Walking Tour: The East Is Red (Rise and Fall of the German Democratic Republic)

Name: Walking Tour: The East Is Red (Rise and Fall of the German Democratic Republic)
Start: 2025-09-28T14:00:00+02:00
End: 2025-09-28T16:30:00+02:00
Location: Strausberger Platz, Berlin, Deutschland

Schedule

Sun Sep 28 2025 at 02:00 pm to 04:30 pm

UTC+02:00

Location

Strausberger Platz, Berlin, Deutschland | Berlin, BE

## Every year, the Federal Republic of Germany celebrates the Day of German Unity on October 3. There is no national public holiday to commemorate the end of the Third Reich — but there is one for the end of the GDR. We will take the opportunity look back at the other Germany — the one that disappeared. ##
“Risen from ruins,” the anthem starts, “and facing the future.” The German Democratic Republic was founded in 1949, and collapsed almost exactly 40 years later. East Germany left behind some amazing architecture, starting with the broad avenue once called Stalinallee. We will start at the spot where a bronze statue of Stalin stood — today, only Stalin's ear remains.
On June 17, 1953, a workers' uprising shook East Berlin. It started with a strike by construction workers on this avenue. The protests that brought down the regime in 1989 also took place here. After the wall fell, the neighborhood filled up with squats and antifascist activists, some of which remain. We will also visit the headquarters of the Stasi, which was stormed in 1990.
If you would like to attend a tour, please send an e-mail with your name and the date of the tour to: [email protected]. You will get a confirmation e-mail within one day. This is to make sure we have enough people (at least 5) but also not too many (no more than 25) for a tour to take place.
Our tour will be meeting at U-Bhf Strausberger Platz, outside the exit to Andreasstraße (in front of Andreasstraße 46). We will meet at 14:00 and leave by 14:10.
The tour will end two hours later at U-Bhf Magdalenenstraße. We will be taking two stops on the U5, which requires an AB ticket.
Suggested donation is 15 euros per person, but any contribution is appreciated and none is required. You can also pick up a signed copy of the book "Revolutionary Berlin."
If you have any questions, please send an e-mail: [email protected]