Any questions about life behind iron curtain?

Mike 1972

Given that it could take up to 17 years to get a (new) car were there ever cases of parents applying on behalf of their infant children so that they would have one by the time they were old enough to drive ?

Were there many pre-1961 Western cars on the roads of the DDR (as is the case in Cuba with pre-1959 American vehicles even today ?)

Were other Eastern makes of car (Skoda, Yugo, Polski, Dacia, Lada etc) available and were they regarded as better or worse than the Trabant ?

Given that a lot of people didnt have cars was the public transport system especially good and if not how did people get to work/shops/etc ?

Could people in Apartment buildings wanting to watch Western TV install the necessary communal aerials/antennas on the roof ?

Did people (in general) accept the accuracy of everything they heard on Western TV/radio or listen to both East and Western news programmes and decide the triuth lay somewhere inbetween ?

Is it true that while most people preferred ARD/ZDF TV to the DDR/DFF channels The Eastern channels were regarded as having Better films and childrens programmes ? Did anybody in the West (who could get a signal) watch Eastern TV ?

How were people who set up (legal) private businesses regarded by the authorities ?

How did the GDR go from being a modestly succesful (compared to the rest of the Eastern bloc or even the UK) economy in late 1970's to bankruptcy a decade later ?

Was the healthcare system better or worse in East(ern) Germany after unification ?

Ive read that the Stasi often conducted surveys on what people thought of the regieme but how many malcontents were going to tell the truth to a Stasi officer ?

Was there any point in being a member of/voting for one of the bloc parties other than the SED ? Were there ever any non-bloc parties or independent candidates ?

simplybam wrote: »

Another thing to keep in mind here is that many members of the NSDAP weren't Nazis by conviction. There were lots of people who joined the Party for opportunism or even just to make their life easier (same as happened in the GDR with so many people joining the SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany - the ruling party in the GDR). Being a party member just made your life easier, since you got preferential treatment in most instances..

At a rough guess how many people were in the party and what proportion of SED members were "true believers" and how many were just in it for whatever benefits they could get ?

Little Alex

Tja, Genosse Simplybam, ich glaube Du tippst Dir hier die Pfoten wund. Ich schlage vor, wir treffen uns auf ein gemütliches Bierchen.

Es war doch von damals eine Sache, die noch zu klären wäre. Sie haben an einem Demo-Zug teilgenommen, Herbst 89, Karl-Marx-Stadt, ecke StraNa, da hat Sie jemand erkannt! Das wissen wir. Schildern Sie bitte, was an diesem Abend passiert ist. Was haben Sie uns zu erzählen? Meinen Sie, Sie sind da wegekommen? Das können Sie sich aber abschminken! So jetzt und zwar zügig!

Anyway - LOL - who else would be up for meeting up for a few beers?

Priority Right

Great thread.

Did you know anyone who was brought to Hohenschoenhausen Prison? If not what was your knowledge of the area around it. I know it was secret but was there any information about it in general circles. I visited it the other day it was very interesting.

da_hambo

great thread thanks bam.

I also am fascinated about the soviet regimes after visiting berlin last year.

tac foley

Simplybam - this is THE definitively facinating thread for me.

I was in BRIXMIS in the early 1980's - hint - google BRIXMIS.

My STASI file was thicker than I ever imagined it to be, and even had details of our baby [disabled] daughter's medical history, including time she spent in a downtown hospital.

We go back to Berlin to see friends there whenever we get the chance. Our only son is buried in Nord-Rhein Westphalen.

I'd love the chance to talk to you, having been on the pointy end of your fellow-countrymen's stick.

Best for 2012

tac

ronano

I would love to drink some beers and listen to the conversation that unfolds, i doubt i could add much but it would be an interesting evening

p1akuw47h5r3it

Probably one of the best threads on Boards ever. Great read.

andrew

tac foley wrote: »

Simplybam - this is THE definitively facinating thread for me.

I was in BRIXMIS in the early 1980's - hint - google BRIXMIS.

My STASI file was thicker than I ever imagined it to be, and even had details of our baby [disabled] daughter's medical history, including time she spent in a downtown hospital.

We go back to Berlin to see friends there whenever we get the chance. Our only son is buried in Nord-Rhein Westphalen.

I'd love the chance to talk to you, having been on the pointy end of your fellow-countrymen's stick.

Best for 2012

tac

What was it like seeing your STASI file? Was there any information in there which you were particularly surprised about? Had any information been given by people who you were surprised to find were informers?

Artur.PL

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Were other Eastern makes of car (Skoda, Yugo, Polski, Dacia, Lada etc) available and were they regarded as better or worse than the Trabant ?

There was no car Polski but Polski Fiat 126 and Polski Fiat 125p

tac foley

Artur.PL wrote: »

There was no car Polski but Polski Fiat 126 and Polski Fiat 125p

In addition to those cars we saw a few Wartburgs - great fun they were too, with their universal two-stroke engine. They all smoked like pot-kiln stacks and could be seen heading in our direction for miles in the open countryside.

The highest grade of petrol in the DDR wa 72RON but the stuff they used to mix with the 2-stroke oil must have been a far lowee grade - it all smelled rather like the opening day of the Isle of Man vintage bike rides crossed with caramel and cow-sh!t.

You could smell a Sov military convoy for miles, as you headed up or down the autobahnen 'liaising' with them...

tac

tac foley

andrew wrote: »

What was it like seeing your STASI file? Was there any information in there which you were particularly surprised about? Had any information been given by people who you were surprised to find were informers?

I was very surprised by some of the stuff there, like an assessment of our monthly outgoings [totally incorrect] and the fact that we had a new Mercedes-Benz [also incorrect, it was almost two years old by the time we arrived in Berlin, but we had had M-B since 1951 and now on #48,49 and 50].

As for who informed, well, we never knew. We did not actually live East Berlin or Potsdam, where the mission house was located. After three very violent 'spontaneous' simultaneous demonstrations were held - one at each Mission house - back in 1958, the only Brit living there permanentlywas the mission house Warrant Officer and his wife.

ALL the house staff were informers, that was accepted - from the cooks and cleaners right down to the 'gardener', Walter, who was actually a serving major in the signals branch of the NVA. He was a very nice chap, a VERY fine 'gardener' and used to sing little German baby songs to our daughter, who was then a baby. He was surprised when I occasionally joined in - my Uncle Micky [+18 Oct 1980] was a former Wehrmacht sergeant major from Dresden.

There were many howlers in the file, that only make sense when you realise that much of the input was at least second or third hand, but they DID have a note of all our visits back to UK and one back to Canada while we were in Berlin. They knew very well what WE were, in spite of us all changing our uniforms to save the face of our Soviet hosts.

You can read all about it in a couple of book on the subject by former 'Missionary' Steve Gibson. Another book, by Tony Geraghty, is of some interest, but a few of us want to have a few words with him about some of the stuff he has put in it, if you get my drift.

tac