← Back to the front page

This is What Life was Like in Communist East Germany

Tim Flight December 18, 2019 25 min

Berlin Wall - Checkpoint Charlie — A man peers over the newly-built Berlin Wall in August 1961. The Guardian

11. Kids in the GDR went to school 6 days a week, and it started at 7 am

As well as indoctrinating kids, GDR schools also prepared them for a life of hard work. By today’s standards, the schools were draconian. A child’s school day started at 7 am and ended late afternoon. Lessons lasted 45 minutes, and aside from a short morning break and lunch, kids had no free time. Students also had to attend school on a Saturday, though with fewer lessons. The punishing school year lasted 38 weeks. Even in the holidays, the SED expected kids to attend ‘voluntary’ politicized activity days, where education continued.

Written by

Tim Flight

I am a freelance historical and literary writer based in West Yorkshire, UK. I read for a funded PhD in English at the University of Oxford (Magdalen College) and graduated in 2016. I am a former lecturer in Medieval English Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London. My publications include peer-reviewed articles in academic publications, and pieces in mainstream magazines such as History Today and Fortean Times. For more information, please see www.drflight.co.uk