as a 22 tear old, I spent a day in East Berlin 1973. Rather than go in via the safe and predictable Check Point Charlie, I went in via subway at the one "open" station accessible from W Berlin.
I can assure you, the wall was not to keep capitalism out. It was to keep freedom out
And the day was such an eye opener to this long hair ersatz hippie, I never made a Democrat vote since !
In 1972, I visited East Berlin through the "safe and predictable" Checkpoint Charlie. Before I was allowed to enter the country, a border policeman sat me down at a desk and interviewed me. He examined every item in my wallet and wanted to know what it was. Among other things, I had to explain my Social Security card.
I had a movie camera with me and asked him if it would be OK to photograph Hitler's bunker, which stood right next to the Wall. He replied that it was a relic of such a terrible time that no one would want to photograph it. I took the hint and didn't film it.
Our interview was in German, and the fact that I knew the language may have brought me under greater scrutiny.
While I was there, I went to a bookstore and bought a book on the history of the world from the Communist perspective.
I also saw a woman knocking on a door and yelling, "Otkritye!" which, I thought, didn't sound very German (it means "Open Up" in Russian).