Blog

White gold – porcelain in the GDR

Meissen, Kahla or Henneberg – porcelain from the GDR was very diverse. This blog article focuses on porcelain production in the GDR and shows some special porcelain objects from the collection of the DDR Museum. Read more

Little brother, big brother – The GDR and the Soviet Union

In twelve themed areas, the special exhibition shows the dependencies and influence as well as personal friendships and relationships with the Soviet Union from the perspective of the »little brother«, the GDR. We present two of the exhibits in more detail in this blog post. Read more

The Palace of the Republic: Between Splendour and Controversy

The Palace of the Republic was a meeting place for the people and politics at the same time. In this blog post, we highlight the history of the palace from its construction to its controversial demolition and show thematic objects from the collection. Read more

Education and Ideology in the GDR

In the GDR, the education of children and young people was state-directed. The SED primarily pursued economic and ideological goals. In this blog, we look at the measures taken to achieve these goals. Read more

Minimum exchange and welcome money in the GDR

In this blog post, we discuss the East German minimum exchange as well as West German welcome money and show thematic objects from the collection of the DDR Museum. Read more

The path to professional sport in the GDR

This blog post discusses the methods used by the GDR that led to its exceptional sporting success on an international level. Read more

The Summer Olympics and the GDR

In this blog post, we look at the GDR's sporting career at the Summer Olympics. Read more

Queerness in the GDR

This blog post addresses different forms of discrimination against queer people in the GDR, as well as the limited room for manoeuvre that was available to them. Read more

5 Objects beginning with A from the GDR – from Amiga to Ata

In the blog series »The ABC of the GDR« we present well-known and somewhat curious everyday objects from the bygone state. In this post, we would like to show you five classics from the GDR that begin with the letter A. Read more

The history of Tierpark Berlin

In this blog post, we present the history of Tierpark Berlin and show some objects related to the zoo from our collection. Read more

May 8th - Liberation Day in the GDR

The unconditional surrender of all parts of the Wehrmacht after the end of the Second World War came into force on May 8th. In the GDR, this day was celebrated as a legal day of liberation from 1950 to 1967. In this article, we show thematic objects from our collection. Read more

New exhibits in the DDR Museum

Following its closure due to the accident caused by the burst »AquaDom« aquarium, the DDR Museum has recently taken the chance to renew parts of its exhibition. In this blog post, we present the modernised and new parts of the exhibition. Read more

Record land GDR

The nationally owned company »VEB Deutsche Schallplatten Berlin« was the only record manufacturer in the GDR and covered all genres. In this blog post, we would like to present the individual labels and some of their productions. Read more

Fernsehlorbeeren – the television award in the GDR

The television laurels were the most prestigious award of GDR television. In this blog post, you can find out how the winners were determined and which GDR television stars won the prize. Read more

Robotron – The familiar and the curious

The VEB Kombinat Robotron was known for the manufacture of various products for data processing and computer technology. In this blog, we'll show you some well-known, but also lesser-known products of the combine. Read more

»Original Wolfen« magnetic tape and film production in the GDR

The GDR company »ORWO« was known for its technical products, from cassettes and magnetic tapes to photographic film. In this blog post, you can find out how the company came into being and developed over the years. Read more

10 popular records for a Christmas in the GDR

As soon as winter arrives, the Christmas season is never too far away. To get you in the Christmas spirit, we've picked out 10 Christmas records from our collection that were popular to listen to in the GDR. Read more

10 Objects for a Christmas in the GDR

What did a Christmas in the GDR look like? In this blog post, we have selected ten objects from our collection to guide you through a typical Christmas day in the GDR. Read more

Dr. Stefan Wolle interviewed about the »Leseland DDR« exhibition

Dr. Stefan Wolle, the author of the exhibition, tells us in the following interview why the GDR was a reading country and what can be discovered by young and old who embark on a journey through time to the reading country GDR while viewing the 20 exhibition panels with their texts, photos and videos. Read more

The Green Party in the GDR

The Green Party in the GDR was officially founded on 24 November 1989, but its history began long before this. The party’s political debut was made possible through both the support of the West German Greens and the peace and human rights movement in the GDR. Read more