Blog

Topic filter

Günter Höhne about DDR Design

From the long becoming and the abrupt ending of the KN 501

3 Jul 2019 by Admin
The journalist and expert for DDR product design Günter Höhne writes for the blog DDR Museum. This time he is taking a closer look at the KN 501.
Read more

A Trip to the DDR - "The Journey of my Life"

Chapter 10: 30 Years Later

21 Nov 2017 by Michael Geithner
30 years have gone by since Shimelis visited the DDR in 1987, 30 years later the once 14-year-old boy has grown up and built a whole new life in Ethiopia. In the last part of this story, Shimelis takes us into his present life and how his journey into the DDR still impacts his life.
Read more

A Trip to the DDR - "The Journey of my Life"

Chapter 9: Good bye DDR!

14 Nov 2017 by Michael Geithner
"I wish I could have lived with those kind people forever." Time went by too fast for Shimelis, who visited the DDR in 1987. After some months outside of Ethiopia and it's troubles there, it was time to say goodbye and go back. Not a simple task for the 14-year-old boy.
Read more

A Trip to the DDR - "The Journey of my Life"

Chapter 8: Visiting Schwedt and Berlin

7 Nov 2017 by Michael Geithner
14-year-old ethiopian Shimelis visited the DDR in 1987 - the only other country he has ever seen. For a few months he enjoyed the massive cultural clash in the Pioneer Republic "Wilhelm Pieck", where he spent most of his days. But after some time Shimelis and the other delegations got the opportunity to visit Schwedt and East Berlin.
Read more

A Trip to the DDR - "The Journey of my Life"

Chapter 7: The Kissing Issue

31 Oct 2017 by Michael Geithner
1987 in Ethiopia. Shimelis lived in a camp for children who became victims of the war. One day he was allowed to visit the DDR - a life changing experience. It was the first and only time for him to visit another country. For a couple of months he visited the Pioneer Republic "Wilhelm Pieck". It was a time of many "firsts".
Read more

A Trip to the DDR - "The Journey of my Life"

Chapter 6: Pioneer Republic "Wilhelm Pieck"

24 Oct 2017 by Michael Geithner
Shimelis arrived at night in the Pioneer Republic "Wilhelm Pieck". After his flight with Interflug from Ethiopia and one culture shock after the other he finally arrived in the DDR. Slowly, he started to make friends and felt comfortable in the new world he was thrown into.
Read more

A Trip to the DDR - "The Journey of my Life"

Chapter 5: Welcome to the DDR

17 Oct 2017 by Michael Geithner
A few weeks ago, Shimelis sent a shout-out for his old friends, and one heard the call. Constanze Prehl was still an amharic student, when she was sent to Pionierrepublik "Wilhelm Pieck" as an interpreter for a delegation of young ethiopians. Shimelis remembers her from the second on he stepped out of the Interflug airplane.
Read more

A Trip to the DDR - "The Journey of my Life"

Chapter 4: Take-Off with Interflug

10 Oct 2017 by Michael Geithner
Do you remember your first ever flight? After Shimelis' father never came back from war, he went to a special camp for children. For years he hoped to get chosen as part of a delegation to visit another country. Finally the day came and he was sent to the DDR. How do you travel from Ethiopia to the DDR in 1987? Shimelis still remembers very well...
Read more

A trip to the DDR - "The journey of my life"

Chapter 3: New Horizons

3 Oct 2017 by Michael Geithner
Shimelis Haile Aga was born into Ethiopia's chaotic times of war. He was sent into a children's camp with many other kids who's families became the victims of the war. Some chosen children were allowed to join an exchange program to other socialist countries in the world. After years of waiting, he was finally chosen too, but everything went different to what he expected.
Read more

A Trip to the DDR - "The Journey of my Life"

Chapter 2: Living on the Battlefield

26 Sep 2017 by Michael Geithner
Shimelis Haile Aga visited the DDR in 1987. He still remebers his journey vividly, also because his story began far less memorable. It all started in the troubling times of war between Ethiopia and Somalia. As many young men, also Shimelis' father was sent to the battlefield, and thousands of families and children were left behind.
Read more

A Trip to the DDR - "The Journey of my Life"

Chapter 1: Born into Chaos

19 Sep 2017 by Michael Geithner
Meet Shimelis Haile Aga, 44 years old, born and raised in Ethiopia. The only other country he has ever seen, does'nt exist anymore. Today he tells the story about his trip to the DDR - the journey of his life - a story, that begins in Ethiopia's troubled late 1970s.
Read more

A Trip to the DDR - "The Journey of my Life"

Introduction: Looking for old Friends

12 Sep 2017 by Michael Geithner
A trip to the DDR changed his life: This is the story of the ethiopian Shimelis Haile Aga, who visited the DDR in 1987 - the only other country he has ever seen since. In a series of ten articles, he will tell his story of war and confusion, and the short escape with Interflug to a wonderland named DDR.
Read more

Review

"Die Normalität des Absurden" - Heinz Schneider

27 Apr 2017 by Melanie Alperstaedt
„Die Normalität des Absurden” tells the story of Heinz Schneider, who lived through two German dictatorships. Even though the book mainly focuses on his personal life, many universal themes are uncovered: how is one meant to behave in a dictatorship? How is our identity formed? How should the DDR be remembered?
Read more

Online Tickets