Germany - Berlin - DDR army caps on sale in Berlin

Displayed on a table at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, peaked caps of the former East German (DDR in German) border police are on sale in orderly rows for the sake of tourists to this German city. The border troops of the German Democratic Republic (Grenztruppen), were a military force of the GDR and the primary force guarding the Berlin Wall and the border between East and West Germany. The Border Troops numbered at their peak approximately 47,000 troops and other than the Soviet Union, no other Warsaw Pact country had such a large border guard force. In all, 1,065 persons were killed along the GDR's frontiers and coastline, often by the border guards. The East Germany state existed from 7 October 1949 until 3 October 1990 and was a potent symbol of a divided Europe during the Cold War.

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Filename: DDR_travel02-06_1990_1.jpg
Copyright: Richard Baker
Image Size: 2994x2004 / 351.2KB; DDR GDR old heritage history past era bygone historical historic ideology Germany East Germany former German politics political Socialist Communist Cold War Eastern Bloc Warsaw Pact enemy opposition 1990 reminder Communism indoctrinated ownership property Berlin capsule official emblem insignia on sale conflict warfare armed forces soldier army defense defence military conscript discipline profile security authority order regiment oppression Iron Curtain regime tyranny brute force police state totalitarianism reign of terror rows display close-up detail badges peaked clothing head wear reunification enlisted border police cap hat Grenztruppen brigade ranks border guards frontier change of fortune regime change philosophy
Contained in galleries: Richard Baker - All pics

Displayed on a table at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, peaked caps of the former East German (DDR in German) border police are on sale in orderly rows for the sake of tourists to this German city. The border troops of the German Democratic Republic (Grenztruppen), were a military force of the GDR and the primary force guarding the Berlin Wall and the border between East and West Germany. The Border Troops numbered at their peak approximately 47,000 troops and other than the Soviet Union, no other Warsaw Pact country had such a large border guard force. In all, 1,065 persons were killed along the GDR's frontiers and coastline, often by the border guards. The East Germany state existed from 7 October 1949 until 3 October 1990 and was a potent symbol of a divided Europe during the Cold War.