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Nowadays there's an app for that. In the GDR, on the other hand, people kept an eye on their receipts and expenditures with the help of a meticulously kept book of household accounts. It was a proper housewife's duty to keep track of what amount of money was spent for what and when. The DDR Museum was recently donated a total of 8 books of household accounts from a family from Dresden, starting on January 1st in 1963 and ending on January 3rd in 1993. Learn more about these highly interesting historical documents in the following text! Read more

The DDR offered a wide range of toys that often contained an educational aspect in addition to the playful aspect. Particularly included are toys that were intended to familiarise boys in particular with their later service in the army, such as the toy tank »T-62«. Read more

We review "Kulturgeschichte der DDR. Ein Überblick, Erfurt 2014." by Frank Hoffmann. Read more

The collection of the DDR Museum is documenting everyday life in the GDR and therefore consists of different objects belonging to all sorts of topics. Every day, our colleagues at the collection department are dealing with objects and their interesting stories and sometimes unusual original purposes. One of them is the sealed glass bottle “Contratherm - Heat Drink”, containing a bright pink liquid. Get to know the interesting background story in the following text! Read more

On April 12 in 1961 at 7:07am CET, Juri Gagarin was the first human being to fly into space with the “Vostok-1”, where he orbited the earth within 108 minutes. This event represented a high success for all Eastern bloc countries which were in constant competition with the United States of America. Gagarin started in the Soviet place of Kosmodrom Baikonur, the biggest Soviet space mission launch center in southern Kasachstan. Read more

Until this day, the East-German Ampelmännchen remains highly popular, appearing more likable and dynamic than its West-German counterpart. It clearly signals when to cross the street and when to wait for the traffic to pass. Read more

The East German traffic light man looks back on an eventful part of history. It was invented by Karl Peglau in 1961 and adorned the streets of the GDR from 1969. After reunification, its existence was quickly put under threat. But the tide turned and the East German traffic light man became a cult brand. Read more

Romantic mountain and forest landscapes, long beaches at the Black Sea, picturesque villages – those were the things luring numerous citizens of the GDR to the People’s Republic of Bulgaria. In today’s text I will deal with Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, located in the western part of the country. This is how a leave day could have been structured back then. Read more

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«​​​​​​​. Read more

In the German Democratic Republic, keeping a house book was required by the legal registration ordinance. But what did that mean exactly? What did such a book look like? Who entered what in it? And what was it good for? These are all questions that we will get to the bottom of in this collection blog.  Read more

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. Read more

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. Read more

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? Read more

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“. Read more

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! Read more

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. Read more

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. Read more

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. Read more

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. Read more

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. Read more