Hello Olaf from Texas! I very much enjoy your channel and videos. Thank you! Since I was a little boy in NYC, I have been fascinated by the history and culture of East Germany. During the Cold War, on my 8th birthday in 1972, I visited a model train store in NYC with my father who promised me I could "pick something out at a reasonable price". I asked the proprietor for a book about "locomotives". He regaled me with a list of US locomotives. I replied, politely, "No sir. I would like a book about the locomotives and railroads of East Germany. I am very interested in the East German Reichsbahn; its locomotives and rolling stock, in particular!" The store came to a crashing halt and, then... silence. I looked at my father who had a face filled with anger, embarrassment and perplexity. The proprietor became very cross, "We do NOT carry books about Communist trains. You can not buy a book about Communist locomotives of East Germany here! You need to leave! You and your dad need to leave my store!" It was my 8th birthday and I believed there was no problem with asking for a book covering the DDR Reichsbahn. When we left, I received a speech from my father regarding the USA and Communism. I didn't try to reply... Of course, today, I have books covering the Reichsbahn and East German model trains in HO and TT scale! Sorry if the story is too long... Anyway, after the Berlin Wall was opened, I visited Dresden with my first wife, who was Austrian. We were living in Linz at the time... A video covering Dresden would be interesting for your viewers, in my humble opinion. Thank you again for the historic and cultural videos covering the subject of the DDR in English!
@@olivierwurmser7175, Hello, My name is Mike. For almost all of my life, I have been fascinated by the Reichsbahn under DDR management. Also, I have been very interested in the railroads of the Eastern Bloc; USSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland and other Eastern Bloc railroads including Mongolia. My 8th birthday in NYC taught me to refrain from enquiring about Eastern Bloc railways and equipment, with the DR at the top of the list of forbidden railways. It is nice to hear of your collection of Piko c '68 and '78. I was able, in 1992, to obtain a Piko "Expert" box set at a train show in San Francisco. In 1/87, the locomotive is a Ludmilla with 5 wagons, some track and a DDR "Transformer" I still have this set! Most of my Reichsbahn models are in TT. I have Berliner TT Bahnen and Tillig. Except for the Tillig BR 120 "Tiaga Trommel", I believe all of my TT models are from the DDR. I wish more people in the USA would take a moment and explore the wide history of the Reichsbahn and Eastern Bloc Railways. Also, I have a nice collection of books covering the DDR managed Reichsbahn. The hobby shop that threw my father and me out on my birthday in 1972 has gone out of business. In my dining room, I have a locomotive builders plaque (plate) from the VEB Hans Beimler. One of my prized possessions from the history of the Reichsbahn in the DDR! Thank you for your kind note.
Very interesting story!!! You've shown us how the GDR was seen in the US at that time on such simple things as buying a book about their trains! And the proof that not being allowed it didn't change the person's interest nor mindset about it - it just silenced it as a kid but the interest just remained there :)
Hi Olaf. I’ve been watching your videos for some time now and throughly enjoy each and every aspect that you’ve investigated and presented on your channel. Thank you for the passion that you put into your work. Regards from Dubrovnik Zoltán
A Top Channel and a new favorite. A synthesis of fact and entertainment that doesn't emphasize the latter at the expense of the former. To our host: You're the center of gravity and a huge part of this channel's appeal. Regards, Kev PS. An instant subscription, of course. -K.
Greetings from NY. I have been to Leipzig twice and like it enough that I plan to return. The train station is stunning, not to mention you can do all of your shopping there and they have great Mettwurst und Leberwurst. The Stasi museum was unreal. I grew up in the 70's during the Cold War and thought I knew a few things, but that building and its history really gave me the creeps. I had to go straight to Kandler cafe for Kaffee und Kuchen.
Hey Olaf, I visited the Thomaskirche last year. This was our main destination in Leipzig. Inside I realized that I should restart choir singing. Since then, I have been a choir singer in my hometown in Hungary and we will perform today!
I always look forward to your new videos! It's amazing how East German cities have risen from the ashes after the Cold War. I visited Leipzig a few times in the 80s. It was pretty bleak (Halle was the worst...rundown and very polluted.) I witnessed the Monday protests and the birth of Neues Forum. It was incredible. One city I hope you do is Dresden. The changes in that city have been momentous.
Olaf...thank you very much for these wonderful and very interesting videos, as the next topic you could talk about the national anthem of the GDR....❤❤🥰.thank you...😉
*I was first in Leipzig in 1972 as a student where I changed trains at the massive station on my way farther south to Zwickau and the Erzgebirge. The people were so friendly and I fell in love with the place. I returned in 1977 and later. It was good to see this video which brings back happy memories.*
Greetings from Brazil, you make an amazing job on documenting and discussing these past aspects from DDR in this channel, whilst people like me probably would rather never know about this piece of history in your country. Great video, also !
