East Berlin
Soviet-controlled capital
East Berlin was the eastern sector of Berlin, serving as the capital of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1949 to 1990.
Separated from West Berlin by the Berlin Wall after 1961, it became a symbol of Cold War division.
The term is now purely historical: My parents escaped East Berlin in 1958.
East-West Berlin transit point
- border crossingTransit between sovereign territories
- watchtowerElevated structure for surveillance
- no-man's-landUnclaimed disputed territory
- fortificationStrengthening defenses or nutrients
concrete barrier · graffiti · escape · defection · patrol · guardhouse · observation post · border guards
Systematic observation of subjects
- secret policeClandestine state security apparatus
- informantsPeople providing secret intelligence
- espionageCovert intelligence gathering
- interrogationFormal, probing examination
dissidents · files · wiretapping · censorship · political prisoners · state security · denunciation · monitoring
Cold War's political divide
- Eastern BlocUSSR-aligned European nations
- Warsaw PactSoviet-led military alliance
- satellite stateNation subordinate to another
- GDREast Germany abbreviation
occupation zone · propaganda · ideology · socialism · Soviet influence · superpower rivalry · nuclear threat · containment
Cold division's physical end
- November 1989Month the Wall opened
- unificationMerging into one entity
- integrationCombining into a whole
- transitionChange from one state
reconstruction · convergence · reconciliation · adjustment · brain drain · economic transformation
Permits for limited goods
- queuesOrderly waiting arrangements
- state employmentWork for government agencies
Checkpoint Charlie
East-West Berlin transit point
- border crossingTransit between sovereign territories
- watchtowerElevated structure for surveillance
- no-man's-landUnclaimed disputed territory
fortification · concrete barrier · graffiti · escape · defection · patrol · guardhouse · observation post · border guards · Brandenburg Gate
surveillance
Systematic observation of subjects
- secret policeClandestine state security apparatus
- informantsPeople providing secret intelligence
- espionageCovert intelligence gathering
interrogation · dissidents · files · wiretapping · censorship · political prisoners · state security · denunciation · monitoring · fear
Iron Curtain
Cold War's political divide
- Eastern BlocUSSR-aligned European nations
- Warsaw PactSoviet-led military alliance
- satellite stateNation subordinate to another
GDR · occupation zone · propaganda · ideology · socialism · Soviet influence · superpower rivalry · nuclear threat · containment
fall of the wall
Cold division's physical end
- November 1989Month the Wall opened
- unificationMerging into one entity
- integrationCombining into a whole
transition · reconstruction · convergence · reconciliation · adjustment · brain drain · economic transformation
ration cards
Permits for limited goods
- queuesOrderly waiting arrangements
- state employmentWork for government agencies
- BerlinBrandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, Reichstag, U-Bahn
- Easteastern, eastbound, easterly, eastward, Orient
- Cold WarIron Curtain, arms race, Warsaw Pact, Cuban Missile Crisis, Eastern Bloc
- Berlin historyBrandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, divided city, reunification, fall of the wall
- Berlin WallBrandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, death strip, border crossing, fall of the wall
- Cold War GermanyWest Germany, German reunification, divided Germany, Checkpoint Charlie, GDR