Blog

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Lesbian visibility in the GDR

Lesbian women were often overlooked and marginalised in the GDR. Nevertheless, they came together, organised meetings, and fought for visibility and equal rights. The blog post tells the story of their everyday lives and the challenges they faced. Read more
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Western money at last! The monetary union of 1 July 1990

Hardly any other date brought about as many changes as 1 July 1990 – the day the Deutschmark was introduced in the GDR. The special exhibition »Western money at last!« focuses on this historic turning point. Read more
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Our homeland – A song in 49 objects

The special exhibition »Our homeland – A song in 49 objects« illustrated the key concepts of the song »Unsre Heimat« with suitable exhibits from the museum's collection. We present some of the objects in this blog post. Read more
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The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED)

The history of the SED: A historical overview of ideology, power structures and political change in the GDR. Read more
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FDJ – Freie Deutsche Jugend (Free German Youth)

The Freie Deutsche Jugend (FDJ) was the mass organisation for young people in the GDR. Membership was intended to educate the younger generation to become »socialist personalities«. This blog tells the story of the FDJ and sheds light on the diverse experiences that young people had in the GDR. Read more
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10 questions for ...

Dr. Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk – Scientific Advisor

We are delighted to introduce Dr. Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk. Ilko has been supporting the DDR Museum as a scientific advisor since January 2025 and answered ten questions for us. Read more
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The DDR Museum supports LifeTeachUs

LifeTeachUs has set itself the goal of making education in schools even better – through knowledge exchange and encounters with people from all walks of life. The DDR Museum supports this mission as a strong partner. Read more
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10 questions to ...

Dr. Liza Soutschek – Scientific Associate Exhibitions

We are pleased to introduce Dr. Liza Soutschek from our exhibition team. Liza has been a scientific associate at the DDR Museum since December 2024 and answered 10 questions for us. Read more
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The ABC of the GDR

5 objects from the GDR with b – from Badusan to Boxer

In the blog series »The ABC of the GDR«, we present everyday objects from the GDR. In this post, we show five classics from the GDR that begin with the letter B. Read more
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The Baltic Sea – holiday destination, border region, place of longing

In five themed areas, the special exhibition tells of the many facets of the Baltic Sea - of the sea as a myth, the sea border and the border region, of art and culture, of accommodation and food, and of beach life. Read more
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The Friendship Pipeline

The »Soyuz« natural gas pipeline stretches from the Urals to the former Soviet western border. The construction section in the GDR, known as the »Druzhba line«, was organised by the FDJ. In this blog post, we provide insights into the content and show themed objects from our collection. Read more
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Popular Music in the GDR - Between Repression and Liberalisation

Although the SED repeatedly tried to prevent the influence of Western music culture in the GDR, there were hardly any limits to the creativity of young people. In this blog post, we delve into the tense relationship between the state and youth. Read more
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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The Summer Olympics and the GDR

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