I have watched almost all your videos and as someone interested in contemporary history. it’s interesting to learn about a country that don’t exist anymore
I spent 2 weeks in Leipzig while backpacking around the former East Germany as part of my first independent art project, which ended up helping me get scholarships later on. Fond memories, especially since that trip was my first time living away from my parents! I've been to pretty much every spot shown in this video. It'd make sense to do a video on Dresden next--its geography made it very difficult for East Germans to turn their satellite and radio antenna towards the West, which gave it the nickname 'Valley of the Clueless' since they could really only access state propaganda. It was a site of a pretty significant part of Berlin Wall history when East German refugees who attempted to escape through Prague were shipped back through Dresden, and a ton of people attempted to break through the gates in order to jump on the train as it passed through. Vladimir Putin was also stationed there as a KGB agent. Thanks for the content! I'm refreshing myself on all this history now that it's been nearly 10 years since my project, and this channel is just right for that :D
When my sister was studying German as a Foreign language, she and her friends travelled to Leipzig. There, she experienced the Stasi Museum. She was fascinated but appalled by the methods the Stasi used
It is worrying that German politicians today seem to take their methods as an example rather than a warning. They even brought back the "clandestine searching" of your home. Phones and computers can be hacked with the Pegasus spyware.
Maybe but the security police in West germany was harder. They convicted and stopped communists from getting a job. Only one sided as usual. Oppression in GDR? The west forced them into it to protect themselves! Always under pressure as a country!
Thanks for this video! We must have been there the same time (during Euro 2024) but I was there for the annual Bachfest Leipzig! That happens early in June every year, runs 10 days, and features the best performers from all over the world performing the music of that great master of music, Johann Sebastian Bach. This year there were over 160 separate performances and included ensembles from all over the world including Malaysia. Leipzig itself has four symphony orchestras including the largest one in all of Germany, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra with 185 full-time musicians. To me, the main reason for going to Leipzig is the richness of the music. If you are into Western classical music, especially German classical music, Leipzig is the place to go. An additional note: There are many good Vietnamese restaurants on Gottschedstrasse. Who would have thought...
Hi Olaf! Thanks for this very interesting video! I'm following your channel since the first video. I'm a history teacher from Prague, and i'm very interesting in the GDR history since childhood. Definitely I must have visit Leipzig! Next year I'm planning a short ex-GDR tour with my family via Leipzig, Chemnitz, Jena, Halle - Neustadt and Rostock.😊
One place I'd suggest is Forst Zinna. Not only is it the site of a former Wehrmacht Tank training area and garrison that was requisitioned by the Soviets, but it also was the site of a train crash that had far reaching consequences for the GDR. On 19th January 1988, a Soviet tank crew on a training mission accidentally found themselves on a live railway line close to the little used train station at Forst Zinna (later closed down and the station demolished). The observer had cut the engine as a drastic measure to stop the driver (who could barely speak any Russian) from driving any further on to the railway line. While trying to restart the engine of the tank, they had to hastily abandon their tank after they were horrified to hear a train approaching. In the collision that resulted, the Soviet tank was written off and 6 people on the train lost their lives, including the driver. Unlike previous losses of life associated with Russian equipment in the GDR, where incidents were completely covered up, the regime actively reported the accident to its people. This was a gamble to try and stir up his people's anger against the Soviet Union. It was symbolic of the diplomatic rift between Erich Honecker and Mikhail Gorbachev and their disagreements about the future of Communism. Honecker wanted more integration with the Eastern Bloc states and Gorbachev wanted less. In the end, long story short, the gamble backfired on Honecker and the regime, contributing to the ultimate dismantling of the SED regime and German reunification
Greifswald Nuclear Power Plant. It is the biggest NPP not only in East Germany but in the Germany itself. It would be interesting to learn about nuclear history of the East Germany.
In addition to that topic: the large power failures in the late 70ties were the largest energy crisis in the former GDR. In 1978 and 1979, the onset of winter almost caused the entire power grid to collapse. Large parts of the country had to get by without electricity - and that in temperatures of around -30 degrees!
Hey man! Toffe video weer. Waardeer ze zeer. Ben zelf 3jaar geleden in Leipsch (in het Saksisch) geweest. Het cafe wat je adviseert, heerlijk authentiek gegeten. Die runde Ecke, zeer indrukwekkend. En het DDR Museum een van de beste die ik heb gezien. Ook toen in Halle en Halle Neustadt geweest. Super mooi om ook beiden gezien te hebben! Wil volgend jaar Chemnitz en Zwickau bezoeken. Misschien wil je daar een video over maken? Thanks weer voor je video!
Really cool video, i'd love to visit Leipzig as well. Looks like a nice place to spend a weekend. How about the city of Jena next? Keep up the good work 👍🏼
Porsche: There is no substitute- (For their performance cars; Their SUV's leave a bit to be desired~) I cannot believe that you didn't include Porsche's second largest and by far best looking assembly plant in Leipzig! There are literally 500,000 Leipzig built cars roaming around the United States!
