Photo: Berlin in the 1950s – still from ‘East Berlin Parade 1950’
Throughout the 1950s the government of the DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik) continued a process of Socialisation in East Germany. Tensions were running high between the East and West and also amongst the people of the DDR. The ‘brain drain’ had started, as workers sought out the higher pay and better working conditions in the West.
East Berlin Parade 1950
The Freie Deutsche Jugend (FDJ) (Free German Youth) marching through East Berlin in 1950.
East Germany Propaganda – East Berlin 1950
There is more footage of the FDJ gathering in Berlin in 1950 with commentary (auf Deutsch) in this longer film.
DDR im Film XVII – Stalinallee (1951)
Set to the song Jugend erwach (Bau auf, bau auf), Part 17 of the series DDR – Das Original shows the construction of buildings on the Stalinallee, now Karl-Marx-Allee.
GDR Uprising (1953)
What started as a strike by construction workers in East Berlin the previous day turned into a full-scale uprising against the government of the DDR on 17 June 1953. Workers were protesting against plans to increase working hours or cut pay and the policy of prioritising heavy industry that meant a shortage of consumer goods and power.
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