East berlin and cold war half day walking tour

On this historical walking tour of East Berlin, learn all about Berlin and the Cold War as you follow your expert guide to Berlin’s top sites including the Berlin Wall. Learn about the two sides of Berlin that remained for 40 years after World War 2: one a bastion of the West behind the Iron Curtain and the other a capital city vying to demonstrate the superiority of communism.

When you visit Potsdamer Platz, hear stories of how the allied powers divided Berlin into four sectors at the end of the WW2 and see where three of those sectors converged. Today, this square boasts some of the city’s most impressive contemporary architecture and has become a symbol of the new Berlin.

Walk down Karl-Marx-Allee, formerly known as Stalinallee, and learn how this boulevard’s wedding cake-like architecture was designed to illustrate communist power during the Cold War. Explore the Berlin Wall Memorial at Bernauer Strasse and get a sense of the security arrangements designed to prevent GDR citizens from reaching West Berlin. Learn from your guide about the risks that many people took to escape the notorious state security service, the Stasi, and how many lost their lives in the attempt.

Continue to the Gethsemane Church in Prenzlauer Berg, where many courageous East German civil rights activists gathered in the late 1980s to protest the regime and helped usher in the peaceful revolution that culminated in Germany’s reunification. End your walking tour at the East Side Gallery, where the longest stretch of the Berlin Wall is still intact. Explore this historic area that has now been turned into an impressive open-air artwork with more than 100 contributions from worldwide artists.