I'm from the U.S., and have been to Leipzig a number of times, even once in DDR times! I love the city, and my orchestra played in the Neues Gewandhaus which, as you say, has excellent acoustics. Have you been to Stralsund? I think it would be well worth a video. I went there on a tour to visit the famous Stellwagen organ, which is superb, but the whole town is very beautiful. Schwerin is also wonderful, but I'm sure you know that already! Love your videos! 😁
Great video, thank you. Could you please cover Dresden too? And perhaps advise which place is better for a city break when visiting former GDR for the first time (unless you have a completely different suggestion).
I love your channel and enjoyed seeing some of the sights of beautiful Leipzig. I couldn’t get over how empty it looked though. I didn’t get any feel for the hustle and bustle of almost all cities of 600,000 I have been to. Maybe it was a holiday or the wrong time of day but it was kind of an eerie feeling.
But unfortunately Dresden is still far away from its original beauty. Luckily the reconstruction program is an ongoing process and there are still planned and ongoing projects for the reconstruction of more parts of Dresden‘s former historic city center.
Thank you for this amazing video! I visited Leipzig and other cities/countries in the Communist Bloc when I was in college. Such memories! Please make more. Maybe Dresden?
I visited Leipzig a few years ago because it was in the east, it's beautiful and really interesting. I visited many of the places in this video, the gdr museum in town is really great and far better than the one in Berlin. The stasi building is real interesting but also a bit scary because you know what they did to people. You do great work Olaf. Hi from Australia
Thank you very much for this am nm me all of your videos, they are s hoy to watch! I'd be interested in watching a video like this one about Rostock. Thanks!
As a suggestion of places to investigate to make videos about, what about Eisenach in Thuringen , famous for Bach, the Warburg castle and Wartburg cars. Also Zwickau in Sachsen, famous for Trabant cars.
Thanks for another excellent video. I really enjoy your content and delivery. Please could you do a vlog on the old sport stadiums (swimming pools, football grounds, etc) of East Berlin.
Good afternoon Olaf, thank you yet again for another great video. I was looking through some books and found a mention about the east german "interhotel". It could perhaps serve as an interesting topic for the future?
I love your excellent informative videos and am glad you are moving out of Berlin though I will always be keen to go back there. But I think a place which often gets forgotten, perhaps because it is so close to Berlin, is Potsdam. It has featured importantly in recent history and I have visited there briefly, finding it now seemingly a backwater perhaps, but a very interesting place, with it's important palaces and more. I would like to know more about Potsdam - it's history for one thing. How many know that there are two Brandenburg Gates, the one in Berlin centre of course, plus one in Potsdam !
Magdeburg was the first place I visited in the GDR and I loved it. Stalinist architecture a-plenty and a fabulous Dom. Sadly, the wide open area around the Haupbahnhof has been ruined with consumerist infilling.
Thank you for this video, it's impressive as well as Leipzig itself. I also would like to ask you about some topics of future video, but not about locations, rather about institutions. The 1st one is about Thomanerchor what you mentioned in the video, but Thomanerchor is only a part of Thomasshule (which studens were a lot of famous Germans from Wagner to admiral Friedrich Ruge). So, my question is: how religlios and cultural institutions (such as Thomasschule and Thomanerchor, Dresdner Kreuzchor, Berliner Domchor etc.) were surviving in East Germany? And another one: some Russian historians suppose that National Demokratische Partei Deutschlands was created by personal order of J. Stalin especially for former NSDAP members and Wehrmacht personal. Was it true and can you make a video about political parties and other legal non-marxist political groups in DDR?
Have you done a similar video on Dresden? I visited there in 1993, shortly after reunification. I have not been back again, but I would like to see the changes. Thank you.
Dresden. Or Jena. In the room I am typing this in is a set of binoculars that were made in the DDR. They made considerable money off optics, and Jena is a major center of the optical world.
Childish nitpick: As any Milanese will tell you, their train station is the largest in Europe. In terms of volume, that is; Leipzig is the biggest in terms of surface area.
Can you please do a long form video a "special" on east German factories? I've always wanted to know more about their factories and what they made and the working conditions as well as things like time off and I want to know about the equipment. I know, I ask a lot of details but documentaries from the past would mention them and it would sound interesting only for it to be a short not very detailed segment. So can you please if you must make a series on different factories in East Germany. Cover some in-depth angles, like I've heard the factories could be very pollution heavy, maybe you could explain how and why looking at individual factories! Talk about the disassembly of factories in East Germany by the Soviet Union, in great detail please. That could be the first episode perhaps. What kind of machines did they take and did they ever get them to work once in Russia? Did the Soviets just march into a plant and say take this, this or that machine? What was heavy industry like in the GDR? Can you pretty please look into to making a documentary special perhaps a series on my suggestions/requests? I know you've got other topics and videos lined up I'm not expecting anything right away. I understand you're busy. I'd just like to know if you would be interested in doing those things. Another series would be on restaurants of the GDR. I enjoy your work, you have a wonderful channel and I like your style and attention to detail.
Hi! I'd Like to see Chemnitz explored (Former Karl-Marx-Stadt) - it was a hub for sport in the GDR with the 'Kinder- und Jugendsportschule' that Katarina Witt attended situated there.
