East Germany

The Isothermal Spherical Laboratories are among Berlin's best-kept secrets if you value the sculptural potential of unfinished concrete and wish to see a singular piece of Cold War history.

Raw Concrete & Cold War Science: Exploring the Isothermal Spherical Laboratories in Berlin

Berlin (category)
5 min read
20/07/202606/08/2026

The Berlin Wall Memorial, also known in German as Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer, is a mix of monuments and museums commemorating the city's division by the Berlin Wall and the people who died because of it. And we consider it to be the best place to learn about the wall and how it affected the city and the entire continent.

The Calm Before the Storm: Walking the Berlin Wall in 1989 Just Months Before it Fell

Berlin (category)
5 min read
02/04/202601/06/2026

On one side, there is the Makrokosmos with two cosmonauts venturing into the vast expanse of space, reflecting the Soviet pride in the Space Race. On the other side, three scientists stand before symbols of atomic energy, illustrating the “promise” of nuclear power for a modern society.

A Guide to the Eisenhüttenstadt Murals and Socialist Architecture

Germany (category)
11 min read
12/03/202611/05/2026

The Way of the Red Flag: Discovering Dresden’s Palace of Culture

Dresden (category)
6 min read
06/09/202408/10/2024

Berlin is a city steeped in history, and one of its dark chapters can be seen inside the Stasi Museum in Lichtenberg. Located on Normannenstraße, east of the city center, this museum was once the headquarters of the Ministry for State Security, or "Stasi," the East German secret police. If you're interested in understanding the chilling reality of life under surveillance, visiting the Stasi Museum Berlin is a must.

Unmasking the Past: A Chilling Visit to the Stasi Museum Berlin

Berlin (category)
5 min read
08/08/202416/08/2024

Heavier, harder, louder, faster was the motto for heavy metal fans in the 1980s, not just in the West but also behind the Iron Curtain. The Museum in der Kulturbrauerei Berlin is hosting a charming exhibition, "Heavy Metal in the GDR," that dives into the passionate and surprisingly resilient heavy metal scene in East Germany.

Behind the Iron Curtain: The Untold Story of Heavy Metal in the GDR

Berlin (category)
6 min read
29/06/202416/07/2024

Among all of them, our favourite is easily the one with Karl Marx created in 1974 by José Renau, a Spanish artist from Valencia who moved to East Germany escaping persecution in Franco's dictatorship. Called Unity of the working class and the founding of the GDR, this colourful mural presents Karl Marx in a lionlike way in orange, red, and yellow shades.

Lenin, Marx, and Beyond: Urban Planning and Socialist Murals in Halle Neustadt

Germany (category), Halle (category)
6 min read
01/11/202106/05/2024

The Löffelfamilie is how this neon sign has been known to everyone in Leipzig since it was first lightened up in 1973. The non-official name can be translated as the Spoon Family. It is the only neon sign from East Germany that we ever saw, still standing in public like this.

Löffelfamilie: The Spoon Family made of neon in Leipzig

Germany (category), Leipzig (category)
4 min read
25/10/202109/02/2024

Checkpoint Bravo was the name of one of three Allied checkpoints used by the United States in the divided Germany and Berlin during the years after the Second World War and the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Before 1969, this Checkpoint could be found on a bridge over the Teltow Canal. Still, it was moved to a different location called Albrechts Teerofen. In here, we will be talking about the original and abandoned Checkpoint Bravo.

Checkpoint Bravo and the Teltow Canal Bridge in Dreilinden

Berlin (category), Urbex (category)
7 min read
08/07/202031/08/2024

Back in 1988, one year before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Tilda Swinton took her bike and cycled round the Berlin Wall, together with the filmmaker Cynthia Beatt. What they created came to be known as Cycling the Frame and it’s a beautiful and surreal document that shows a city scarred by a wall that cut it in half.

Cycling the Frame: When Tilda Swinton cycled by the Berlin Wall

Berlin (category), Cycling (category)
3 min read
19/03/201902/06/2025

It was August 21, 1988, and four people decided to risk their lives crossing the Spree River in an attempt of escaping East Germany in hope for freedom in West Berlin. Three men and a woman risked their lives and watching it today make everything look like a distant event in the past, but that was Berlin at the time.

Escaping East Germany: Swimming Across the Spree into West Berlin in Video

Berlin (category)
3 min read
12/11/201705/02/2024

Like I said before, We Will Forget Soon is a fantastic book that documents a part of German history that most people don’t like to talk about but that needs to be told. Dario-Jacopo Laganá and Stefano Corso did a fantastic job with their book, and I believe that everybody that has some interest in this part of history needs to have this on their bookshelf.

We Will Forget Soon: An Interview with Dario-Jacopo Laganá

Berlin (category), Interviews (category)
11 min read
08/05/201722/02/2024

If you ever wondered why Strasse des 17. Juni has its name, you have to watch this short movie from British Pathé from the Berlin Riots of 1953. This short movie is not a documentary but a newsreel report about the uprising of workers against the Communist Regime in East Germany. This is the real deal, not an interpretation of what happened.

Berlin Riots: The 1953 Uprising of Workers in East Germany

Berlin (category)
2 min read
03/03/201703/02/2024