40 Amazing Color Photos Capture Street Scenes of Berlin in the Late 1950s ~ Vintage Everyday

By the 1950s, the German capital had become a divided microcosm of the Cold War. East Berlin was controlled by the communist government of East Germany while the western half of the city was occupied and supplied by the United States and its allies.

Life in Berlin’s communist section was beset with problems. While a large number of East Berliners supported communism after the war, many became disillusioned with its lack of progress and freedom. The East German government placed pressure on workers with ambitious production quotas and targets. Essential items like food, clothing and accommodation were subsidized by the government – but there were often shortages or long queues. East Germany’s industrial priorities meant that fewer consumer goods and luxuries were produced.

East Germans were always mindful of the Stasi (‘State Security’), one of the Soviet bloc’s largest and most pervasive secret police agencies. From the early 1950s, it was difficult for East Germans to travel to nations beyond the Soviet bloc. The border between East and West Germany was transformed into a line of barbed wire, fortifications and guards, running from Czechoslovakia to the Baltic Sea.

These amazing color photos were taken by Allan Hailstone that show street scenes of East and West Berlin in 1959.

East Berlin. Unter den Linden. At the junction with Friedrichstrasse, looking east. Berliner Dom and Rotes Rathaus can be seen in the distance, September 11, 1959

East Berlin, September 11, 1959

East Berlin. Alexanderplatz, at the junction with Unter den Linden, looking north, September 11, 1959

East Berlin. Alexanderplatz, September 11, 1959

East Berlin. Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral), September 11, 1959

East Berlin. Deutsche Sporthalle, Stalinallee (demolished around 1971), September 11, 1959

East Berlin. Friedrichstrasse, at the junction with Unter den Linden, looking north, September 11, 1959

East Berlin. In Stalinallee, September 11, 1959

East Berlin. Rathausstrasse and Rotes Rathaus (Red Town Hall) looking east, towards Alexanderplatz, September 11, 1959

East Berlin. Rathausstrasse, September 11, 1959

East Berlin. Stalinallee, now Karl-Marx-Allee, September 11, 1959

East Berlin. Stalinallee, September 11, 1959

East Berlin. Stalinallee. On the left Deutsche Sporthalle, now demolished, September 11, 1959

East Berlin. Unter den Linden, March 27, 1959

East Berlin. Unter den Linden, September 11, 1959

West Berlin, March 27, 1959

West Berlin. Brandenburger Tor. East Berlin began immediately behind the notice, not at the Tor itself as sometimes thought. This can be evidenced by the red flag this side of the Tor, September 11, 1959