I am really surprised that you didn’t visit the "Völkerschlachtsdenkmal“ which is a *huge* monument commemorating the victory of coalition troops against Napoleon‘s army. The battle of Leipzig was the biggest battle during the Napoleonic wars and Napoleon‘s first major defeat…
I used to go to the famous Leipzig trade fairs back in the DDR days. Could have been a great Country If reforms had come earlier . Much preferred the East Germans.
How about East German Beers - did they keep the purity laws, was it state run, was it exported to the west. Love German beer and interested if the GDR made a decent or not beers. Cheers and take care
Yes they kept the purity laws. Radeberger beer is one of the biggest German beer brewing companies and it’s situated in eastern Germany close to Dresden (which is also in the vicinity of Leipzig) Fun Fact: Germany even introduced the purity laws in its colonies which means that if you visit a former German colony like Namibia, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Cameroon, Togo, etc. there is a somewhat high possibility that you are getting served a beer which was brewed under German purity laws. It’s the same with the Tsingtao beer from China which was also set up by Germans in the former German colony of Qingdao in China and is nowadays Chinas biggest beer brewery.
And yes, Radeberger, like many other beer companies, were transferred into "VEB“ companies. "VEB“ means Volkseigner Betrieb which is translated "company owned by the people“. So yeah, they were owned by the East German government until the reunification when those companies were re-privatized.
Every company in East Germany was state run. There were no private companies under the socialist/communist regime. If you are interested in that topic, this channel has a video called "Die Treuhand“ in which he explains that and the transformation into a capitalist system after the reunification.
@@Tobi-ln9xr However, there were private shops/stores/bakeries/drink shops/cafés/pubs. There were a few things in private hands. The CSSR was much more socialist than the GDR as in that country nothing private was allowed after 1968 (until 1989/90)
My tip: Görlitz / Zgorzelec ! Most eastern-located city of Germany. Lots of history, calls itself Europe-City. Today it struggles whit the water, but that’s only a temporarily Problem. Arrive by Train: the Station hall Looks Like a cathedral !
Hello Olaf from Texas! I very much enjoy your channel and videos. Thank you! Since I was a little boy in NYC, I have been fascinated by the history and culture of East Germany. During the Cold War, on my 8th birthday in 1972, I visited a model train store in NYC with my father who promised me I could "pick something out at a reasonable price". I asked the proprietor for a book about "locomotives". He regaled me with a list of US locomotives. I replied, politely, "No sir. I would like a book about the locomotives and railroads of East Germany. I am very interested in the East German Reichsbahn; its locomotives and rolling stock, in particular!" The store came to a crashing halt and, then... silence. I looked at my father who had a face filled with anger, embarrassment and perplexity. The proprietor became very cross, "We do NOT carry books about Communist trains. You can not buy a book about Communist locomotives of East Germany here! You need to leave! You and your dad need to leave my store!" It was my 8th birthday and I believed there was no problem with asking for a book covering the DDR Reichsbahn. When we left, I received a speech from my father regarding the USA and Communism. I didn't try to reply... Of course, today, I have books covering the Reichsbahn and East German model trains in HO and TT scale! Sorry if the story is too long... Anyway, after the Berlin Wall was opened, I visited Dresden with my first wife, who was Austrian. We were living in Linz at the time... A video covering Dresden would be interesting for your viewers, in my humble opinion. Thank you again for the historic and cultural videos covering the subject of the DDR in English!
Hi from North Texas! Thanks for sharing your childhood memory. How awesome your interest in and collection!
Nice to hear you are interested by DR trains. Me too, I used to have a small collection of Piko train and DR Jahrbücher 1968 a'nd 1978.
@@olivierwurmser7175, Hello, My name is Mike. For almost all of my life, I have been fascinated by the Reichsbahn under DDR management. Also, I have been very interested in the railroads of the Eastern Bloc; USSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland and other Eastern Bloc railroads including Mongolia. My 8th birthday in NYC taught me to refrain from enquiring about Eastern Bloc railways and equipment, with the DR at the top of the list of forbidden railways. It is nice to hear of your collection of Piko c '68 and '78. I was able, in 1992, to obtain a Piko "Expert" box set at a train show in San Francisco. In 1/87, the locomotive is a Ludmilla with 5 wagons, some track and a DDR "Transformer" I still have this set! Most of my Reichsbahn models are in TT. I have Berliner TT Bahnen and Tillig. Except for the Tillig BR 120 "Tiaga Trommel", I believe all of my TT models are from the DDR. I wish more people in the USA would take a moment and explore the wide history of the Reichsbahn and Eastern Bloc Railways. Also, I have a nice collection of books covering the DDR managed Reichsbahn. The hobby shop that threw my father and me out on my birthday in 1972 has gone out of business. In my dining room, I have a locomotive builders plaque (plate) from the VEB Hans Beimler. One of my prized possessions from the history of the Reichsbahn in the DDR! Thank you for your kind note.
Very interesting story!!! You've shown us how the GDR was seen in the US at that time on such simple things as buying a book about their trains! And the proof that not being allowed it didn't change the person's interest nor mindset about it - it just silenced it as a kid but the interest just remained there :)
@@michaeljensen5020Regarding DR's management, I guess you must have some of Erich Preuß's books.
