Historically Significant Exhaustive Archive of over 3000 Original Gelatin Silver Photographs and over 90 Pieces of Printed and Typewritten Ephemera, consisting of Fifteen Albums and Portfolios and an Extraordinary Collection of Press Photos Documenting and Giving an Almost Complete Overview of the History of East Berlin and German Democratic Republic in the Years 1949-1990.

EAST BERLIN & GDR

Publication Date: 1949

About this Item

A massive collection of over 3000 original photos and over 90 pieces of rare ephemera, comprising a unique and exhaustive visual source on the history of East Berlin and the GDR.  The earlier materials from the 1950s are presented by three private albums, assembled by a female member of the Free German Youth movement (Freie Deutsche Jugend), a participant of the Third World Festival of Youth and Students (East Berlin, August 5-19, 1951) and a young Volksarmee officer stationed in East Berlin. The photos include lively snapshot photos showing the streets and sites of East Berlin and important public events witnessed by the compilers: the first (1950) and second (1954) German Youth Meetings (demonstration processions with flags, posters and portraits of Mao Zedong, young Erich Honecker, a march in the "Pionierrepublick Ernst Thälmann" park), and the Third World Festival of Youth and Students (athletes' parade, sports competitions, public demonstrations, art performances ? with some interesting period ephemera). There are also vivid, often humorous scenes and portraits of the compilers and their friends who, all in their late teens or early twenties, enjoyed life, notwithstanding the political conditions of the time.   The history of the 1960s and early 1970s is represented by four keepsake collections of loose photos, marking the milestones in the history of the Berlin Wall (likely, the 10 th anniversary since its erection), reconstruction and urban development of East Berlin (commemorating 20 and 25 years of socialistic reconstruction) and Pankow borough (likely, marking the 30 th  anniversary of the founding of the GDR and the Pankow district ). The photos either follow the history of the Berlin Wall and the events leading to its erection (from 1948 to early 1970s), overview the history and urban development of Pankow, or contain striking images "before" and "after," illustrating the successes of socialistic reconstruction of East Berlin. Other albums from this period commemorate the official visit of a North Korean military delegation to the GDR (1968), the centennial jubilee of Wilhelm Pieck ? the first and only president of the GDR, set up in the Institute for Marxism-Leninism of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (1976); document the service of the GDR Civil Defense and "Egon Schultz" training school for border guards, and performances of the Central Orchestra of the GDR Ministry of Internal Affairs. A 1988 custom-made keepsake album commemorates the 65 th jubilee of an influential East German functionary, Kurt Blecha, who, from 1958 to 1989, was in charge of the GDR censorship system, with a detailed history of his government service (including over 50 newspaper clippings and printed ephemera). Another album, likely compiled in the last year of GDR's existence, unveils the history of a Kampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse (Combat Group of the Working Class) paramilitary unit affiliated with the Berlin Department of Engineering and Electrification of the GDR state railway, Deutsche Reichsbahn. An interesting keepsake album from Kurt Blecha's personal collection contains original photos and rare printed ephemera illustrating a propagandist exhibition, "Nato-Agenten ohne Chance" ("Nato Agents without a Chance"), organized by the notorious Stasi (Ministry of State Security of GDR) in Berlin and across the East Germany in 1959-1961. The photos of the exhibition's main entrance and booths are supplemented with rare official poster and leaflets.  Finally, there is an extraordinary collection of ca. 2000 original press photos, comprising a comprehensive visual source on the history of the GDR and East Berlin ? from the proclamation of the GDR on October 7, 1949 to the East German general election on March 18, 1990. The photos follow through the period of ideological enthusiasm and industrial boom of the 1950s, the decades of social stability and slow stagnation in the 1960s and 1970s, the beginning of religi.

Seller Inventory # PE27

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Historically Significant Exhaustive Archive of over 3000 Original Gelatin Silver Photographs and over 90 Pieces of Printed and Typewritten Ephemera, consisting of Fifteen Albums and Portfolios and an Extraordinary Collection of Press Photos Documenting and Giving an Almost Complete Overview of the History of East Berlin and German Democratic Republic in the Years 1949-1990.
• Publication Date: 1949
• Binding: None
• Condition: None