{"id":120767,"date":"2023-11-05T06:39:09","date_gmt":"2023-11-05T06:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yourclomid.com\/?p=120767"},"modified":"2023-11-05T06:39:09","modified_gmt":"2023-11-05T06:39:09","slug":"inside-germanys-forbidden-city-left-as-it-was-in-soviet-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yourclomid.com\/world-news\/inside-germanys-forbidden-city-left-as-it-was-in-soviet-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Germany’s ‘Forbidden City’ left as it was in Soviet times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ex-dissident pastor recalls start of the fall of East Germany<\/h3>\n

Nestled deep in the East German countryside is a site like no other, a place stuck in a time long gone where statues of Vladimir Lenin still stand strong and the red star of the Soviet Union shines bright.<\/p>\n

W\u00fcnsdorf, or Little Moscow as it was known, was once home to 75,000 Soviet men, women, and children.<\/p>\n

Today, it stands empty but remains in character much as it was when they lived there.<\/p>\n

It is made up of an abandoned military complex, known as the Forbidden City, and sits behind a wall of security complete with a heavily padlocked gate.<\/p>\n

Empty since the last remaining Soviet soldiers left almost 30 years ago following the fall of the Iron Curtain, few people are permitted to enter its gates and step into the past.<\/p>\n

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READ MORE <\/strong> Putin\u2019s \u2018paradise\u2019 in Germany drinking 3 litres of beer a week<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Some 500,000 Soviet troops were stationed all across the German Democratic Republic \u2014 East Germany \u2014 during the Cold War, which was part of the Eastern Bloc of Soviet allies.<\/p>\n

W\u00fcnsdorf sits just 25 miles from Berlin, the capital, which was split between East and West, and was the high command for Soviet forces in Germany.<\/p>\n

It was the biggest Soviet military camp outside the USSR and doubled up as an entire community, complete with shops, schools, and leisure facilities, with daily trains leaving for Moscow.<\/p>\n

Living conditions and allowances for regular Soviet troops were fairly poor. Local guide Werner Borchert told CNN that they had “no vacations, no visits from girlfriends or family”.<\/p>\n

Hovever, things were different for the Soviet top brass who were allowed to live with their wives and children, and enjoyed luxurious parts of the base like the grand pool and theatre \u2014 though they often lived there for up to 12 years at a time.<\/p>\n

The Officer’s House is the base’s centrepiece, outside of which a decrepit statue of Vladimir Lenin stands and keeps watch.<\/p>\n

Though the building wasn’t built by the Soviets \u2014 it dates back to 1871 \u2014 they did extend it so that a nightclub was added to its rear.<\/p>\n

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