Life in the GDR

Who's it for?

  • Educational Guided History, Secondary School, Sixth Form

Curriculum Included

Key Highlights

  • Expert Guide Support
  • Everyday life in East Germany
  • Key sites of the GDR
  • Support Pearson Edexcel study themes
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About this trip

For those studying Pearson Edexcel’s A level Option 2 ‘The German Democratic Republic, 1949–90’ and similar modules, Anglia has developed a fully-guided tour to Berlin which examines life in the ‘socialist nation-state of workers and peasants’ better known as East Germany.

Visits will examine social change and welfare programmes, including housing, education and the changing status and role of women; repression and control, exploring the Ministry of State Security (the Stasi), its methods and activities; control of young people through the Free German Youth (FDJ); propaganda and censorship; the extent of popular support for the GDR; the SED and the Protestant churches; Western influences on the GDR, including Willy Brandt and the impact of Ostpolitik; economic stagnation in the 1980s, the end of the GDR and the collapse of the SED government in 1989 and the reunification of East and West Germany.

Trip Details

Study Themes

This tour is designed to support:

A Level 

  • Pearson Edexcel Option 2 ‘The German Democratic Republic, 1949–90'

Key study themes include:

  • End of the Third Reich & the Soviet liberation of Berlin
  • Genesis of the Cold War
  • The Potsdam Conference 1945
  • The Berlin Blockade and Airlift
  • Origins, purpose and nature of the Berlin Wall
  • Everyday life in East Germany
  • Social change and welfare programmes
  • Youth groups in the DDR
  • The role of the Ministry for State Security (Stasi) in East Germany; their methods and purpose of interrogation
  • Ostpolitik
  • The Fall of the Berlin Wall

  • Reichstag
    Democracy to dictatorship; The Battle for Berlin; from Cold War division to Reunification
  • Brandenburg Gate
    Symbol of Berlin; The backdrop to political changes in Germany; from Spartacist revolt, to Nazi Parades and the building of the Berlin Wall.
  • Soviet War Memorial Tiergarten
    Soviet liberation and occupation of Berlin; Why is it here? What does the memorial say about the Soviet attitude towards Germany
  • German-Russian Museum Berlin-Karlshorst
    End of the 3rd Reich; The Soviet ‘liberation’ End of the 3rd Reich and Genesis of the Cold War. Self-Guided tour.
  • Treptow Park Soviet Memorial
    Mother Russia and the Soviet Liberator; Relief carvings showing the events of Great Patriotic War; Soviet propaganda and its place today.
  • Nordbahnhof
    Exhibition looking at closed-down and heavily guarded train stations of the U-Bahn and S-Bahn lines in East Berlin, only used by trains coming from the West.
  • Friedrichstrasse station and Trӓnenpalast
    The ‘Palace of Tears’ exhibition which explores everyday life at the border crossing with a focus on the experience of those who sought to leave the GDR via the station.
  • The Federal Ministry of Finance
    Former GDR House of the Ministries; 17 June 1953 protest throughout the GDR; the use of Soviet troops and tanks.
  • Willy Brandt Forum
    Ostpolitik. Exhibition telling the story of Germany’s most significant post war politician from his early years as a refugee from National Socialism to the re-formation of Europe.
  • DDR Museum
    An excellent interactive museum focussing on everyday life in East Germany.
  • The Stasi Prison – Hohenschoenhausen
    Guided Tour: The role of the Ministry for State Security (Stasi) in East Germany; Their methods and purpose of interrogation.
  • Karl-Marx-Allee
    Walk the former Stalinallee a flagship building project for East Germany’s reconstruction after the Second World War.

Your price will include

  • Fully guided
  • Return flights*
  • Return crossings with ferry or Eurotunnel*
  • All meals as shown on your itinerary
  • All entrance fees associated with your visit
  • 1 free teacher place for every 10 paying students
  • Tailor-made itinerary
  • An exclusive coach for your exclusive use*
  • Hotel/Hostel accommodation
  • Use of a coach and public transport tickets to cover all transfers and visits
  • Pre-tour presentation

Why choose Anglia for Guided History Trips?

At Anglia we care about our customers, our staff, the places we visit, the stories we tell and the organisations we work with. These key principles define who we are and what we do. We believe they are also the reason why Anglia is the market leader in fully-guided history trips for UK schools. We work with you to design a bespoke tour which meets the specific needs of your school and which supports what you are teaching in class. We start by asking what you want your students to see and what you want them to experience then build the tour around these requirements. A tour which, as the testimonials on our website show, your students will find thought-provoking, engaging and enjoyable.

Please can you pass on my thanks to both John and Sean who did a fantastic job as our guides on Friday. They were engaging and exceptionally knowledgeable which was noted by both staff and pupils. I would thoroughly recommend you as a tour provider, and hope to use you guys again in the future!

We definitely will be looking to re-book with you for next academic year
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