East Berlin was the eastern part of Berlin that existed from 1949 to 1990 as the capital of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), a socialist state and one of two states created in Germany after World War II. It was separated from West Berlin by the infamous Berlin Wall.
Think of East Berlin like a classroom under strict supervision, where rules are rigidly enforced and deviation is not tolerated. This contrasts with another classroom (West Berlin) across the hall, where there's more freedom and access to resources.
Berlin Wall: The physical barrier built by East Germany in 1961 to separate East and West Berlin, symbolizing the division between communism and democracy during the Cold War.
Iron Curtain: A term coined by Winston Churchill referring to the ideological boundary separating Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe from democratic Western Europe during the Cold War.
German Democratic Republic (GDR): The official name for East Germany, a socialist state established in 1949 on Soviet-occupied territory after World War II.
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