We are now at the very spot where GDR civil rights activist and filmmaker Freya Klier lived with her
daughter Nadja and singer-songwriter Stephan Krawczyk in the late 1980s—
right here at Oderberger Straße 45.
First, a brief word about the street itself: Oderberger Straße was laid out in 1873 as a broad promenade,
lined with magnificent Gründerzeit-era buildings. It was situated directly alongside the Berlin Wall and served,
in particular, as a cultural hub within East Berlin. The Oderberger Straße Public Baths—opened in 1902—
and Germany’s oldest fire station continue to define the street’s historic character to this day.
Freya Klier moved into number 45 with her daughter Nadja in 1978; they lived there until their
forced expulsion in February 1988. During those ten years, close ties were forged here
with the alternative scene in Prenzlauer Berg. The apartment was placed under Stasi surveillance in 1987,
raided in 1988, and Klier was arrested shortly thereafter. The family was subsequently
expelled to the Federal Republic of Germany.
In early 1987, the Stasi established a clandestine surveillance post on the right side of the building
at number 45 in order to monitor the activities of Freya Klier and Stephan
Krawczyk.
Mother Freya and daughter Nadja lived on this street as part of a small
opposition network. Civil rights activists, artists, and dissidents gathered here. The
family actively participated in public protests—for instance, through open letters and critical
actions. In 1985, Klier was banned from practicing her profession, followed in 1988 by her
forced expulsion from the country. Today, the film and book Meine Oderberger Straße recount the ten formative years that mother and daughter spent living on this street—a historical document of life in the shadow of the Wall, of courage and regulations, of loss and memory.
“Die Oderberger Straße,” Book: https://amzn.to/4qRi8vC
Second image:
By Tohma (talk) – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2124847
Freya Klier
from the audio walk Berlin Like You’ve Never Heard It Before – True Stories & Secrets
254:05 min Audio
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Other stops on this audio tour:
A Brief Excursion into Berlin's History (7:59 min) • St. Nicholas' Church / St. Nicholas' Quarter (2:49 min) • Newspaper District (4:28 min) • Checkpoint Charlie (1:55 min) • Former Gestapo Headquarters (2:57 min) • Former Tempelhof Airport (3:46 min) • 7 Wannsee Conference (4:45 min) • Walther Rathenau Memorial (2:34 min) • Olympic Stadium / 1936 Olympic Games (5:36 min) • Commune 1 (2:27 min) • Benno Ohnesorg / Student Movement (2:16 min) • Rolf Eden (1:54 min) • Café Kranzler (2:08 min) • Kurfürstendamm (3:03 min) • Zoo Palace (3:47 min) • Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (2:22 min) • Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg (3:28 min) • Schöneberg Town Hall (2:33 min) • Former Sportpalast / Sportpalast Speech (5:12 min) • Bendlerblock/Stauffenberg assassination attempt (4:47 min) • Kroll Opera House / Enabling Act (3:09 min) • Reichstag Building (4:14 min) • Reichstag Fire (4:28 min) • Brandenburg Gate (2:52 min) • People's Court (3:08 min) • Potsdamer Place (2:58 min) • Former "Führerbunker" (5:06 min) • "Tresor" (Safe) (1:43 min) • Popular Uprising in the GDR (2:11 min) • Reich Chancellery / Hitler's Seizure of Power (5:11 min) • "Die weiße Maus" (The White Mouse) (2:57 min) • Friedrichstraße Station / "Tränenpalast" (Palace of Tears) (3:46 min) • Humboldt University (1:56 min) • Berlin Palace (5:04 min) • Red City Hall (2:30 min) • Alexanderplatz (2:30 min) • Otto Weidt's Workshop for the Blind / Anne Frank Center (2:05 min) • Hackesche Höfe (5:21 min) • Rosenthaler Platz (2:58 min) • St. Sophia's Church (3:03 min) • Sophie-Gips Courtyards (2:08 min) • Koppenplatz (3:16 min) • Clärchen's Dance Hall (3:54 min) • New Synagogue (2:19 min) • Berliner Ensemble (3:55 min) • Friedrichstadt-Palast (4:02 min) • Dorotheenstadt Cemetery (2:25 min) • Bloody May (2:18 min) • Humboldthain Flak Tower (5:17 min) • Chris Gueffroy and the Victims of the Wall (1:28 min) • Tunnel 57 / Egon Schultz (2:40 min) • AMIGA (1:37 min) • Bernauer Street (4:07 min) • Former Bornholmer Straße Border Crossing (3:26 min) • Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn Sports Park (3:43 min) • Mauerpark (4:07 min) • Arkonaplatz (3:03 min) • Zion Church (3:44 min) • Prenzlauer Berg Fire Station (3:18 min) • Hirschhof (2:41 min) • Prater (2:28 min) • Oderberger Straße Municipal Baths (3:36 min) • Oderberger Street 2 (1:58 min) • Currywurst (2:16 min) • Konnopke's Snack Bar (2:43 min) • Gethsemane Church (2:09 min) • Museum in the Kulturbrauerei (1:06 min) • Kulturbrauerei (3:24 min) • Frannz-Club (2:31 min) • Husemann Street (1:58 min) • Jews' Passage (3:32 min) • Prenzlauer Berg Water Tower (2:37 min) • Rosa Luxemburg Square (4:34 min) • Mont Klamott (1:43 min) • Samaritan Church (2:23 min) • Former Stasi Headquarters / Stasi Museum (2:48 min) • Berlin-Karlshorst Museum / Unconditional Surrender (2:54 min) • East Side Gallery (2:59 min) • House Squatting in the 1980s (2:34 min)
