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Review

The movie "Der verlorene Engel"

23 Mar 2016 by Admin
The movie "Der verlorene Engel" ("The lost angel") is one of the numerous films which were produced in the 1960s by the state-owned film studio DEFA, but were then prohibited by the party leadership because of their criticism of the system in connection with the resolutions of the 11. plenum of the central comittee of the SED party.
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From the collection

»​​​​​​​Armeerundschau« magazine

17 Mar 2016 by Jörn Kleinhardt
The DDR's military publishing house was responsible for the publication of numerous specialist books with a military-technical, military-historical and military-scientific context. The publisher's portfolio also included the monthly magazine »​​​​​​​Armeerundschau«​​​​​​​.
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Collection

Who is getting in and out of the house? The house book in the DDR

16 Mar 2016 by Admin
In the German Democratic Republic, filling out a house book was regulated by law according to the reporting ordinance. But what does that mean exactly? How did such a book look like? Who was responsible for it? What was the benefit? Questions which we are going to answer in the following text. As an example we are going to talk about a copy from the early 1950s.
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Collaboration

The DDR Museum has started a cooperation with the HTW Berlin

9 Mar 2016 by Admin
The DDR Museum has a new cooperation partner: We are happy to announce that we will be realizing projects along with the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin, which is a great opportunity to contribute to the connection between cultural institutions and educational establishments in Berlin!
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Review

Between Division and Mutuality. Culture in the Divided Germany.

24 Feb 2016 by Admin
Carsten Kretschmann has a PHD in history and is researching and teaching Contemporary History at the University of Stuttgart. In his monograph about culture he is examining differences and similarities between the inter – German cultural landscape from 1945 until mainly 1989.
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Collection

Globetrotters back home – Objects are returning into our collection

17 Feb 2016 by Admin
In October 2015, the DDR Museum had the chance to support the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History in Seoul with a special exhibition by lending a number of objects. The exhibit with the title “Implications of German Reunification for Korean Unification” was on display in three rooms and was greeted with great interest by the Korean visitors.
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Behind the scenes

An eye on the detail – The daily preparations for the day at the museum

10 Feb 2016 by Admin
The doors of the DDR Museum are opened every day at 10am sharp for our visitors. But before the museum officially greets its guests, a number of diligent colleagues have already been at work for some time in order to prepare the exhibition for the numerous visitors. One of them is our colleague who throws a scrutinizing eye on every corner and every single exhibition element each morning.
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Tourism in the DDR

Mecklenburg Lake District

3 Feb 2016 by Admin
Vacation during the GDR - a topic you can not only find in the exhibition of the DDR Museum: In future we will also deal with this interesting subject on our online blog. How was tourism like and what where especially popular destinations?
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Award

DDR Museum has been decorated with the award "barrier-free certified"

27 Jan 2016 by Admin
The DDR Museum has recently been certified as a barrier-free cultural institution. It has been graded after the nationwide label "Traveling for all" which is oriented at specific criteria of the project of the same name.
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Collection

Foreign aid by the GDR in Africa

20 Jan 2016 by Admin
Even though the GDR had quite a number of economic problems itself, the small country nevertheless offered foreign aid to many places around the world since the 1960s, which within the socialist language use, however, was referred to as „Anti-imperialistic solidarity“.
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Review

1968 in the East – why should we be concerned with the Federal Republic?

13 Jan 2016 by Admin
Lutz Kirchenwitz has a doctor’s degree in Cultural Sciences and is the head of the “Lied und soziale Bewegungen” (Song and Social Movements) society in Berlin. He is particularly dealing with the Singebewegung (Singing movement) in the GDR.
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Happy cooking!

Christmas Cake

18 Dec 2015 by Janine Henschel
Have you already shopped all presents for your loved ones? In case you still have room for some gifts we are now providing you with the perfect recipe! This christmas-inspired cake is great as a present for your host(s) during the holiday festivities or a thoughtful present from grandchildren to their grandparents. After all, a self-made present is something truly special!
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DIY

Face and Eye gymnastics

2 Dec 2015 by Janine Henschel
People have been concerned with aesthetics and cosmetics already in antiquity. This was also true for the GDR. Even back then, a tired, aged and wrinkly skin was considered a disadvantageous feature. By wrinkling one's nose, raising and pulling together the skin of the forehead, pouting and squinting, parts of the dermal tissue and muscle activity are stressed only partially which eventually leads to unattractive wrinkles.
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Relics from the DDR

Part II: The Soho House Berlin or the long forgotten „House of Unity“

25 Nov 2015 by Admin
On the corner of Prenzlauer Alle and Tor-/ Mollstraße stands a pompous building, which today is considered a popular place of shelter in the capital for international actors such as Brad Pitt or George Clooney. The Soho House Berlin is an exclusive club with combined living and work spaces for artists, journalists, directors and managers from the media sector.
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Behind the scenes

The German Wall fell 26 years ago – memories of the staff members of the DDR Museum

18 Nov 2015 by Admin
The probably most significant event, which is still considered a distinctive stepstone on the way to the German Reunification, was the publication of the loosened exit determinations for East-Germans on the evening of November 9th in 1989 by the recently deceased former SED functionary Günter Schabowski. Because of the diversity of our team, which consists of colleagues from all parts of Germany as well as of different age groups and educational backgrounds, we were able to collect numerous interesting as well as different opinions. But read for yourself!
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Collection

Erich Honecker – Rise and Fall of the GDR Head of State

4 Nov 2015 by Admin
On October 29th in 1976, exactly 39 years ago, Erich Honecker was elected Chairman of the Privy Council by the People's Chamber. At that moment he had been holding all of the important positions in the GDR such as „General Secretary of the Central Committee of the SED“, „Chairman of the National Defense Council“ as well as „Chairman of the State Council in the GDR“ in personal union since 1976. Domestically, Honecker was at the peak of his power. But how did the little „Saarlander“ get into those influential positions? To answer this question, a look into history is necessary at first.
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DDR History

Erich Honecker – Rise and Fall of the DDR Head of State

29 Oct 2015 by Jörn Kleinhardt
Erich Honecker was head of state of the DDR from 1971 to 1989 and was responsible for numerous deaths during his time in office. The article looks at the political career from Honecker's rise to his fall.
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Collection

From subject to museum object – how an item becomes part of the collection

28 Oct 2015 by Admin
One of the core tasks of a museum is the care and enlargement of its collection along a specific collection concept. At the DDR Museum this happens to a large part by accepting donations from the public. Visitors can either deliver their donations directly at the entrance area of our museum or contact one of the members of the collection department. This procedure enables our staff to decide whether the specific object fits the collection concept and will represent a meaningful addition to the collection.
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Collaboration

Kooperation with the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History

21 Oct 2015 by Admin
Last week the DDR Museum has been on tour on behalf of an international cooperation. Where to, why and what kind of interesting experiences have been made you will read in today's blog!
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Collection

The Berlin TV Tower

14 Oct 2015 by Admin
On October 3rd in 1969, the Berlin TV Tower was ceremonially inaugurated in Berlin Mitte at the Alexanderplatz in the presence of Walter Ulbricht and other high-rank politicians of the SED party. At the same time the television broadcaster Deutscher Fernsehfunk started its emission and the era of color television in the GDR had begun. Prior to the construction there were constant internal discussions about the exact place and appearance of the tower. After agreement, the then-president of the Deutsche Bauakademie (German Construction Academy) Gerhard Kosel was instructed by the SED leadership with the overall instruction of the project.
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Online Tickets