I have watched a lot of your videos. It is very interesting to see what happened to post WWII Germany. Thank you for the English videos.
Hi Olaf. I’ve been watching your videos for some time now and throughly enjoy each and every aspect that you’ve investigated and presented on your channel. Thank you for the passion that you put into your work. Regards from Dubrovnik Zoltán
I agree about the great work and knowledge you continue to share with us, Olaf! Thank you.
Great video, as always! I love Leipzig, it's such a great city. I'd love to see a video on Jena, as I lived there for seven years.
A look at Görlitz could be interesting. Thanks for all the interesting videos 👍
A Top Channel and a new favorite.
A synthesis of fact and entertainment that doesn't emphasize the latter at the expense of the former.
To our host: You're the center of gravity and a huge part of this channel's appeal.
Regards,
Kev
PS.
An instant subscription, of course.
-K.
Greetings from NY. I have been to Leipzig twice and like it enough that I plan to return. The train station is stunning, not to mention you can do all of your shopping there and they have great Mettwurst und Leberwurst. The Stasi museum was unreal. I grew up in the 70's during the Cold War and thought I knew a few things, but that building and its history really gave me the creeps. I had to go straight to Kandler cafe for Kaffee und Kuchen.
I was there in 2015 and the city was quite enjoyable, also visited the stasi museum. very interesting!
Stralsund and Wismar should be next for their listed city centers and their history, once part of Sweden.
Hey Olaf,
I visited the Thomaskirche last year. This was our main destination in Leipzig. Inside I realized that I should restart choir singing. Since then, I have been a choir singer in my hometown in Hungary and we will perform today!
I always look forward to your new videos! It's amazing how East German cities have risen from the ashes after the Cold War. I visited Leipzig a few times in the 80s. It was pretty bleak (Halle was the worst...rundown and very polluted.) I witnessed the Monday protests and the birth of Neues Forum. It was incredible. One city I hope you do is Dresden. The changes in that city have been momentous.
Well done! Please make a video about Dresden next. Thanks!
Very interesting! On my list of iconic cities to visit. I enjoyed visiting Weimar and Erfurt.
Great job on these videos. Very interesting. Especially those who grew up in the closed off cold war times. THANK YOU
Olaf...thank you very much for these wonderful and very interesting videos, as the next topic you could talk about the national anthem of the GDR....❤❤🥰.thank you...😉
*I was first in Leipzig in 1972 as a student where I changed trains at the massive station on my way farther south to Zwickau and the Erzgebirge. The people were so friendly and I fell in love with the place. I returned in 1977 and later. It was good to see this video which brings back happy memories.*
Wonderful music choices and the video was so well photographed! So much history in Leipzig.
Greetings from Brazil, you make an amazing job on documenting and discussing these past aspects from DDR in this channel, whilst people like me probably would rather never know about this piece of history in your country. Great video, also !
He is from the Netherlands. It’s not "his country“
I have watched almost all your videos and as someone interested in contemporary history. it’s interesting to learn about a country that don’t exist anymore
Chemnitz would be an interesting place for a video
I spent 2 weeks in Leipzig while backpacking around the former East Germany as part of my first independent art project, which ended up helping me get scholarships later on. Fond memories, especially since that trip was my first time living away from my parents! I've been to pretty much every spot shown in this video.
It'd make sense to do a video on Dresden next--its geography made it very difficult for East Germans to turn their satellite and radio antenna towards the West, which gave it the nickname 'Valley of the Clueless' since they could really only access state propaganda. It was a site of a pretty significant part of Berlin Wall history when East German refugees who attempted to escape through Prague were shipped back through Dresden, and a ton of people attempted to break through the gates in order to jump on the train as it passed through. Vladimir Putin was also stationed there as a KGB agent. Thanks for the content! I'm refreshing myself on all this history now that it's been nearly 10 years since my project, and this channel is just right for that :D
Excellent video as always, thanks for your work.
When my sister was studying German as a Foreign language, she and her friends travelled to Leipzig. There, she experienced the Stasi Museum. She was fascinated but appalled by the methods the Stasi used
It is worrying that German politicians today seem to take their methods as an example rather than a warning. They even brought back the "clandestine searching" of your home. Phones and computers can be hacked with the Pegasus spyware.
Maybe but the security police in West germany was harder. They convicted and stopped communists from getting a job. Only one sided as usual. Oppression in GDR? The west forced them into it to protect themselves! Always under pressure as a country!
Thanks for this video! We must have been there the same time (during Euro 2024) but I was there for the annual Bachfest Leipzig! That happens early in June every year, runs 10 days, and features the best performers from all over the world performing the music of that great master of music, Johann Sebastian Bach. This year there were over 160 separate performances and included ensembles from all over the world including Malaysia. Leipzig itself has four symphony orchestras including the largest one in all of Germany, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra with 185 full-time musicians. To me, the main reason for going to Leipzig is the richness of the music. If you are into Western classical music, especially German classical music, Leipzig is the place to go. An additional note: There are many good Vietnamese restaurants on Gottschedstrasse. Who would have thought...
