During the 1960s and 1970s, following the construction of the Berlin Wall, economic competition was a driving force for both East and West Germany.

East Germany’s Planned Economy (Planwirtschaft) emphasized production. The Government, i.e., the Party, determined what goods were to be produced. Full employment of both men and women was an essential part of the plan. East Germany was the economic Wunderkind of the Soviet Bloc.

Below are some of interesting color photographs of daily life in East Germany in the 1970s.