the ''{{Lang|de|Solidaritätszuschlaggesetz}}'' (SolZG) or "solidarity surcharge", which though only in effect for 1991–1992 (later reintroduced in 1995 at 7.5 and then dropped down to 5.5% in 1998 and continues to be levied to this day) led to a great deal of resentment toward the East Germans.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bzst.de/EN/Businesses/Withholding_taxes/Withholding_taxe/Tax_withholding_amount/tax_withholding_amount_node.html|title=BZSt - Tax withholding amount|website=www.bzst.de|access-date=2019-10-15|institution=[[Federal Central Tax Office]]|language=en|url-status=deviated|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015051235/https://www.bzst.de/EN/Businesses/Withholding_taxes/Withholding_taxe/Tax_withholding_amount/tax_withholding_amount_node.html|archive-date=15 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/taxation/business-tax/company-tax-eu/germany/index_en.htm|title=Company Tax in the EU- Germany|website=Your Europe - Business|institution=[[European Union]]|language=en|access-date=2019-10-15|url-status=deviated|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003143910/https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/taxation/business-tax/company-tax-eu/germany/index_en.htm|archive-date=3 October 2018}}</ref><ref name="Grant"/>

Despite the large sums of economic aid poured into East Berlin, there still remain obvious differences between the former East and West Berlins. East Berlin has a distinct visual style; this is partly due to the greater survival of prewar façades and streetscapes, with some still showing signs of wartime damage.  The unique look of [[Stalinist architecture|Socialist Classicism]] that was used in East Berlin (along with the rest of the former GDR) also contrasts markedly with the urban development styles employed in the former West Berlin. Additionally, the former East Berlin (along with the rest of the former GDR) retains a small number of its GDR-era street and place names commemorating German socialist heroes, such as [[Karl-Marx-Allee]], [[Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz]], and [[Karl-Liebknecht-Straße]]. Many such names, however, were deemed inappropriate (for various reasons) and, through [[decommunization]], changed after a long process of review (so, for instance, Leninallee reverted to Landsberger Allee in 1991, and Dimitroffstraße reverted to Danziger Straße in 1995).

Another symbolic icon of the former East Berlin (and of East Germany as a whole) is the {{Lang|de|[[Ampelmännchen]]}} (tr. "little traffic light men"), a stylized version of a fedora-wearing man crossing the street, which is found on traffic lights at many pedestrian crosswalks throughout the former East. Following a civic debate about whether the {{Lang|de|Ampelmännchen}} should be abolished or disseminated more widely (due to concerns of consistency), several crosswalks in some parts of the former West Berlin began to employ the {{Lang|de|Ampelmännchen}}.

Twenty-five years after the two cities were reunified, the people of East and West Berlin still had noticeable differences between them, and these differences became more apparent among the older generations.  The two groups also had sometimes-derogatory slang terms to refer to each other.  A former East Berliner (or East German) was known as an "''{{Lang|de|Ossi}}''" (from the German word for east, ''{{Lang|de|Ost}}''), and a former West Berliner (or West German) was known as a "''{{Lang|de|Wessi}}''" (from the German word for west, ''{{Lang|de|West}}'').  Both sides also engaged in stereotyping the other.  A stereotypical ''{{Lang|de|Ossi}}'' had little ambition or poor work ethic and was chronically bitter, while a stereotypical ''{{Lang|de|Wessi}}'' was arrogant, selfish, impatient and pushy.<ref name="Conrad"/>

==Boroughs==
[[File:EastBerlinBoroughs.png|thumb|200px|right|Boroughs of East Berlin (as of 1987)]]

At the time of [[German reunification]], East Berlin comprised the [[boroughs and neighborhoods of Berlin|boroughs]] of
* [[Friedrichshain]]
* [[Hellersdorf]] (since 1986)
* [[Hohenschönhausen]] (since 1985)
* [[Köpenick]]
* [[Lichtenberg, Berlin|Lichtenberg]]
* [[Marzahn]] (since 1979)
* [[Mitte (locality)|Mitte]]
* [[Pankow]]
* [[Prenzlauer Berg]]
* [[Treptow]]
* [[Weißensee (Berlin)|Weißensee]]
[[File:Allied occupation in Berlin (1945-1990).png|thumb|The occupied sectors of Berlin]]

