Episode 23: Building Socialism: How the GDR Tried to House a Nation

In this episode, Katja and Chris explore the East German regime's ambitious drive to build socialism one prefabricated apartment at a time. Between 1971 and 1989, the GDR pledged to build millions of new homes, using concrete, steel and propaganda to try to eliminate the post-war housing shortage and forge a "classless" society. Drawing on Katja's own family history growing up in a GDR housing block, they trace the story from the rubble of 1945 and the Bauhaus's prefabrication experiments in Weimar, through Walter Ulbricht's neglect of housing in favour of heavy industry, to Erich Honecker's flagship building programme and the birth of vast new estates like Halle-Neustadt (aka "Ha-Neu""). They ask whether the GDR's caring dictatorship ever really delivered on its promise of a home for every family and what became of these estates after reunification. Do you like our podcast? Then please leave us a review, it helps us a lot! Host: Katja Hoyer & Dr Christopher Dillon https://battleguide.co.uk/reichs-republics#host To comment and ask questions, please join our community: https://reichs-and-republics.com/supporters Support via Paypal: http://battleguide.co.uk/rr-paypal Merchandise and Shop: https://reichs-and-republics.com/collections/all Our WW1 Podcast: https://listen.not-so-quiet.com/ Our WW2 Podcast: https://listen.both-sides-of-the-wire.com Untitled History Podcast: http://listen.untitled-history.com/ Battle Guide YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BattleGuideVT If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of what the team at Battle Guide have been getting up to, why not sign up to our monthly newsletter: https://battleguide.co.uk/newsletter Katjas socials X (Twitter): https://x.com/hoyer_kat Substack: Zeitgeist https://www.katjahoyer.uk/ General Enquiries: [email protected] Credits: - Host: Katja Hoyer and Dr Christopher Dillon - Production: Linus Klaßen - Editing: Jessa Sargento Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices