Tag Archives: GDR
Forced adoption in the GDR Posted by Sandra Rösner on Nov 5, 2014
It is still an unscripted chapter in history books: Zwangsadoptionen (forced adoptions) in the GDR. Unofficially it is known – officially it is supposed – that children in the GDR were systematically alienated from their parents and, hence, fell victims to forced adoptions. None of the responsible masterminds and operators have ever confessed this practice…
11 foodstuffs of the GDR you can still find in German supermarkets Posted by Sandra Rösner on Oct 3, 2014
When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the Bundesrepublik (Federal Republic) and Ostdeutschland (East Germany) finally reunited on 3rd October 1990 officially, the citizens and workers of the GDR hoped for an economic reorganization. However, transforming a Planwirtschaft (planned economy) into a Marktwirtschaft (market economy) soon proved to be illusionary. On the one hand…
School life in Germany: The former German Democratic Republic Posted by Sandra Rösner on Apr 10, 2012
How do German students spend their days in school? Of course, they attend classes, sit tests, and prepare for their graduation. But how does this exactly look like? Although schooling is more or less a worldwide operation I have recognized that there are still significant differences between countries. For example, in France the satus quo…
German movies: Good-Bye Lenin! Posted by jan on Dec 20, 2011
Today I want to introduce a German movie to you that satirizes some aspects of the German Wiedervereinigung (reunion). The film is called Good-Bye Lenin and the story goes something like this: In 1989, Alex Kerner and his mother Christiane are living in East Berlin. Shortly before the Mauer (wall) falls, Alex`s Mother, who is…