Blog

Special exhibitions
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Happy cooking!

Deer Pörkölt with red wine

You probably all know the term „goulash“. But have you ever heard about the Hungarian phrase “pörkölt”? To be honest, I have never heard of it before, either. Pörkölt is the equivalent to the dish goulash, as it is referred to outside of the Hungarian area. The texture, however, is slightly thicker since it is being cooked for a longer period of time. Read more
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Shops and department stores in the GDR

The »Handelsorganisation« (HO)

The East German »Handelsorganisation« (HO) or »Trade Organisation« was established shortly before the founding of the GDR. It was the state counterpart to the privately run consumer cooperative chain »Konsum« and, in addition to retail, also included a network of restaurants and hotels. Read more
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Relics from the DDR

Part XIII: DDR products

The border between the two German states did not only divide the people into East and West, but also the product world. Some of the articles which were developed in the DDR have survived the transformation after 1989 and have their fixed place in today's supermarkets in western and eastern parts of Germany. Read more
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Shops and department stores in the GDR

The »Konsumgenossenschaften«

The so-called »Konsum« shops sold goods for daily use. The term »Konsum« was the popular abbreviation for »Konsumgenossenschaften« or »consumer cooperatives«, which had been founded in 1945. Just a few years later, the Konsum retail chain shaped the shopping scene in the GDR. We show you thematic objects from our collection. Read more
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Tourism in the DDR

The island of Rügen

Rügen is located in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the German state of Mecklenburg- Western Pomerania. With an area of 976 m² it is the largest island in Germany. Read more
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From the museum

The children's room in the DDR Museum

In the DDR Museum's recreation of a typical children's room, you can not only reminisce about and discover many original toys, books and home accessories, but also learn about the influence the state had on the lives of young people. Read more
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Collection

Collecting with a system: How do objects get into a collection?

A museum has five main tasks: Teaching/communicating, Exhibiting, Researching, Collecting and Preserving. At the DDR Museum, the last two tasks are taken care of by the collection department. Collecting therefore also means to reasonably enlarge the inventory and to add new objects to the museum's collection. The following blog text will tell you more about how this exactly works. Read more
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Collection

Fuel for the DDR – the brand Minol and the Minol Pirol

In order to keep motor vehicles sustained with fuel, an area-covering net of gas stations is required. As a result of the Second World War, the existing net of gas stations was divided along the different occupation zones after the West German brand „Gasoline“ was running all gas stations in all of the occupation zones in the beginning. Read more
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Survey

The DDR Museum is number 36 among the most popular sights in Germany

Every year, the DTZ (German National Tourist Board) is asking international visitors to name their favourite places in Germany. In 2016, the 40,000 participants of the survey voted the DDR Museum on number 36. We would like to thank everyone who gave us their voice for this great ranking! Read more
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From the museum

The kitchen in the DDR Museum

The DDR Museum’s fully furnished WBS-70 flat includes a reconstruction of a typical GDR kitchen. Here you can not only (re)discover many original objects and get some cooking inspiration for your meals back at home, but also learn about other topics on GDR history, conveyed in a playful and engaging way. Read more
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Event

Long Night of the Museums

Last Saturday, the DDR Museum opened its doors until the small hours: Our institution was one of the 77 museums in Berlin which took part in the 36th Long Night of the Museums and greeted a total of 28.000 guests – 5400 of which visited our museum. Just like the many years before, we offered quite a diverse framework program and the special atmosphere of the late summer night made the event quite memorable! Read more
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Jubilee

10 years of a hands-on experience of history!

Last Thursday, the 14th of July in 2016, the DDR Museum celebrated its 10th birthday. Many friends, partners and of course all staff members reveled the special event at the river front and lifted their glasses to the successes of the past and the exciting projects for the future of our institution. Read more
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Educational Program

Our Karl-Marx-Allee Tour

Today we would like to introduce to you one of our tours, which of course is also suitable for school groups. The Karl-Marx-Allee Tour is a combined tour, meaning that it will start with a one-hour visit of the DDR Museum, followed by a two-hour walk along the Alexanderplatz as well as the socialist boulevard. Read more
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GDR history

The currency of the GDR over time

With the currency reform in the three western occupation zones in 1948, it also became necessary to introduce their own means of payment in the Soviet occupation zone, on whose territory the German Democratic Republic was founded in 1949. The article explains and shows the different currencies in the GDR until its end in 1990. Read more
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Collection

Big objects in front of the lens

The collection department of the DDR Museum now owns a modern set for photographing big objects. Read more
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Collection

The magazine "Sputnik" as a paper-based ambassador of the USSR

The Soviet magazine "Sputnik" (Russian for companion) has been published by the state-owned news agency "Nowosti" since January 1967. It was designed as a digest of the Soviet press and was not only adressed to Russians but also to readers from other socialist and western foreign countries. Read more
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DDR History

»Sputnik« magazine as a journalistic ambassador of the USSR

The thematically diverse Soviet magazine »Sputnik« was first published in 1967 and was available in both the DDR and the Federal Republic. On 18 November 1988, however, the DDR government imposed a distribution stop. Read more
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Behind the Scenes

Not only work for the curators: How do I plan an exhibition?

To design an exhibition in a museum is a highly complex process. Many different staff members are involved – the maintenance man, colleagues who are working at the cashier's desk, as well as the curators. The DDR Museum is currently working on a new part of its permanent exhibition – find out more about it here. In the following text I would like to give you a little insight into what it takes to plan a new exhibition! Read more
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News

News from the Construction Site

The preparations for our new permanent exhibition are coming along with high speed. Already since the beginning of 2016, a new exhibition space is being realized within our museum. Additionally to the already existing two parts of our permanent exhibition, a third exhibition part will offer even more information for our visitors about everyday life in the GDR. Read more
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Collection

"Original Wolfen" magnetic tape and film production in the GDR

Every technology enthusiast in the GDR was well accustomed with the products of the company ORWO. No wonder: The company used to have the monopoly on the production of chemical data mediums in the GDR. The history of the production site, Wolfen, however, is only familiar to few. Read more