Everyday Life in the GDR

Das Museum in der Kulturbrauerei dokumentiert das Leben in der DDR. Der Fokus liegt auf den siebziger und achtziger Jahren. Die Ausstellung zeigt Arbeitswelt, privates Umfeld und den öffentlichen Raum. Gezeigt wird, wie das Regime den Alltag prägte und wie Menschen mit Mangel und Grenzen umgingen. Originale Objekte, Dokumente und Filmmaterial bilden die Grundlage. Die Präsentation bleibt dabei sachlich und nachdenklich.

The German Democratic Republic (GDR), or Communist East Germany, ceased to exist at midnight on 3 October 1990. It was neither democratic, nor was it a republic. It was a dictatorship in which there were no free elections, no division of powers, and no freedom of movement. Millions of Germans lived in Communist East Germany for 40 years – so what was it like?\n\nOur permanent exhibition on “Everyday Life in the GDR” shows what East Germans’ lives were like in the 1970s and 1980s – at work, in public and in private. It shows how the Communist regime shaped everyday life, how people coped with the lack of things and the borders, and how they created free spaces for themselves.\n\nYou can take a seat in a tavern, a living room or at a work bench, and find out more about leisure time and improvisation, housing construction and working life in Communist East Germany. Everyday objects are supported in the exhibition by historical documents, accounts by contemporary witnesses, and film material from the time, shedding light on everyday life in Communist East Germany from several different angles.