Blog

GDR History

The Friendship Pipeline

1 Feb 2024
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

From the collection

White gold – porcelain in the GDR

6 Nov 2023 by Alexandra de León
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

GDR History

The Palace of the Republic: Between Splendour and Controversy

27 Sep 2023
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

From the collection

Minimum exchange and welcome money in the GDR

28 Jul 2023
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

GDR History

The path to professional sport in the GDR

24 Jul 2023 by Alexandra de León
This blog post discusses the methods used by the GDR that led to its exceptional sporting success on an international level.
Read more

GDR History

The Summer Olympics and the GDR

20 Jul 2023
In this blog post, we look at the GDR's sporting career at the Summer Olympics.
Read more

GDR history

Queerness in the GDR

15 Jun 2023 by Alexandra de León
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

The ABC of the GDR

5 Objects beginning with A from the GDR – from Amiga to Ata

12 Jun 2023 by Katie McCarthy
In the blog series »The ABC of the GDR« we present well-known and somewhat curious everyday objects from the bygone state. In this post, we would like to show you five classics from the GDR that begin with the letter A.
Read more

GDR History

The history of Tierpark Berlin

31 May 2023 by Alexandra de León
In this blog post, we present the history of Tierpark Berlin and show some objects related to the zoo from our collection.
Read more

From the museum

New exhibits in the DDR Museum

3 May 2023 by Alexandra de León
Following its closure due to the accident caused by the burst »AquaDom« aquarium, the DDR Museum has recently taken the chance to renew parts of its exhibition. In this blog post, we present the modernised and new parts of the exhibition.
Read more

GDR history

Record land GDR

26 Apr 2023
The nationally owned company »VEB Deutsche Schallplatten Berlin« was the only record manufacturer in the GDR and covered all genres. In this blog post, we would like to present the individual labels and some of their productions.
Read more

GDR history

Fernsehlorbeeren – the television award in the GDR

12 Apr 2023 by Dr. Stefan Wolle
The television laurels were the most prestigious award of GDR television. In this blog post, you can find out how the winners were determined and which GDR television stars won the prize.
Read more

GDR History

Robotron – The familiar and the curious

14 Feb 2023
The VEB Kombinat Robotron was known for the manufacture of various products for data processing and computer technology. In this blog, we'll show you some well-known, but also lesser-known products of the combine.
Read more

GDR History

»Original Wolfen« magnetic tape and film production in the GDR

7 Feb 2023
The GDR company »ORWO« was known for its technical products, from cassettes and magnetic tapes to photographic film. In this blog post, you can find out how the company came into being and developed over the years.
Read more

From the collection

10 popular records for a Christmas in the GDR

14 Dec 2022 by Alexandra de León
As soon as winter arrives, the Christmas season is never too far away. To get you in the Christmas spirit, we've picked out 10 Christmas records from our collection that were popular to listen to in the GDR.
Read more

From the collection

10 Objects for a Christmas in the GDR

30 Nov 2022 by Alexandra de León
What did a Christmas in the GDR look like? In this blog post, we have selected ten objects from our collection to guide you through a typical Christmas day in the GDR.
Read more

GDR History

Dr. Stefan Wolle interviewed about the »Leseland DDR« exhibition

23 Nov 2022 by Gesche Rintelen
Dr. Stefan Wolle, the author of the exhibition, tells us in the following interview why the GDR was a reading country and what can be discovered by young and old who embark on a journey through time to the reading country GDR while viewing the 20 exhibition panels with their texts, photos and videos.
Read more

GDR History

The Green Party in the GDR

21 Nov 2022
The Green Party in the GDR was officially founded on 24 November 1989, but its history began long before this. The party’s political debut was made possible through both the support of the West German Greens and the peace and human rights movement in the GDR.
Read more

From the collection

ME 830 condenser microphones from VEB Mikrofontechnik Gefell

16 Nov 2022
On 20 September 2022, Frank Zander donated two wooden boxes containing a total of 8 ME 830 condenser microphones to the DDR Museum. The microphones were manufactured by VEB Mikrofontechnik Gefell.
Read more

From the museum

The 0 Euro souvenir banknote for the 50th anniversary of the X. World Festival

9 Nov 2022 by Alexandra de León
The new edition of the 0-Euro souvenir banknote is here! On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the 10th World Festival of Youth and Students in the GDR, we have developed a design with these festivities in mind.
Read more