In the center of Berlin lies the district Prenzlauer Berg. On Knaackstrasse, a former brewery has been converted into a space of culture. A small but well designed museum offers a retrospective into the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It is organized by the Haus der Geschichte (House of History), so the concept is professional and there is no entrance fee. It is well worth seeking out. The artifacts are superbly chosen to illustrate the value of freedom, or what is lost when a dictatorship takes over. Here are just a few samples.
In 1959, 20-year old Baldur Haase was arrested with a copy of George Orwell’s book “1984”. The book was “verboten” in the socialist countries as it was seen as depicting their utopia as a merciless terror system. Orwell was intimately familiar with Stalin’s hatred of Trotsky and the inner workings of a police state. Copies of the book were translated and smuggled behind the Iron Curtain. A penfriend in the West sent Baldur a copy and the young man was overheard talking about the book. A mere eleven years after the publication of “1984”, this young East German was accused of “state-endangering propaganda (Hetze)” and sentenced to a prison term of 3 years and three months. He was released in 1961.
Baldur Haase today.
Working in a factory producing razors for export into the NSW – the “non-socialist economic area. East Germany was desperate for hard currency and tried to export quality goods at dumping prices to undercut Western products. Unfortunately, as an internal expert analysis showed, the “bebo-sher” razors remained inadequate and could not be turned into a quality tool. Customers with a choice (in the NSW territory) had better products at their disposal. For many decades, the bureaucrats stubbornly maintained that a planned economy could perform well. They became victims of their own illusion in 1989.The Kulturbrauerei (“culture brewery”) also displays examples of nonconformist art. According to the ruling artistic doctrine of Socialist realism, the average worker or farmer had to understand the artwork, and it had to offer a realistic style and an uplifting message of socialist victory. Apparently, none of these elements were visible in this work of art.A map of the subway and railroad system in East Berlin, undated. Like other traces of utopian systems, what is missing tells you more about the artifact than what you can see. The customer living in East Berlin did not need to see that there was an entire city with plenty of public transport options just to the West of this. The blank space on the left is deliberate “terra incognita” (At least they did not draw lions). Of course, there is no wall. The S-Bahn simply ends at Friedrichstrasse. At least, East Berliners were able to exactly calculate how much time the train needed between stations.Beautifully designed, this poster encourages East German citizens to make conscious choices when traveling. “Travel to the countries of peace”, the text exhorts. Where are those countries? Clearly, the USSR looms large, with the famous St. Basil’s Cathedral and its onion domes. Other countries are depicted with cultural stereotypes. A donkey cart, a half-naked man with a turban playing a flute (India), maybe a Vietnamese woman and an Arab figure next to a jar. The style is socialist Orientalism. Look, although you are not allowed to travel to New York or Paris, there are plenty of exotic locales available to you, if you work hard and show loyalty to the government. Even in their leisure time, Socialist citizens had to be told to use politically correct language. Of course, the state had made a choice for you. The neighboring Socialist countries like Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania were fine to visit. A few lucky ones had the opportunity to travel farther away, as part of official delegations. “Countries of peace” sounds like a pretty euphemism considering the wars that were ongoing in some of the countries. But the shapes and the color scheme is pretty, and I am sure many East German travel agencies and their (select) customers enjoyed this poster. Note that the East German “Deutsches Reisebuero (DER)” claimed the vintage Lufthansa crane logo to accentuate an alleged continuity from the prewar days.The “Haus des Lehrers” (House of the Teacher) on Alexanderplatz in central Berlin today. The Socialist mosaic-mural hides the library.Educators belonged in the “intelligentsia” category, meaning that they had the responsibility to raise good socialist citizens. In this role, they had to conform to the rigid ideals of the state, enforcing its paternal authority over the people.Along the “East Side Gallery”, a stretch of the former Wall has been whitened to allow visitors to reflect on the forbidden zone. This area was GDR border territory looking west. East Germans had little chance of getting here. You could be shot for approaching the zone. In historical time, there were no graffiti.
