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A different tale of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

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  • A different tale of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

    Due its 20th anniversary the fall of the Berlin Wall is getting much attention, but I for my part would like to talk about a story of the reunion that is much less know, especially outside Germany.

    In the GDR many things were forbidden that were taken for granted in the West. Free Speech and Free Travel are just the most basics of them. One much less discussed that was banned in the east was of a bit more trivial matter: Pornography.

    Considered to be a rotten decant fruit of Capitalism pornography was banned in the GDR and could cause you to end up in prison. This of course did not stop people to have or be interested in sex at all, but any kind of erotic material was hard to get by. What was the reaction? The same people that were in the risky business of smuggling western papers or uncensored letters of the border started to bring porn movies and magazines into the east while others simply tried to film movies in secret.

    Despite these efforts the GDR was mostly an pornographic wasteland when the Wall was unable to contain the people any longer and they were able to freely travel to West-Berlin for the first time since 1961. One of the most popular destinations for the first trips into the West were the local Sex Shops. Something that was simply unknown in the east.

    Where in West-Germany most people would handle any visit to such a location with as most discretion as possible the East-Germans had often a far more open approach. Whole families would storm the Adult stores together and gaze at the varsity of lingerie , porn and sex toys. The bought articles were shown to friends at home like game trophies and the catalogs were most likely the most read piece of paper at the moment.

    Many Shops in West-Berlin had to close several times temporally simply due running out of stock.
    This development did not go by unnoticed and the Queen of the biggest German Erotic-Empire, Beate Uhse (Age 70 back then, was a stunt pilot in the 30ths and served in Luftwaffe during the war, even flew the Me 262. After the war she founded what would become one of the biggest sex companies of the world.) decided to conquer the GDR.

    A giant marketing operation was launched with stands in every major East-German city giving out thousands of catalogs and fliers. People were so keen after them that it even got rough when it came to who would get the last ones. This included all Ages and some Reports claimed that some elderly women did not hesitate to use their cranes to make sure they get their copy.

    But this was only the first step. It would take time to open up complete new stores in the east and get them running. Time Beate Uhse did not want to waste. Her Solution: Several Trucks were converted in Mobile Sex Shops. Touring through East Germany those stores on wheels often offered East Germans there first experience with such Adult Material. While only being a temporay solution the trucks were a huge success and attracted masses.

    Later Beate Uhse would tell that the people were just not corious for everything sex-related but even so grateful that the company received many Thank-letters from the east, including free offers for location for new Sex Shops.


    Many important thins happened on the 9. November in Germany throughout the years. Some good like in 1989 some horrible like in 1938, and while this was mist certainly not the most important things that happened on the 9. November, nor the most interesting, I hope it was at least a new story that you did not know yet.

  • #2
    tarek,

    thanks for a story that aroused my interest

    i'm always impressed by people such as beate uhse-- they really put meaning into the heinlein phrase, "specialization is for insects".
    There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

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    • #3
      Certainly validated the aphorism that you can't change human nature =)
      All those who are merciful with the cruel will come to be cruel to the merciful.
      -Talmud Kohelet Rabbah, 7:16.

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      • #4
        awesome story Tarek. That will get a laugh at work tommorrow.
        sigpic

        Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C

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        • #5
          I really recommend doing some reading on Beate Uhse, just allone her story BEFORE she got famous is impressive. Though you should be careful when googling her name. The research I did before writing the above piece was one of the most dangerous I ever did.

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          • #6
            German women have always been shrewed. I remember the days of 'Lay-By Lil' near Fallingbostel. If Tankie and Mr. Lukins are honest they will remember her too. Don't be shy guys.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Tarek Morgen View Post
              I really recommend doing some reading on Beate Uhse, just allone her story BEFORE she got famous is impressive. Though you should be careful when googling her name. The research I did before writing the above piece was one of the most dangerous I ever did.

              Way ahead of you Tarek. The story works really well when you throw in some highlights of her bio. Got the appropriate reaction.
              sigpic

              Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C

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              • #8
                tbh i would love to know what those were. I mean when going through the archives of old newspapers you can see all those articles about wondering where Germany was headed after the fall of the Berlin wall. Would a united Germany even be able to survive? How are they going to deal with the Stasi? Will Germany try to reclaim land from Poland?

                While in fact the first problem on our minds was "How are going to supply everyone in east Germany with porn and dildos".

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Tarek Morgen View Post
                  tbh i would love to know what those were. I mean when going through the archives of old newspapers you can see all those articles about wondering where Germany was headed after the fall of the Berlin wall. Would a united Germany even be able to survive? How are they going to deal with the Stasi? Will Germany try to reclaim land from Poland?

                  While in fact the first problem on our minds was "How are going to supply everyone in east Germany with porn and dildos".

                  People were impressed by her bio & laughed at the image of hordes of deprived Easterners plundering porn shops & then being catered to by a fleet of travelling porn trucks.
                  sigpic

                  Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C

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                  • #10
                    Having somewhat dated a western German girl I find all this interesting...

                    What? People are people unless they grew up on the other side of a wall that they had no idea existed untill it fell and then what?

                    Seriously, we traveled to Usedom together, that's pretty far west... Folks didn't seem so much different to me... maybe a bit more behind in the infrastructure line, but really, they weren't any less human thant I was...

                    BTW I like Mdme Merkel... She seems like a good cat...

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                    • #11
                      I..uh...äh..what the hell are you talking about?

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Chaobam Armour View Post
                        German women have always been shrewed. I remember the days of 'Lay-By Lil' near Fallingbostel. If Tankie and Mr. Lukins are honest they will remember her too. Don't be shy guys.
                        'Lay-by-Lil'..mmm..no sorry Caravans in the wood??? What caravans in the woods.:))

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by dave lukins View Post
                          'Lay-by-Lil'..mmm..no sorry Caravans in the wood??? What caravans in the woods.:))
                          shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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