Raising a Glass to East Germany

A new pub aims to celebrate, with tongue in cheek, the old communist regime. Not everyone appreciates the joke

Hermann Bredehors / Polaris for TIME

Tourists at Berlin's Checkpoint Charlie pose with an actor dressed as a U.S. soldier.

"I don't know if I ever hit anyone, it was always dark," says a 50-year-old truck driver and occasional DJ who gives his name only as Hans-Holger. He is recalling the days when, as a 19-year-old border guard for the old German Democratic Republic, he was required to shoot at fellow citizens trying to flee to West Germany. Later, he himself served a 17-month prison sentence for attempting to escape the GDR. Still, he's nostalgic for the old East, which is why he's a regular at "Zur Firma," an East Berlin pub whose theme derives from the GDR's feared secret police...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!