East German passport of a dancer traveling to Iraq

East German Passport Dancer
This is an early East German (GDR) passport issued in Berlin for a female dancer who frequently traveled, even to Iraq (besides Poland and Austria), and that was admittedly unusual for East Germans at this time in 1959. At first, her passport was valid for CSSR and Austria only, but later, it was added: “Geltungsbereich für das gesamte Ausland” (valid for all states).

The passport was issued free of charge, which is also unusual. I have seen passport fees between 10 Mark and 30 Mark at that time. I couldn’t verify the rules yet when issuing such documents.

East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic, was a communist state in Central Europe during the Cold War period. It described itself as a socialist “workers’ and peasants’ state.” From 1949 to 1990, it administered the portion of Germany that had been occupied by Soviet forces at the end of World War II—the Soviet Occupation Zone of the Potsdam Agreement, bounded on the east by the Oder–Neisse line.

The Soviet zone surrounded West Berlin, but did not include it; as a result, West Berlin remained outside the jurisdiction of the GDR.

A report in 1989 stated that only 25% of East Germans were passport holders. According to an East German passport law in 1957, East German citizens needed a visa to travel abroad, including West Germany and West Berlin. The penalty for making an unauthorized journey outside East Germany was imprisonment.

Pretty best friends: The GDR and DPRK

Tom Topol | Passport History Expert & Author.
Featured in media incl. CNN, BBC, Newsweek. Awarded by the U.S. Department of State.
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