Hertha’s East‑German fan endures a wall of separation and longing
Bundesligafan Eberhard Lange loved Hertha BSC, yet two days after a Friday night at the movies in the West, the Berlin wall sealed his city and his club away from him. The 1943‑born stone‑mason found himself trapped in the DDR, his cherished half‑time visits to the Gesundbrunnen stadium turned into a distant memory.
Life before the wall
In the early 1950s Lange, armed with an FDJ pass, slipped into West Berlin to watch Hertha for a single half‑hour, fearing trouble if he stayed longer. His father, also a stone‑mason, shared the obsession; by the late 1950s the family owned a television – a rare luxury – so they could follow matches from home. Both father and son became regulars at the “Plumpe”, the affectionate nickname for the Gesundbrunnen ground.
Separation and secret support
When the wall rose on 13 August 1961, the family’s Zehdenick home fell under DDR jurisdiction, making the Gesundbrunnen stadium and later the Olympiastadion unreachable. Lange refused to switch allegiance to an East‑Berlin club, declaring, “You don’t change your club.” For more than fifteen years his love persisted as a long‑distance relationship, fed only by West radio and television.
The regime’s restrictions meant that even Hertha’s forced relegation in 1965, its involvement in the 1971 Bundesliga scandal, and the demolition of the Plumpe in 1974 were witnessed from behind the “Iron Curtain”. Conditions eased only in the late 1970s when Lange senior retired and could travel more freely, prompting a swift crossing to support Hertha.
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Using heavy‑weight gravestones as concealment, Lange’s father smuggled copies of, scarves and pins into the DDR. In 1972 the son’s daring led the family to the German national team’s match in Budapest, where they slipped into the team hotel and chatted with Berti Vogts, Gerd Müller and Franz Beckenbauer, securing autographs that were later hidden in his father’s knee‑length socks.
Official recognition came in 1979 when Lange was registered as a Hertha member – a fact the DDR authorities never learned. Visits from Hertha officials such as Hanne Sobeck, who delivered magazines, posters and tickets, reinforced the bond. The only friction with the regime arose during trips abroad, when Lange sought an escape from “DDR‑mief” to watch football.
Now 69, Lange reflects that his connection to Hertha never allowed him to reconcile with the DDR. He says, “Because of my link to Hertha, I could never become comfortable with the DDR,” a sentiment shaped by years of concealed devotion.