Hi Olaf! Thanks for this very interesting video! I'm following your channel since the first video.
I'm a history teacher from Prague, and i'm very interesting in the GDR history since childhood.
Definitely I must have visit Leipzig! Next year I'm planning a short ex-GDR tour with my family via Leipzig, Chemnitz, Jena, Halle - Neustadt and Rostock.😊
Not sure if there already is one but it would be interesting to have a video explaining your interest in the ddr, what drove you to make this channel.
That's a good idea, I'd also be interested in that.
One place I'd suggest is Forst Zinna. Not only is it the site of a former Wehrmacht Tank training area and garrison that was requisitioned by the Soviets, but it also was the site of a train crash that had far reaching consequences for the GDR. On 19th January 1988, a Soviet tank crew on a training mission accidentally found themselves on a live railway line close to the little used train station at Forst Zinna (later closed down and the station demolished). The observer had cut the engine as a drastic measure to stop the driver (who could barely speak any Russian) from driving any further on to the railway line. While trying to restart the engine of the tank, they had to hastily abandon their tank after they were horrified to hear a train approaching. In the collision that resulted, the Soviet tank was written off and 6 people on the train lost their lives, including the driver.
Unlike previous losses of life associated with Russian equipment in the GDR, where incidents were completely covered up, the regime actively reported the accident to its people. This was a gamble to try and stir up his people's anger against the Soviet Union. It was symbolic of the diplomatic rift between Erich Honecker and Mikhail Gorbachev and their disagreements about the future of Communism. Honecker wanted more integration with the Eastern Bloc states and Gorbachev wanted less.
In the end, long story short, the gamble backfired on Honecker and the regime, contributing to the ultimate dismantling of the SED regime and German reunification
The DDR needed a Tito type to survive Instead the Honecker led regime was Stalinist to the core.
There's already an fantastic video by a former British service member
Greifswald Nuclear Power Plant. It is the biggest NPP not only in East Germany but in the Germany itself. It would be interesting to learn about nuclear history of the East Germany.
In addition to that topic: the large power failures in the late 70ties were the largest energy crisis in the former GDR. In 1978 and 1979, the onset of winter almost caused the entire power grid to collapse. Large parts of the country had to get by without electricity - and that in temperatures of around -30 degrees!
I travel (from Ireland) to Dessau once or twice a year. Just ca.90 mins from Berlin Hbf (or Wannsee) by train. Love it...!
Hey man! Toffe video weer. Waardeer ze zeer. Ben zelf 3jaar geleden in Leipsch (in het Saksisch) geweest. Het cafe wat je adviseert, heerlijk authentiek gegeten. Die runde Ecke, zeer indrukwekkend. En het DDR Museum een van de beste die ik heb gezien.
Ook toen in Halle en Halle Neustadt geweest. Super mooi om ook beiden gezien te hebben!
Wil volgend jaar Chemnitz en Zwickau bezoeken. Misschien wil je daar een video over maken?
Thanks weer voor je video!
Hello İ m watching your channel from İstanbul excellent work thank you very much for your efforts
Yet another interesting video! I really like your straight to the point aproach. Thanks again!
Great to have a new video! Thank you for your work
Really cool video, i'd love to visit Leipzig as well. Looks like a nice place to spend a weekend. How about the city of Jena next? Keep up the good work 👍🏼
Thanks Olaf. Really interesting video. It's great having them in English. The history of the GDR is fascinating.
Deeply appreciate you share your sources
Porsche: There is no substitute-
(For their performance cars; Their SUV's leave a bit to be desired~)
I cannot believe that you didn't include Porsche's second largest and by far best looking assembly plant in Leipzig! There are literally 500,000 Leipzig built cars roaming around the United States!
Great little video. Learned a lot and as usual I now feel like going and visiting myself.
I'm from the U.S., and have been to Leipzig a number of times, even once in DDR times! I love the city, and my orchestra played in the Neues Gewandhaus which, as you say, has excellent acoustics.
Have you been to Stralsund? I think it would be well worth a video. I went there on a tour to visit the famous Stellwagen organ, which is superb, but the whole town is very beautiful. Schwerin is also wonderful, but I'm sure you know that already! Love your videos! 😁
Excellent video-it was a good concise introduction to Leipzig. I'd like to see one on Dresden.
I lived in Leipzig for five months. It’s a great city with many places of interest. Well worth a visit.
Great video, thank you. Could you please cover Dresden too? And perhaps advise which place is better for a city break when visiting former GDR for the first time (unless you have a completely different suggestion).
I love your channel and enjoyed seeing some of the sights of beautiful Leipzig. I couldn’t get over how empty it looked though. I didn’t get any feel for the hustle and bustle of almost all cities of 600,000 I have been to. Maybe it was a holiday or the wrong time of day but it was kind of an eerie feeling.
That must have been a Sunday cuz usually there are many people on the streets of Leipzig
I’ve visited Germany at least a dozen times and Dresden is by far my favorite. Would love a video!
