Socialist planned economy, prefabricated housing and Young Pioneers. The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9^th, 1989 marked the beginning of a new life for many people in East Germany.

Our 6-part YouTube series “GDR in 10 minutes” shows the special qualities, common clichés and myths surrounding the German Democratic Republic. What were vacations like in the GDR? Is it true that there were no bananas in the GDR? Could you listen to punk music and wear torn jeans? And how did the Stasi actually work?

Our YouTube format “GDR in 10 Minutes” is based on our successful series “Back then in the GDR” (2004), which focuses on the lives and experiences of GDR citizens. In “GDR in 10 Minutes”, amateur films, photos, and documents also show a different, private picture of the GDR.

YouTube Episodes:

1 No freedom to travel – Could GDR citizens take a vacation?

2 Planned economy in the GDR – how big was the shortage?

3 Between punks and Young Pioneers – young people in the GDR.

4 Women in the GDR – how progressive was their role?

5 On prefabricated housing and housing allocation – living in the GDR.

6 GDR secret police – how the Stasi worked.