1987 East German Military Concert | 750th Anniversary of Berlin

The original TV broadcast of the East German Military concert held on the 750th anniversary of Berlin. 1987 was a historically significant year in the GDR’s history. For the first time, the GDR government’s stance towards Prussian tradition was changed, prior to that, the government had always hesitated to fully embrace Prussian military history and tradition. When the GDR was founded as a new country from the ruins of a fascist empire, the ruling “Socialist Unity Party of Germany“ tried to completely avoid Germany’s humiliating past, including Prussian militarism and tradition. East Germany was a Socialist country that defended the values of the working class and internationalism, it did not want to fully revive Prussian traditions, as they attempted to distance Germany from monarchism and its associated symbols. From 1987 until the collapse of the GDR in 1990, Prussian tradition was fully celebrated, however the change was not instantaneous, it was a gradual build from