But unfortunately Dresden is still far away from its original beauty. Luckily the reconstruction program is an ongoing process and there are still planned and ongoing projects for the reconstruction of more parts of Dresden‘s former historic city center.
Would also like one on Dresden! Visiting both cities next month
Dresden has the least welcoming, most ignorant people of any major city in germany, leipzig is a lot better
Thank you for this amazing video! I visited Leipzig and other cities/countries in the Communist Bloc when I was in college. Such memories! Please make more. Maybe Dresden?
I visited Leipzig a few years ago because it was in the east, it's beautiful and really interesting. I visited many of the places in this video, the gdr museum in town is really great and far better than the one in Berlin. The stasi building is real interesting but also a bit scary because you know what they did to people. You do great work Olaf. Hi from Australia
Thank you very much for this am nm me all of your videos, they are s hoy to watch!
I'd be interested in watching a video like this one about Rostock.
Thanks!
Thank you Olaf , for posting this, looks like Leipzig is well visiting
As a suggestion of places to investigate to make videos about, what about Eisenach in Thuringen , famous for Bach, the Warburg castle and Wartburg cars.
Also Zwickau in Sachsen, famous for Trabant cars.
I would love to see Eisenach. My Grandmother immigrated to the USA from there in 1968.
Thanks for another excellent video. I really enjoy your content and delivery. Please could you do a vlog on the old sport stadiums (swimming pools, football grounds, etc) of East Berlin.
Thank you for taking me with you to Leipzig!
Good afternoon Olaf, thank you yet again for another great video. I was looking through some books and found a mention about the east german "interhotel". It could perhaps serve as an interesting topic for the future?
I'm going to be of no help as far as suggestions go.
I will watch wherever you choose to take me.
This video certainly was informative to me. Not having any idea of Leipzig’s amazing history and interesting architecture.
I love your excellent informative videos and am glad you are moving out of Berlin though I will always be keen to go back there. But I think a place which often gets forgotten, perhaps because it is so close to Berlin, is Potsdam. It has featured importantly in recent history and I have visited there briefly, finding it now seemingly a backwater perhaps, but a very interesting place, with it's important palaces and more. I would like to know more about Potsdam - it's history for one thing. How many know that there are two Brandenburg Gates, the one in Berlin centre of course, plus one in Potsdam !
I’d like a video about Sassnitz. I’ve been wanting to go there for some time but haven’t been able to.
Great video. Got to visit Leipzig in 1991. Unfortunately have not been able to return.
THANK YOU so much for these videos.
Magdeburg was the first place I visited in the GDR and I loved it. Stalinist architecture a-plenty and a fabulous Dom. Sadly, the wide open area around the Haupbahnhof has been ruined with consumerist infilling.
The most East German city was Eisenhuttenstadt created by the GDR in 1950.... ⚒
Very interesting! Chemnitz next?
Dresden please.
Leipzig looks like a beautiful and interesting city. I could not travel to the DDR in the early 1980’s. Only to Berlin, including Ost.
Only two suggestions for Magdeburg so far?? It was the 5th largest city in East Germany... and my hometown :)
One video like this for all major historical german towns/villages would be great to watch 🙂
Or maybe you could show what structures stood in the place of a current structure before WW2 destruction ..
Wow! Last time I was here was August 1989.
My only visit was Jan 1990. Lots of Russian soldiers everywhere. Quite scary.
Leipzig looks pretty stunning, would definitely like to visit sometime...Potsdam would certainly be of interest.
Thank you for this video, it's impressive as well as Leipzig itself. I also would like to ask you about some topics of future video, but not about locations, rather about institutions. The 1st one is about Thomanerchor what you mentioned in the video, but Thomanerchor is only a part of Thomasshule (which studens were a lot of famous Germans from Wagner to admiral Friedrich Ruge). So, my question is: how religlios and cultural institutions (such as Thomasschule and Thomanerchor, Dresdner Kreuzchor, Berliner Domchor etc.) were surviving in East Germany? And another one: some Russian historians suppose that National Demokratische Partei Deutschlands was created by personal order of J. Stalin especially for former NSDAP members and Wehrmacht personal. Was it true and can you make a video about political parties and other legal non-marxist political groups in DDR?
Have you done a similar video on Dresden? I visited there in 1993, shortly after reunification. I have not been back again, but I would like to see the changes. Thank you.
Excellent video! I'd suggest making a video about Bautzen, Görlitz, Cottbus or Chemnitz.
That seemed a little shorter than the last version. Still enjoyable, though!
Dresden. Or Jena. In the room I am typing this in is a set of binoculars that were made in the DDR. They made considerable money off optics, and Jena is a major center of the optical world.
Please make some videos about the housing situation and education in the former GDR. Thanks!
Childish nitpick: As any Milanese will tell you, their train station is the largest in Europe. In terms of volume, that is; Leipzig is the biggest in terms of surface area.
Can you please do a long form video a "special" on east German factories?
I've always wanted to know more about their factories and what they made and the working conditions as well as things like time off and I want to know about the equipment.
