Could Americans visit East Germany in the 1970's?

Question

Was it possible for Americans to visit the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in the late 60's/early 70's, or was it prohibited, like Cuba?

I'm specifically wondering about East Berlin. Could you visit family there? Conduct business? Simply visit as a tourist?

What was the process for getting a visa like?

Answer 1

It was off limits.  Much like communist Russia, Americans were prohibited from visiting unless on humanitarian or political business.  The closest you could get to East Germany back then was to stand on the west side of the wall.

If you were permitted to enter for whatever reason, getting the paperwork in order to go across was long and difficult.  Remember, the former East Germany (DDR) was communist territory.

Answer 2

Yes, you could cross over into East Germany and East Berlin.  The paperwork was tremendous, and you were subject to questioning and scrutiny before and after you returned.  You were under constant surveillance while on the eastern side, but you could go.

Answer 3

No-nothing.  Checkpoint Charley!  Cold war!

Answer 4

NO. Only US Military was in West Berlin (this City was also separated East/West) middle of East Germany. Any Americans can visit East Germany. Only people living in West and want visit their families and they need to get some special Visa for that. Process of Visa was very complicated and also "Stasi" find something and didn't allow these people traveling to their families.

Answer 5

Yes.  While you did have to apply for and get permission, and you were thoroughly serached and watched while over there, the East German goverment wanted and needed that tourist traffic, and the tourist dollars well enough that you could take a day trip into East Germany without too much fuss.  Lots of people did it, despite the hassle involved.

In fact there is a section of the former East Berlin, the Nicholaiviertel, which was set up as a tourist spot for westerners coming over.

Checkpoint Charlie was the place where westerners crossed over into East Germany, and were thoroughly inspected on the way out.  If you visit the Checkpoint Charlie museum you can find out why.  There were, however, other checkpoints - but this is how the civilian westerners got in.

Answer 6

Hello!

I was an exchange student from the US to Germany at the high school level in the 60s and at the university level in the 70s.  You may know that Berlin was located in the middle of the former German Democratic Republic or Deutsche Demokratische Republik.  To get to West Berlin from West Germany, one could drive, take a train or fly.  East German soldiers monitored those using the first two methods very carefully, so the US government did not want exchange students to go any way but by air.  The air corridor through which we were allowed to fly was very narrow.  It was eerie seeing passengers at windows of a plane flying in the opposite direction!  The closest I came to East Berlin during that trip was to stand at Checkpoint Charlie and to look over.

When I was a student at the University of Heidelberg a few years later, I did take a day trip across into East Berlin.  Anyone who crossed the border had to exchange a small amount of West German Marks into East German ones.  I went directly to the Karl Marx Buchhandlung [Bookstore].  I was preparing to become a teacher and wanted very much to browse through as much children's and youth literature as I could to see if a communist or socialist theme was evident in these books.  In those that I could peruse in a day's time, the recurring theme was that the individual had to sacrifice individual desires for the good of the state.  I spent my exchanged money on wonderful tapes of classical music recorded by the East Berlin and Dresden Philharmonics at a fraction of what they would have cost in the West.

The end of my day was a ballet performance of Cinderella.  I did have trouble exiting to West Berlin that evening.  I was dressed in West German clothing but carried an American passport.  My American friends, who also spoke German, but wore American clothes were allowed to leave.  I was detained less than an hour.  My regret was that I had not had an opportunity to strike up any conversations, but I had been told that doing so could cause problems for any East German citizens.

I do not know whether Americans could enter East Germany or East Berlin for visits longer than just for the day.  I know from the many West Germans I spoke with over those years that before the reunification, they had to apply months in advance for a visa if they wished to visit relatives in the East.  Visas were not always granted.  If they were, their cars were inspected very carefully to be sure that they could not be hiding anyone when they returned.  I believe that some people in the West were successfull in bringing retired relatives in the East to the West if their relatives were willing to forfeit their pensions in the East.  

I am glad to say that I did have opportunities to vist former East Germany and East Berlin after the reunification when I took groups of American students to Germany in the 90s and in 2002.  On the first visit, one woman told me that I was the first American she had ever spoken to.  She told me about the atmosphere of fear they had lived under during the communist regime. It was mainly fear of a co-worker or neighbor telling on them if they broke a rule or uttered an opinion against the state.   I found it most interesting to interview those old enough to remember Germany before the division, the divided Germany, and, of course, now the reunified Germany.

I have included the website for Checkpoint Charlie Museum, which can give you an idea of what the building of the wall meant to Berliners and Germans in both the East and West.  Maybe you will have an opportunity to ask people first hand of their experiences one day.  I hope so!  History comes alive when others can tell us of their experiences.

Joyce

Answer 7

You couldn't travel to berlin because of the berlin wall, the east and west were seperated.

Answer 8

As far as I know you could.  There was always two way traffic at the main gate, but it was mostly family members going inside to see other family members and then returning.

Answer 9

It was possible for most Westerners to visit the GDR, including US-citizens. The visa  process was no laughing matter, of course.



Also the constant surveillance stories are not exaggerated. Westerners usually had to stay in designated hotels where every move was watched. People in public service had to report "contacts" with Western people (even if it was just giving directions or similar) to their superiors or get severely punished.

What I don't know though, is whether the US-government permitted US-citizens to visit the GDR.

You have a similar situation in Cuba today - US-American tourists would be welcome in Cuba, it is not Fidel Castro but the US government which restricts travelling there.

Answer 10

Americans could go into East Berlin. We got a day-visa at the border after being questioned and thoroughly checked. Then once we changed the required amount of money we could go into East Berlin. If you had family there you could have visited them. I was just there as a tourist, but one person in our group visited an aunt (or some other type of relative). However it was just for the day and you were busy all day trying to get rid of the money they made you change since things were VERY cheap and you couldn't take any money out with you and they wouldn't change it back. If you missed the deadline for getting out you could have been in big trouble.

I'm not sure what business people had to do.