Combined leadership of »party and state«: On the trail of power
Part One: Exhibition at the GDR Museum
The tour begins at the DDR Museum, located in the immediate vicinity of the former political centre of East Berlin. For one hour, visitors explore the interactive permanent exhibition together with a guide. The focus is on the structure of the state system of the GDR. Numerous exhibits and installations provide insight into the institutional power structure.
One highlight is an original desk from an official's office. The characteristic T-shape of the desk illustrates the hierarchical organisation of the socialist state: decisions were passed down from the top, with little room for individual responsibility. A digital application provides further information on the SED, the ruling party, while the classics of Marxism-Leninism watch over the scene.
Part Two: City tour through East Berlin
The tour then continues to places of political power in the former capital of the GDR. The first stop is the Marx-Engels Forum with its larger-than-life monuments. Here, not only are the ideological foundations of the GDR illustrated, but also, in particular, their architectural manifestations in the urban space.
We continue on to the former State Council building. After the death of Wilhelm Pieck, the first and only president of the GDR, the State Council was the collective head of state of the GDR. Chairmen such as Walter Ulbricht and Erich Honecker simultaneously held the reins of power in the SED. Although the State Council exercised little actual power, its seat was of symbolic importance.
The building with the prominent address on Marx-Engels-Platz was constructed in the early 1960s in the East Modernist style as East Berlin's first new government building. A portal from the Berlin Palace, which was demolished in 1950, was incorporated into the façade – not out of nostalgia, but in memory of Karl Liebknecht's proclamation of the republic in 1918 at that very spot.
The rebuilt Berlin Palace, which now houses the Humboldt Forum, is the next stop on the tour. It is located on the site where the Palace of the Republic, a striking symbol of the GDR, once stood. The exhibition at the GDR Museum features a model of the building, supplemented by information on the controversial debate surrounding its demolition and reconstruction.
On site, visitors can learn about the function of the People's Chamber, which met several times a year in the palace. Although formally the parliament of the GDR, in reality it was merely a rubber-stamp body. Election results were predetermined, and genuine participation was impossible in this ‘sham parliament.’ The Palace of the Republic was thus a stage for state representation, but not a place for political decision-making.
Centre of power: The building on Werderscher Markt
The tour ends at today's Foreign Office, the former headquarters of the Central Committee of the SED. Here, in the so-called Haus am Werderschen Markt, was the real centre of power in the GDR. The Politburo – a small circle of officials, all of whom were men until the end of the GDR – met weekly, as did the Secretariat of the Central Committee, which prepared and implemented party decisions. This was the real centre of power, largely hidden from public view. After the first and only free People's Chamber election in March 1990, the newly elected representatives moved into this building, which was briefly used as the House of Parliamentarians.
The combined tour »Party and State« is aimed at anyone who not only wants to understand the political structures of the GDR, but also wants to see them in the urban space. Visiting historical sites makes it clear that the state institutions of the GDR often had only a representative character. The decisive power in the self-proclaimed workers' and farmers' state lay with the Socialist Unity Party of Germany as the state party of the GDR.
Curious? Then simply book the combined tour »Party and State« directly or send your questions to our visitor services team. You can reach us by telephone on 030-847 123 73 – 32 or by email at besucherbetreuung@ddr-museum.de.