I know, I ask a lot of details but documentaries from the past would mention them and it would sound interesting only for it to be a short not very detailed segment.
So can you please if you must make a series on different factories in East Germany.
Cover some in-depth angles, like I've heard the factories could be very pollution heavy, maybe you could explain how and why looking at individual factories!
Talk about the disassembly of factories in East Germany by the Soviet Union, in great detail please.
That could be the first episode perhaps. What kind of machines did they take and did they ever get them to work once in Russia?
Did the Soviets just march into a plant and say take this, this or that machine?
What was heavy industry like in the GDR?
Can you pretty please look into to making a documentary special perhaps a series on my suggestions/requests?
I know you've got other topics and videos lined up I'm not expecting anything right away. I understand you're busy.
I'd just like to know if you would be interested in doing those things.
Another series would be on restaurants of the GDR.
I enjoy your work, you have a wonderful channel and I like your style and attention to detail.
There's a couple of good films about the Trabant factory. ua-cam.com/users/results?search_query=trabant+factory
Rather a topic: East German football, with special attention to Jürgen Sparwasser.
The 1974 World Cup ... the FRG against the GDR. What a match it was.
Visited Leipzig in the Late 90's including ST Thomas Church and the Stasi museum at Rund die Ecke...
Greetings from Australia 🇦🇺. Mate ,I would love you to do a video on Lech walesa and his relationship with the fall of the Berlin wall. Thanks
Who?
Boah, aber wie konntest du das Volkerschlachtdenkmal vergessen haben, trotzdem gutes video :D
I have a suggestion for you to make an East Germany car video, can you make that?
thank you for this beautiful and informative vlog, how about Dresden for the next vlog?
I think the most interesting places besides Leipzig are probably Dresden or Blitz in Rügen. Those are definitely the places I would recommend.
Would love a video about Dresden. Or Berlin maybe
Dresden is surely great. But I also advise to visit Brandenburg an der Havel. It has a rich History during the Nazi and GDR-Period.
It looks like someone already mentioned Dresden, but I would suggest Wittenburg and Pottsdam,
Please do Dresden next!
It would be very brave to examine AfD hold on Saxony and Thuringia.
That's easy cover Dresden next since it's one of the 3 big cities of former East Germany. The others being the then East Berlin and of course Leipzig.
Why not cover Dresden Next Also Known As Elbflorenz?
Hi! I'd Like to see Chemnitz explored (Former Karl-Marx-Stadt) - it was a hub for sport in the GDR with the 'Kinder- und Jugendsportschule' that Katarina Witt attended situated there.
Next Jena!
Could you do a tour of Dresden please?
Go up to Rostock and Rugen Island. The old DDR navy bases would be interesting.
I'd like to learn about Dresden.
I am really surprised that you didn’t visit the "Völkerschlachtsdenkmal“ which is a *huge* monument commemorating the victory of coalition troops against Napoleon‘s army. The battle of Leipzig was the biggest battle during the Napoleonic wars and Napoleon‘s first major defeat…
Rostock. Anke from DDR Time Travel Tours could maybe inspire You on topics 🙂
Resort town of Warnemünde has a lot of interesting DDR-era architecture
It's also a very attractive resort, not least because of the Mollibahn narrow gauge railway line If you hadn't guessed, I'm a railway nerd. 😄
I used to go to the famous Leipzig trade fairs back in the DDR days. Could have been a great Country If
reforms had come earlier . Much preferred the East Germans.
How about East German Beers - did they keep the purity laws, was it state run, was it exported to the west. Love German beer and interested if the GDR made a decent or not beers. Cheers and take care
Yes they kept the purity laws. Radeberger beer is one of the biggest German beer brewing companies and it’s situated in eastern Germany close to Dresden (which is also in the vicinity of Leipzig)
Fun Fact: Germany even introduced the purity laws in its colonies which means that if you visit a former German colony like Namibia, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Cameroon, Togo, etc. there is a somewhat high possibility that you are getting served a beer which was brewed under German purity laws. It’s the same with the Tsingtao beer from China which was also set up by Germans in the former German colony of Qingdao in China and is nowadays Chinas biggest beer brewery.
And yes, Radeberger, like many other beer companies, were transferred into "VEB“ companies. "VEB“ means Volkseigner Betrieb which is translated "company owned by the people“. So yeah, they were owned by the East German government until the reunification when those companies were re-privatized.
Every company in East Germany was state run. There were no private companies under the socialist/communist regime. If you are interested in that topic, this channel has a video called "Die Treuhand“ in which he explains that and the transformation into a capitalist system after the reunification.
@@Tobi-ln9xr However, there were private shops/stores/bakeries/drink shops/cafés/pubs. There were a few things in private hands. The CSSR was much more socialist than the GDR as in that country nothing private was allowed after 1968 (until 1989/90)
My tip: Görlitz / Zgorzelec !
Most eastern-located city of Germany. Lots of history, calls itself Europe-City.
Today it struggles whit the water, but that’s only a temporarily Problem.
Arrive by Train: the Station hall Looks Like a cathedral !
Fantastic