That Was the GDR: A History of the Other Germany

Broadcast shortly after the reunification of Germany, the seven-part series That Was the GDR (presented here with English voiceover narration) offers an oral history of the German Democratic Republic (1949-1990), featuring directors and interviewees who all hail from the GDR. As a West German publisher puts it in Gitta Nickel and Wolfgang Schwarze's “I Was a Citizen of the GDR”—the 90-minute opening chapter—”I had two mother countries.” Other speakers in the same episode touch on the GDR's codependency with the Soviet Union, a major East German uprising in 1953, and the building of the Berlin Wall. Some miss the old days: “I felt safer in the GDR,” admits a farmer, while an engineer believes that “the Wall was necessary.” Other chapters—which include “From ‘Zone' to State,” “From Economic Plan to Economic Collapse,” “For the People's Welfare,” “Intellect and Power,” “Shield and Sword,” and “We Are the People”—collectively cover every aspect of life in the GDR, from athletics to politics. Despite the different filmmakers, each section follows the same formula, combining contemporary interviews with archival material (newsreels, commercials, propaganda films, etc.). Nonetheless, some work better than others. “From Economic Plan to Economic Collapse,” for instance, which focuses on the GDR's disastrous economic policies, is relatively dry compared to “Shield and Sword,” which concerns “the often feared Stasi” (State Security Service), and “For the People's Welfare,” which examines issues such as healthcare and housing conditions. Exhaustive and illuminating, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)