Explore what life in the Workers’ and Peasants’ paradise of East Germany was like; examine the reality of utopian socialism up to the ‘Fall of the Wall’ – the phenomenon of Marxism-Leninism in practice – and the curious collapse of this single-party Soviet satellite state.

Consider not only the normalcy that grew in the shadow of the Wall and under the watchful eye of the infamous East German state police – the STASI – but the many tragedies of those who in their rejection of this ‘Republic of Fear’ sought to escape and met their deaths.

From spy novel tropes to Kennedy’s famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech: no city epitomises the Cold War as much as Berlin.

Here, East and West – capitalism and communism – clashed within the narrow confines of the city, leaving their marks on buildings, streets, and on the lives of countless ordinary Berliners.

This tour considers not just history with a capital-H, but also the stories of life (and of lives uprooted) on either side of the Wall.

Hear about a society that deemed itself a workers’ paradise while waging a war of surveillance on its citizens, about subcultures carving out their own little niches of freedom, and about the events that ultimately led to the fall of the Wall.

Berlin’s pivotal role on the frontline of the ideological conflict played out between East and West during the Cold War period is undeniable. There is no greater symbol of the absurdity of the era – and the atmosphere of paranoia, secrecy & fear that permeated the city for much of the 20th century – than that of the Berlin Wall. Still scattered across the cityscape in minor pieces.

Carved into two competing zones, Berlin became a truly stage managed city – with each side seeking to prove the supremacy of their system. The glamourous individualistic excesses of West Berlin standing in contrast to the planned economy utopianism of the East. The city grew to become the playground for numerous international intelligence agencies vying for control – Berliners struggled alongside various plotting acronyms and government actors – the CIA, MI6, the KGB, the STASI and the BND.

While what normality that existed was played out in the looming shadow of The Bomb.

This Republic Of Fear tour explores the story of life in the workers’ and peasants’ paradise of East Berlin.

Addressing the many aspects of life behind the Iron Curtain, the realities of living in a Marxist-Leninist single-party Soviet satellite state – exploring the Alexanderplatz central square, the famous TV Tower (Fernsehturm) and Weltzeituhr (World Clock), the impressive Karl Marx Allee boulevard and famous Prenzlauer Berg neighbourhood. But also visiting the remaining sections of the Berlin Wall in the city to discuss the many escapes and unfortunate deaths on the border, as the East German government sought to stop its population from fleeing to the West.

British author John le Carré famously said that the “secret services were the only real measure of a nation’s political health, the only real expression of its subconscious”.  A major highlight of the tour is the unique opportunity to explore the former Stasi headquarters – the inner sanctum of the East German Secret State Police.