{"id":1242,"date":"2010-10-25T23:05:37","date_gmt":"2010-10-25T23:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=1242"},"modified":"2010-10-25T23:05:37","modified_gmt":"2010-10-25T23:05:37","slug":"westpakete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/westpakete\/","title":{"rendered":"“Westpakete”"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was born in the ehemaligen<\/em><\/strong> (former) German Democratic Republic. And although I was still very young at the time als die Berliner Mauer fiel<\/em><\/strong> (when the Berlin Wall came down) and Germany was reunited, I can still recall the Mangelversorgung<\/em><\/strong> (scanty supply) that occurred damals<\/em><\/strong> (in those days). For instance, I can remember that I once wanted to have an ordinary Malbuch<\/em><\/strong> (coloring book) with neat drawings, which catch the eye of a child easily. But this and other things, which are taken for granted nowadays, were simply not erh\u00e4ltlich<\/em><\/strong> (obtainable).<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong. No one was von Hungersnot geplagt<\/em><\/strong> (affected by famine). The assortment of the GDR was generally mangelhaft<\/em><\/strong> (deficient). Aus diesem Grund<\/em><\/strong> (for this reason), Westdeutsche<\/em><\/strong> (West Germans) had begun to send sogenannte<\/em><\/strong> (so called) Westpakete<\/em><\/strong> (West Parcels) to their Familienangeh\u00f6rigen<\/em><\/strong> (family members) who lived in the Eastern part of Germany. At the times of the Eisernen Vorhang<\/em><\/strong> (Iron Curtain), the people who lived in West Germany and East Germany could hardly visit each other because of the Einreisebeschr\u00e4nkungen<\/em><\/strong> (entry restrictions).<\/p>\n

Since I myself cannot remember unpacking a \u201cWestpaket\u201d, I got my memories mainly aus Erz\u00e4hlungen<\/em><\/strong> von Verwandten und Bekannten<\/em><\/strong> (from narrations from relatives and friends). Usually, the parcels contained everyday products like S\u00fc\u00dfigkeiten<\/em><\/strong> (sweets), coffee, shower gel, soap, tea, Backzutaten<\/em><\/strong> (baking ingredients), and even Kleidungsst\u00fccke<\/em><\/strong> (garments). People especially loved the D\u00fcfte<\/em><\/strong> (scents) of the parcels, which perfumed their houses because similar products of the GDR were usually more or less duftlos<\/em><\/strong> (scentless). People always report that soap smelled like soap and that chocolate tasted like chocolate.<\/p>\n

Some parcels even had a doppelten Boden<\/em><\/strong> (double bottom) where the senders hid things, which were streng verboten<\/em><\/strong> (strictly forbidden), such as Zeitschriften<\/em><\/strong> (magazines) and Geld<\/em><\/strong> (money), D-Mark. The magazines very often out-dated editions but still an acceptable gift, as well as the money, which enabled people to shop in so called \u201cIntershops\u201d \u2013 special shops in the GDR where exclusively “West Products” were available.<\/p>\n

Of course, it is impossible to give a detailed report about \u201cWestpakete\u201d in a single post since I am sure that every citizen of the former GDR can tell his own story about it. But I hope I could give you a brief look behind the curtain.<\/p>\n

Vocabulary<\/h4>\n
ehemalig \u2013 former<\/address>\n
als die Berliner Mauer fiel \u2013 when the Berlin Wall came down<\/address>\n
(die) Mangelversorgung \u2013 scanty supply<\/address>\n
damals \u2013 in those days<\/address>\n
(das) Malbuch \u2013 coloring book<\/address>\n
erh\u00e4ltlich \u2013 obtainable<\/address>\n
von Hungersnot geplagt sein \u2013 to be affected by famine<\/address>\n
mangelhaft \u2013 deficient<\/address>\n
aus diesem Grund \u2013 for this reason<\/address>\n
(die) Westdeutsche [pl.] \u2013 West Germans<\/address>\n
sogenannte \u2013 so called<\/address>\n
(das) Paket \u2013 parcel<\/address>\n
(die) Familienangeh\u00f6rigen [pl.] \u2013 family members<\/address>\n
(die) Einreisebeschr\u00e4nkung [sgl.] \u2013 entry restriction<\/address>\n
aus Erz\u00e4hlungen \u2013 from narrations<\/address>\n
Verwandte und Bekannte \u2013 here: relatives and friends (lit. relatives and acquaintances)<\/address>\n
(die) S\u00fc\u00dfigkeiten [usually used in the pl.] \u2013 sweets<\/address>\n
(die) Backzutat \u2013 baking ingredient<\/address>\n
(das) Kleidungsst\u00fcck \u2013 garment<\/address>\n
(der) Duft \u2013 scent<\/address>\n
duftlos \u2013 scentless<\/address>\n
(der) doppelte Boden \u2013 double bottom<\/address>\n
streng verboten \u2013 strictly forbidden<\/address>\n
(die) Zeitschrift – magazine<\/address>\n
(das) Geld – money<\/address>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was born in the ehemaligen (former) German Democratic Republic. And although I was still very young at the time als die Berliner Mauer fiel (when the Berlin Wall came down) and Germany was reunited, I can still recall the Mangelversorgung (scanty supply) that occurred damals (in those days). For instance, I can remember that…<\/p>\n

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