Tourism in East Germany

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Tourism in the German Democratic Republic was tightly controlled by the communist government, though it was nonetheless possible to enjoy a holiday in East Germany.

Contents

[edit] Types of travel

[edit] Tours

A traveller would first have to book his or her trip at a travel agent that was accredited by the Reisebüro der DDR, the East German state tourist organisation. The travel agent would then offer the traveller one of the several package tours that the Reisebüro offered.

[edit] Individual Travel

It was indeed possible to travel relatively independently in East Germany. Motoring or taking a railway trip through the country was the most feasible possibility, although other types of visit were possible. Everything, including the itinerary, would have to be arranged through the Reisebüro. Simple and straightforward visits could be arranged at border posts and other Reisebüro offices in East Germany. More complicated excursions would have to be arranged before arrival, possibly involving a large and confounding amount of bureaucracy.

The formalities involved with a holiday in East Germany (such as the visa, any hotel bookings, advice on currency exchange, etc) would be taken care of by the Reisebüro. This made the usually tedious and complicated border crossing between East and West Germany much smoother.

Once inside East Germany, the traveller would be closely watched, and any East German citizens with contact to the traveller would be closely watched too. This made staying with East German friends or family difficult, as both the reluctance of the authorities to permit it and the knowledge that the Stasi were almost certainly watching made it both dangerous and uncomfortable for the East German hosts.

[edit] Formalities

All Western foreigners in East Germany were required to have visas. Of all the Warsaw Pact nations, East Germany probably had the most foreigners in the country at any one time. The one exception were allied personnel in the country, who were dealt with by the Soviet Union and not the East German government. There were four basic types of visa available:

  • Non-stop transit visa
  • Transit visa with 72-hour stopover
  • Standard entry visa
  • Day visa for tourists from West Berlin wanting to see the other side of the city.

There were other types available to West Germans as well. Journalists and other non-tourists were also dealt with separately. All of these four basic types of visa could, in theory, be arranged at the Reisebüro offices at the main border crossings. In practice, to avoid the formidable bureaucracy in obtaining an entry visa either at the frontier or outside the country, it was simply easier to enter East Berlin on a day visa and then have an extension arranged at a Reisebüro office in the city. Visitors to East Germany could only enter the country by car, bus or train -not by bicycle or on foot. The exceptions to this were international airports, as well as Checkpoint Charlie and Friedrichstraße U-Bahn station (which was the only international border crossing ever located in an underground metro station).

Visitors not on non-stop transit visas were required to change a minimum of DM25, or its equivalent in other hard currency, into East German Mark every day of their stay at the unrealistic official rate of DM1:OM1. The visa fee was an additional DM6.

[edit] Customs

Many foreigners who travelled to East Germany had a difficult time with customs. The strict regulations enforced by the communist government meant that no spare parts for cars could be brought into East Germany without special permission, VHS tapes were expressly forbidden and compact discs and vinyl records could only be brought if they were of "cultural significance", a requirement that resulted in the confiscation of much pop music from Westerners. Any Western newspapers or magazines would also be confiscated.

Gifts up to the value of 200 East German Mark could be imported. This was not based on the price the traveller would have paid for them at home, but rather the price the item would sell for in East Germany.

[edit] Accommodation

[edit] Hotel

Visitors to East Germany were effectively obliged to stay in hotels belonging to the state-run Interhotel network. Contrary to the expectations of Westerners who envisioned East Germany as run down, Interhotels (especially the Metropol and Grand hotels in East Berlin, the Bellevue in Dresden and the Merkur in Leipzig) were fully up to international standards.

There were four classes of hotel room:

  • Deluxe - a minimum of 100 ostmarks per night per person
  • Expensive - 90 to 100 ostmarks
  • Moderate - 70 to 90 ostmarks
  • Inexpensive - 40 to 70 ostmarks

A room with a bath would cost 5 or 10 more ostmarks.

[edit] Camping

Thirty campsites run by Intercamp dotted East Germany, in the following areas:

Equipped with electricity, sanitation, running water and other facilities, these camps were not cheap and had to be booked in advance.

Intercamp sites were open from May 1 to September 30.

[edit] Youth Hostels

East German youth hostels were not officially open to Westerners, but sometimes Westerners were allowed to use them if space was available.

[edit] Tipping

Tipping was officially abolished by the communist government, who viewed it as distinctly non-communist (receiving extra money without actually doing anything extra). However, most people in the service industry in East Germany knew that Western tourists carried valuable West German marks, or US dollars, and were grateful when tipped in either of these.

[edit] Things to See

[edit] East Berlin

East Berlin was rebuilt as a modern socialist capital after World War II. The hub of the city was Alexanderplatz, a pedestrian square. Things that tourists could see included the TV tower and Palast der Republik.

[edit] The Baltic Coast

The East German government developed a series of beach resorts for Western tourists along the coast.

[edit] Erzgebirge Ore Mountains and Thuringia Forests

The Erzgebirge Ore Mountains contained East Germany's highest point, Fichtelberg (1,214 m). Oberhof, a resort town in the Thuringia Forests, contained the country's only artificial luge/bobsled run.

[edit] References

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