The West Package: A Christmas Dream in the GDR
Market economy, planned economy and parcel economy
Not everyone today is familiar with the concept of a Westpaket, but in the GDR, every citizen, young and old, knew what it meant and what it meant to receive one of these parcels. These were parcels sent by friends or relatives in the Federal Republic to their loved ones in the GDR. At Christmas in particular, many families in the GDR counted on receiving one. But why didn't East parcels become established in the West? Quite simply, the East, i.e. the GDR, was more severely affected by economic problems, which manifested themselves in a noticeable shortage of goods for the population. Many imported products such as candied lemon peel, coffee and various items of clothing from brands such as Levis were either unavailable in the GDR or in constant short supply. Unlike the GDR, which had an (inefficient) socialist planned economy, the Federal Republic had a social market economy and received financial support after the Second World War through the Marshall Plan. In addition, it maintained international trade relations, while the GDR faced greater challenges due to its heavy dependence on the Soviet Union and the tensions of the Cold War. The SED government was well aware of this, and so basic foodstuffs such as milk, eggs, flour and many others were heavily subsidised to compensate.
Western package: What didn't work
Every parcel from the West was accompanied by a list of contents detailing all the wonderful items it contained. This was necessary for customs clearance, as not all products from the West were welcome in the GDR. Strict controls were carried out at the borders of the GDR, and every parcel from the West had to comply with customs regulations. The enclosed list of contents made it easier for customs officials to carry out a quick and efficient check to ensure that the contents of the parcel complied with the regulations. Politically sensitive materials that were considered subversive and anti-socialist should preferably not be included in the parcel. However, the popular youth magazine »Bravo«, like all printed matter, or highly sought-after records or cassettes by international musicians, were intercepted at customs, much to the chagrin of the recipients. In fact, it could also happen that employees of the Stasi, customs or the post office helped themselves to promising-looking parcels from the West. The shipments had to comply with the (temporarily) permissible maximum quantities of luxury goods in order to prevent possible trade in them. However, the occasional thief may have used their own judgement to estimate the contents and taken whatever they liked at their own discretion.
Western package: What went well
But what was inside this square highlight of many Christmas celebrations? When the family gathered for the ceremonial opening, they could expect to find the following: coffee, tea, cocoa powder, creams such as those from the Nivea brand, perfume from 4711, or even nylon tights. However, one product tells a very special Christmas story for many families: candied lemon peel. This is where the famous and popular Dresden Christmas stollen comes into play, as it could not be baked without the candied lemon peel imported from the West. People in the West sent the necessary ingredient, while the recipients prepared the Christmas delicacy. Occasionally, some families sent the finished product back in return. Looking back, it could be said that there were classic East German parcels after all.
Several members of the DDR Museum team also grew up in the GDR. And all of them have their own personal connection to the Westpaket. In this blog post, we would like to give space to some of these stories so that they can be shared.
Shoes in the West package from our in-house technician Marco Westphal
»I still remember the parcels we received from the West, especially the one my maternal aunt sent us at Christmas. In addition to tights and coffee, which I wasn't very interested in as a young boy, there were sweets such as Raider (now Twix) and other treats. A very special gift was the Nike trainers I received in a parcel from the West one Christmas. I was so proud! Of course, I wore them to school straight away. My mother was then called at work and had to come and pick me up because I wasn't allowed to wear Western shoes to class – and on top of that, I wasn't a Young Pioneer. I loved wearing them in my free time.«
Simone Uthleb, press spokesperson for the DDR Museum, recalls
»Weeks before Christmas, my sister and I were full of anticipation, knowing that Aunt Uschi would send us a parcel from the West again this year. Despite my parents' best efforts to make Christmas special for us children, without the parcel from the West, the holiday would have been ruined. We children usually picked up the parcel from the local post office at the train station with a handcart. Aunt Uschi was always very generous and knew exactly what little girls in the GDR wanted. Just picking up the parcel was very exciting – how big would it be this year?
The postal workers handed us the parcel with suspicion, and it was often so huge that we could hardly carry it. We then proudly transported our booty home in a handcart and handed it over to our parents. I remember the smell; even the parcel smelled different from anything else we knew in the GDR. This was certainly also due to the coffee and soap that were included in the delivery.
Now all that remained was to count down the days until Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve, we children ran to our grandmother's house, where we were treated to homemade cookies and fizzy drinks. Meanwhile, our parents decorated the Christmas tree, laid out the presents, and Mum prepared the fondue, which we always had at Christmas.
At 6 o'clock in the evening, the moment had finally arrived. »Peter Schreier sings Christmas carols« was playing, as it did every year, the door to the parlour was closed, and we were finally allowed into the living room to admire the glittering tree and finally pounce on our presents. First, we looked at everything that came from the West, and only then did we turn our attention to the presents from our parents. Back then, buying presents was a challenge; they were purchased throughout the year and included hand-knitted jumpers, hats and gloves, a sledge and a chemistry set. My father was very talented with his hands and made a lot of things himself. Today, I would be much happier with these homemade or knitted items. Back then, we were very influenced by Western television and its advertising, as it was something we couldn't get our hands on.«
Memories of museum director Gordon von Godin
»We had different relatives in the West: my father's brother lived in Schorndorf near Stuttgart and my father's sister lived in Kempten in the Allgäu region. The parcels from the West arrived irregularly, almost exclusively from my uncle in Schorndorf, as he was really wealthy. My aunt, however, was in the church, had four children of her own to raise and didn't have much to share herself. She sent parcels much less frequently, usually with lots of homemade decorations. We were allowed to receive a parcel from the West once or twice a year, usually before Christmas and then again on an irregular basis.
Incidentally, we never sent parcels back to the West. We always expressed our gratitude by telephone and sent a letter or card to say thank you, usually with photos. The challenging aspect was that we might only meet every four to five years, so we always had to catch up on the ages of the children, parents and grandparents. We had to collect the parcel from the post office. There was no delivery service in the East.«
The Westpaket – a winter night's dream. Some GDR citizens believe that Christmas would not have been complete without a Westpaket. But is this really true? This blog post takes a closer look at the idealised parcel and asks some of the GDR Museum's staff about their personal relationship with it. After all, many of the team grew up in the GDR and had some degree of contact with it.«