==Images==
<gallery>
File:Marx-engels-platz.jpg|Marx-Engels-Platz and the [[Palast der Republik|Palace of the Republic]] in East Berlin in the summer of 1989. The {{Lang|de|[[Fernsehturm Berlin|Fernsehturm]]|italic=no}} (TV Tower) is visible in the background
File:Fehrnsehturm Palast.jpg|Easter Sunday, 1988, {{Lang|de|Fernsehturm|italic=no}} and Palace of the Republic
File:Karl-Marx-Allee Block C Nord Berlin April 2006 060.jpg|[[Karl-Marx-Allee]] apartments
File:Lenindecoration.JPG|Wall plaque of Lenin, off [[Wilhelmstraße|Wilhelmstrasse]]
File:Veggdekorasjon.JPG|GDR-era mural of [[Meissen porcelain]] on former Council of Ministers building, facing [[Leipziger Straße]]
File:Soviet War Memorial Park.JPG|[[Soviet War Memorial (Treptower Park)|The Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park]]
File:Cafe Moskau.JPG|Cafe Moskau in Karl-Marx-Allee
File:Dismantling of the Palace of the Republic.JPG|[[Palace of the Republic, Berlin|The Palace of the Republic]], being dismantled
File:New Synagogue, East Berlin.JPG|[[New Synagogue (Berlin)|New Synagogue]], Oranienburger Straße
File:Weberwiese Berlin April 2006 147.jpg|"Hochhaus" in Weberwiese, the first high-rise apartment built after the war
File:VolksbühBerlJan08.JPG|{{Lang|de|[[Volksbühne]]|italic=no}}, Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz
File:Berlin Wilhelmstrasse.jpg|Late-1980s GDR apartment blocks on the Wilhelmstrasse
File:Strausberger Platz Berlin April 2006 117.jpg|[[Strausberger Platz]] with [[Constructivist architecture|constructivism]] style building
File:Proletarian hero, Alexanderplatz june 2006.JPG|Proletarian hero, {{Lang|de|[[Alexanderplatz]]|italic=no}}
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-U1109-022, Berlin, Sandmännchen.jpg|[[Gerhard Behrendt]] with {{Lang|de|[[Sandmännchen]]}}. The show was recorded in East Berlin
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-41736-0005, Berlin, Bodemuseum, Monbijoubrücke.jpg|The [[Bode Museum]] at the northern end of the [[Museum Island]], 1956
File:Haus der Schweiz, Unter den Linden at FriedrichStrasse, East Berlin, February 1975.jpg|{{interlanguage link|Haus der Schweiz|de}}, Unter der Linden at FriedrichStrasse, East Berlin, February 1975
File:Statues of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.JPG|Statues of Marx and Engels, [[Marx-Engels-Forum]]
</gallery>

==See also==
{{portal|East Germany}}
* [[West Berlin]]
* [[Bonn]], the [[West Germany|West German]] capital city

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Durie |first1=William |title=The British Garrison Berlin 1945 - 1994: nowhere to go ... a pictorial historiography of the British Military occupation / presence in Berlin |date=2012 |publisher=Vergangenheitsverlag ([[:de:Vergangenheitsverlag|de]]) |location=Berlin |isbn=978-3-86408-068-5 |language=English |oclc=978161722}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://mises.org/wire/my-first-time-east-berlin My First Time to East Berlin], 11 November 2019, [[James Bovard]], [[Mises Institute]]

{{Berlin Wall}}
{{Allied-administered Germany}}
{{Bezirke DDR}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berlin, East}}
[[Category:East Berlin| ]]
[[Category:1949 establishments in East Germany]]
[[Category:1990 disestablishments in East Germany]]
[[Category:Capitals of former nations]]
[[Category:Divided cities]]
[[Category:Geography of East Germany]]
[[Category:Subdivisions of East Germany]]