MPerson Posted June 3, 2009 Share #1 Posted June 3, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) This was originally posted over on RFF. Cracking story and amazing social record of life in the GDR. Story in Spiegel Online German Federal Archives Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 3, 2009 Posted June 3, 2009 Hi MPerson, Take a look here Life in the German Democratic Republic. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
christer Posted June 3, 2009 Share #2 Posted June 3, 2009 Wonderful; thank you for the hint. Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted June 3, 2009 Share #3 Posted June 3, 2009 Very interesting... nice to see the (very good) drawing onto a blackboard of a 35mm SLR 8pic 23)... ... I'd say Exakta-inspired... And in the pic 33 there is an Italian car (Fiat 500) ... strange that in 1949 such a car was in Berlin-East... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcoombs Posted June 3, 2009 Share #4 Posted June 3, 2009 Great link, Andy. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. One of the things I noticed was the frequency of slow shutter speeds used. Often 1/15th or 1/30th of a second, yet the shots looked fine even with movement in them. Other observations: He used an Exacta Varex in many shots. That was my first SLR in the 60's, and a real bear! Also, I think I spied a 1957 Chevy in one of his East Berlin shots, parked in between two VWs. Interesting.. Doug Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bernd Banken Posted June 3, 2009 Share #5 Posted June 3, 2009 Andy, thanks for this link. For me it's a late look over the Iron Curtain and the proof of the lasting of analogue pictures....... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
veraikon Posted June 3, 2009 Share #6 Posted June 3, 2009 Also, I think I spied a 1957 Chevy in one of his East Berlin shots, parked in between two VWs. Interesting..33 there is an Italian car (Fiat 500) ... strange that in 1949 It is not strange - inside Gross-Berlin - till August 11th 1961- it was no problem to move from east to west or opposite . (the FIAT in 1949 was a prob. a Toppolino , later in the 1970ies or in the 80ies there were Polski-Fiats from Poland) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcoombs Posted June 3, 2009 Share #7 Posted June 3, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) It is not strange - inside Gross-Berlin - till August 11th 1961- it was no problem to move from east to west or opposite .(the FIAT in 1949 was a prob. a Toppolino , later in the 1970ies or in the 80ies there were Polski-Fiats from Poland) Fair point. I guess my surprise was what a 57 chevy was doing in Europe at that time... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPerson Posted June 3, 2009 Author Share #8 Posted June 3, 2009 Post WW2 with all the US bases in W Germany and the UK the personnel would be based there for 2 years or more. Many not only moved their families over but also their cars and house contents. Of course when the tour of duty was over the cars were worthless in the States but were in great demand by the locals. When I rode shotgun on the Sellafield convoys in the 80's most of the US bases in the UK were bursting with US cars and were in great demand from the hot rodders and custom cars fraternity when the personnel returned to the US. I swear at one point East Anglia had more US cars on the roads than British! They certainly helped the custom car scene over here to grow. The Rally of the Giants at Knebworth House each July is jammed with US muscle cars and classics and most arrived on our shores that way. Probably a fair bet that the Chevy in the photo either belonged to US serviceman or had been sold on to a local when he left. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted June 3, 2009 Share #9 Posted June 3, 2009 It is not strange - inside Gross-Berlin - till August 11th 1961- it was no problem to move from east to west or opposite .(the FIAT in 1949 was a prob. a Toppolino , later in the 1970ies or in the 80ies there were Polski-Fiats from Poland) :)It was ! I didn't use the name "Topolino" (Little Mouse) for I didn't know this nickname was reknown outside Italy (where anybody called it that way...) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted June 3, 2009 Share #10 Posted June 3, 2009 :)It was ! I didn't use the name "Topolino" (Little Mouse) for I didn't know this nickname was reknown outside Italy (where anybody called it that way...) Some of us even remember Topo Gigio... Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted June 3, 2009 Share #11 Posted June 3, 2009 Some of us even remember Topo Gigio... Regards, Bill ... I have some 45 rpm records with Topo Gigio stories... ... if you like to refresh your Italian... (they are 45 years old or some more... but unscratched) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vertekijker Posted June 4, 2009 Share #12 Posted June 4, 2009 Very much enjoyed this series, Andy. I realized I was born only days after that May Day parade in East-Berlin... ------------- Frans Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill k Posted June 4, 2009 Share #13 Posted June 4, 2009 The US veh in the middle of the street is a 1956 Chev.Bel Air rag top ,probably with a 265ci V-8.Regards,Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest suilvenman Posted June 5, 2009 Share #14 Posted June 5, 2009 "Every picture needed to be a success." A concept that is totally alien in the digital age. Cheers, Ken. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZDavid Posted June 5, 2009 Share #15 Posted June 5, 2009 The German "Democratic" Republic was of course the one that wasn't democratic. This is an interesting historical record of everyday life in what was one of the world's most oppressive states. 2009 celebrates 20 years since its demise. One wonders: How many times did the Stasi (the secret police) stop the photographer and demand what he was taking pictures of? What did he really think of the communist state? Was photography a form of escapism? Some pictures have emotion and depth; others are simply a record of the city. What depressing hideous architecture! I remember when I visited the place as a journalist shortly after the fall of the wall and thinking its infrastructure looked rundown, and that new buildings were even worse than the old ones. Not that western architecture has always been exactly inspiring. The cars -- papier mache Trabis v modern BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes -- were another indication of how inherently flawed the system was. On a technical level there's some dust and some of the colors have faded -- one assumes he didn't use Kodachrome. But it's still significant that this record has lasted -- and on film. Will digital archives last as long? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcraf Posted June 5, 2009 Share #16 Posted June 5, 2009 Excellent link. I was stationed with the RAF in Germany just after the wall fell. I remember taking my brand new VW Corrado through villages around Leipzig, Weimar, Jena and Dresden and seeing just this sort of thing. People just stared at my symbol of western capitalism! I wasn't much into photography back then, so only took a few photos!! I have remained fascinated by the GDR ever since, and in Sep last year visited the incredible cold war bunker designed for Erich Honecker, near the Wandlitz politburo compound north of Berlin. This has now been sealed forever, due to the activities of souvenir hunters. However, took many photos with my Nikon D3 using its high ISO capability. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_n Posted June 6, 2009 Share #17 Posted June 6, 2009 I visited East Berlin in 1967 and recently discovered in the attic stacks of color slides I shot there as a boy. Very similar in look to these. I used a Zenit 3M & Helios 50mm back then. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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