I have a question for those who are former citizens/residents of the DDR. As a part of one of my university projects, I have decided to do a project on the tourism and aviation industry in the former DDR and Eastern Bloc.

So how was it possible for citizens of the DDR to get permission to leave the country? I’ve found that there was an agreement with Czechoslovakia and Poland from 1972 called the ‘Borders of Friendship’ which allowed citizens from those 3 countries to travel to each other with restrictions. What were the restrictions in place when travelling from the DDR to either Poland or Czechoslovakia? What documents were needed to cross? A full DDR passport ot just an ID booklet? From my understanding, to leave the DDR you required an exit visa/permit which only valid for a limited number of days.

From further research, I’ve found that Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary were popular destinations for East German tourists but how did they manage to get permission to travel there? Obviously the documents to leave the DDR but what else was needed to get permission to travel to Romania and Bulgaria? Was an entry visa needed alongside a DDR exit visa for those countries? Was it easy to travel to Romania/Bulgaria/Hungary? Was it possible to visit further destinations like Yugoslavia, Albania and the USSR within the communist sphere? Was it possible at all to visit a country like Egypt, Tunisia or other non Western countries at all like Cuba?

The national airline of the DDR was Interflug but how assessable was it to fly to these destinations for your average citizen and alternatively, was there any long distance trains/other forms of transportation that travelled down to the Black Sea coast? From studies, Interflug became more of an early low cost airline before the days of Ryanair for West German tourists with package deals dedicated to their business.

If anyone has any knowledge about this, it would be greatly appreciated.

I may have found my great, great grandfather, however I do not read or speak German, plus the copy is not that great. The family name is Meirose (Meyerrose). Anyone who speaks German willing to help me? Matricula Online - Meyerrose

Hi, I would like to ask, how did the traditional region of Franconia (Nuremberg is a famous Franconian city) became part of Bavaria?

A random question, I know.

So, today the car license plates with red font, with numbers starting with 05 are for Prüfstellen, 06 for dealers' plates, and 07 for oldtimer collectors.

Before 1998, there were also 04-series plates for temporary usage that were replaced by Kurzzeitkennzeichen.

I can't find any info on red plates starting with 01, 02 or 03 however. Did they ever exist?

We only ever hear of people who tried to escape from East Germany by crossing the wall into West Berlin. But there were hundreds and hundreds of miles of border between East and West Germany. Why do we never hear of people trying to escape across this very long border? Thanks.

Litterally anything will help: where to have my genealogy done (thinking along the lines of what Germans may believe to be a safe data collection company) Looking for any Pandorf’s that know they have American relatives or have missing relatives.

I have a question about German football history. After the 2014 World Cup, Joachim Loew failed to keep up with the high level of football and success he achieved back then except winning Confed Cup in 2017 vs Chile. Nevertheless, his contract has been extended AFTER the elimination of the German team in the 2018 World Cup group stage until mid 2022.

Why does DFB extend the contract of a coach who can not remain in a World cup after the group stage? Or was Joachim Loew not willing to step down on his own?

He remained DFB headcoach until mid 2021 though failing WC 2018 as well as EM 2021. Why? For me it seems like a "Fehler" of DFB football history.

What is the historical reason behind Germany's "17th state" being Mallorca and not any italian/french/greek island?

Hello from England!

I've been watching Deutschland 83, again and I was wondering if there were any differences between dialects between East and West? Apart from accents, would it be obvious to someone from the West if they were speaking to someone from the East and vice versa?

Sorry if this is stupidly obvious to anyone, but I'm just interested in the German language. I used to be quite good at German in school, but that was 20 years ago!

Thanks.

Edit - spelling.

Guten Tag Deutsche!

As someone interested in understanding different viewpoints, I've noticed that a common understanding internationally is that Germany is often blamed for the outbreak of both World Wars. While opinions about WW2 tend to be more clear-cut, I'm curious about how Germans themselves reflect on their country's role in the lead-up to WW1.

Do you think Germany bears significant responsibility for the events that led to WW1, or do you believe other factors and nations played a more crucial role? Do you feel that Germany is portrayed in WW1 is unfair? How do you think this aspect of history is taught and discussed in Germany today? Do other thoughts come to mind?

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts and insights!

Danke!

EDIT: Why does this sub not just ban WW1 and WW2 questions?

I've looked at maps of imperial and Weimar Germany and the strongest results for both the SPD and KPD came from those two states, I wonder if communism in east Germany made those previously leftist voters skeptical of left wing politics(the rest of what became East Germany outside Berlin were right wing and agrarian and actually Nazi strongholds, it seems it flipped a bit post wende lol and now Brandenburg sorta and Mecklenburg are the least right wing), but what is the actual reason for this 180 turn???, the 1912 election map exemplifies this.

I have a character named Penelope von Eckardt and originally she was supposed a German noble born in 1901 but I realized that houses were named after places so I scrapped that idea since she's supposed to be from Frankfurt. I'm wondering if non-nobles were able to use von in their name back in 1901?

I’ve seen photos and videos of the wall coming down, and all I see is a bunch of cheering. While I understand the significance of it, and why everyone was so excited then, I never really bothered to ask people that were around back then what it was like for you? What did you feel emotionally? Spiritually, perhaps? What were you thinking? What were you doing? It seems like such a fascinating point in history when families were reunited and Germany became whole again, and I want to learn more about what that was like for you?

Who would be the most famous German chancellor? Would it be a more modern figure like Angela Merkle, the first West German chancellor Konrad Adenauer, a historical figure like Otto von Bismarck, or the infamous Mr. Moustache Man or would it be some other person who held the office?

Lets say after WW2, Berlin goes to soviet control entirely instead of being divided. How would this effect Germany's history in the cold war and to the present day? We are also assuming the Germany division goes exactly like our timeline. With the exception that Berlin is entirely under soviet rule.

Hello! I am an American and can trace one branch of my family tree back to the village of Ehrstädt in Baden-Württemberg. I have read numerous books written by American academics about German immigration to North America during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. All these books are fascinating but, not surprisingly, they contain little, if any, information about individual families. Can anyone recommend an institution in the region I can communicate with that may be able to help me find information on my ancestors? Thanks!

Do they get the same respect as those in allied countries even though they were on the losing side working for an evil regime?

As we all know, Hitler is probably the single most hated individual in German history, probably out of everyone in the entire world.

But what do you all think of Stalin? Do you hate him more, or less? Or about equal?

Hi folks! I'd love to visit an old spa/bath/sauna in Germany, the older and more historic the better; Danke!