Re: GDR

Yes. This BBC report is the most considered report on the DDR I have seen for many years, if not ever. However, it still refers to Alexanderplatz as having been in "the dark, Communist side of the city". My memory of Alexanderplatz was of a bright, colourful, modern, cultural and entertainment part of the city - nothing dark about it at all.

The article refers to protests about the "neglect of the architectural treasures of Dresden and East Berlin". There may well have been such protests in 1989, but considering that both Berlin and Dresden were virtually totally destroyed, and an amazing job of building and restoration of architectural treasures was done to both cities; the protests were unjustified. There may well have been examples of industrial pollution in the DDR, but again, that should be balanced by reference to the far more environmentally friendly agricultural policies than anything in the West.-JP