IT’S been well over 30 years since the reunification of Germany, so this month we decided to explore what is left of the former Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR). 

Using a mixture of an old blue guide book and the recent volume by Nathaniel Falkin, Revolutionary Tours of Berlin (Pluto Press), we planned our latest “Redcation” around East Germany.

Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing stories from our travels, starting with Berlin. We hope you enjoy the below and will support our new Red Tourists blog and information page available via www.redtourists.com. 

Day 1 

DDR Museum

A reconstruction of the interior of a DDR flat

Berlin is one of the most vibrant, historically significant and interesting cities in Europe for the red tourist — the centre of the iron curtain. 

This was not our first trip to Berlin, but for those who have never been, a great first stop is the DDR museum. 

This museum is crammed full of interactive exhibits, fun facts, and the ability to drive a “Trabi” around a virtual Berlin, which combined create the ideal starting point for this trip. If the weather is good, you can grab yourself a drink and something to eat just above the museum which adorns the river Spree.

Marx-Engels Forum

After a short rest and something to eat, cross the road to grab yourself a selfie with the founding fathers, Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels, at the Marx-Engels-Forum. As of early May 2022, this area was covered by what seemed temporary fencing, the photo below is taken from another trip.

To maximise your revolutionary history and to ensure you have the best “Red Tourist” trip of Berlin, we recommend Nathaniel Flakin’s Revolutionary Berlin, A Walking Guide (Pluto Press). 

This cleverly crafted and witty exploration of Berlin, enables the reader to step back into any revolutionary historical period of the city. With so much to choose from and so little time in Berlin, we decided to explore just chapter 7 of this book, The East is Red.

House of Ministries

We were lucky that we stayed right by our first stop on our The East is Red tour, the House of Ministries (Wilhelmstrase 97). 

This huge building was used by Nazis, being the headquarters of the Reich Aviation Ministry, and the DDR where it became known as the House of Ministries. 

Since reunification the building has housed the German Finance Ministry.

To the right of the building further down Wilhelmstrasse, you will see the stunning murals pictured here. Currently this building is the seat of the German Finance Ministry.

Alexanderplatz

Just past Marx-Engels Forum is the unmissable is Alexander Square (Alexander Platz). Easy to find thanks to the large TV tower (Fernsehturm), which you can go to the top of. 

This famous square has played an important role throughout the history of Berlin and continues to don some spectacular DDR period buildings.

Karl-Marx-Allee

Walking away from Alexanderplatz, you reach the impressive Karl-Marx-Allee. This enormous boulevard was built between 1952 and 1960. 

Between 1949 and 1961 this street was known as Stalinallee. Either side of this road, you can see the vast “workers’ palaces,” the amazing blocks of flats built by the DDR. 

Kino International

This colossal street was also the venue of many May Day rallies and demonstrations. While you make your way toward your next stop, you will go past the stunning Kino International Cinema. A beautiful building, now protected, hosted many a premiere from the DDR state-owned film studio Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft. 

As you walk further down you can go to 70E and find where the giant Stalin statue once stood. It is no longer there and has been replaced by a fountain but you can continue to explore the history of this famous road at the Cafe Sibylle. 

This cafe, as Flakin helpfully points out, includes a bit of the moustache and ear from the former statue of the “man of steel.” 

This cafe is a nice place to take in the views of the allee and take a small break on our tour. Inside the cafe there are some small exhibits about the history of the street as well as posters to view.

Lenin Square

Carrying on the walking tour, making your way down Karl Marx Allee, you will need to take a left and walk towards what was known as Lenin Square.

Historically, the home of a huge red granite statue of comrade Lenin, today all that remains is the housing blocks around it.

After visiting this area, we called it a day and grabbed ourselves a much-earned beer.

There are many more red sites in this chapter of our walking guide worth exploring, but with a tight schedule and many miles to go, we ended the use of Flakin’s guide here.

Day 2

Hohenschonhausen Prison Memorial

After a good night’s rest, we dedicated Day 2 to visiting the Houhenschoenhausen prison, before turning to the rest of our adventure around the DDR. 

We didn’t plan our visit, but it is always worth checking the website. We arrived to be told we had around 40-minute wait for an English tour, which suited us as we were able to sit and enjoy some breakfast in the nice canteen area. 

The prison site itself is vast and starts with a short film that contains a certain view of the developments of World War II and beyond. 

Our guide was very knowledgeable, engaging different parts of the group and discussing the development and use of the prison. 

Originally a site used by the Nazis to provide meals for the local community during the war, this canteen building was transformed into a prison at the end of WWII by the Soviet Union. 

This conversion led to the prison being used for Nazi war criminals. As the sectors were drawn up across Berlin, this prison was given to the DDR by the Soviet Union. 

The tour enables you to view all the historical developments of the site and to better understand how political dissidents of the DDR were handled. 

After the tour which is around 90 minutes and has outdoor as well as indoor stops, you can also walk around a small but impressive exhibit with more information, we would recommend this too.

We hope you have enjoyed reading the first part of our Red Tourists DDR road trip.

We hope you will support this project and keep in touch with us by following us across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by searching Red Tourists.