With the end of World War II,
Berlin was divided
between the victorious Allies.
Eventually the French,
British,
and American sectors
became West Berlin
and the Soviet sector
became communist East Berlin.
For the next four decades,
the people of East Berlin
were subjected to
lots of propaganda,
and that included art.
Socialist Realism,
the art of the communist era,
actually went
beyond censorship.
Art was legitimate only if
it actively promoted the state.
This mural,
Building the Republic,
dates from 1952.
It's a classic example
of Socialist Realism,
showing the entire society
delighted to work together
toward the Marxist utopia.
Industrial workers,
farm laborers,
women and children,
all singing the same
patriotic song.
The communists
also built Berlin's
1,200-foot-tall TV Tower,
quite an impressive erection
back in the 1960s.
Its purpose,
along with better TV reception,
to show the power
of the atheistic state
at a time when East German
leaders were having
the crosses removed
from churches.
But when the sun
beamed on their tower,
a huge cross reflected
on the mirrored ball,
high on the grandest spire
in East Berlin.
Cynics called it
the "Pope's Revenge."
This boulevard has
long been a main drag.
Destroyed during World War II,
Stalin decided
this street should become
a showcase for
communist East Berlin.
In the 1950s,
he had it rebuilt
with lavish Soviet aid
and named it Stalin Boulevard.
Today, this street,
built in the bold
Stalin Gothic style so common
in Moscow back then,
has been restored and renamed
for Karl Marx.
It's actually becoming en vogue
and gives us yet another glimpse
at what was communist Berlin.
But even with massive
housing projects
and lots of clever propaganda,
it took a wall to keep
the people of East Berlin
from leaving.
