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„Das Fundbuero“ sucht Gastdozenten für die Veranstaltungsreihe „Geschichte von Unten.“ Diese Veranstaltungen sollen helfen, eine „Geschichte der Menschen“ der DDR zu schaffen. Sie können verschiedene Formen annehmen – Vorträge, Präsentationen, Lesungen, Kinoabende, Gesprächsrunden usw..
Voraussichtliche Themen sind:

Dezember – Weihnachten im atheistischen Staat
Januar – Dokumentation, Amateur- und Hobbyfilm
Februar – Immigration
März – Vergleich post-sozialistischer Staaten
April – Arbeitslosigkeit in der DDR
May – Chancengleichheit und Feminismus
Juni – Homosexualität in der DDR

„Das Fundbuero“ lebt und wächst mit Ihrer Beteiligung. Sollten Sie eine Idee für ein Thema aus der DDR-Geschichte haben das Sie gerne erkunden möchten oder eine Veranstaltung, die sie gerne in unserem Laden sehen möchten, kommen Sie doch einfach vorbei, um Einzelheiten zu
besprechen oder schicken Sie uns eine E-Mail.

Music in the GDR/ Musik in der DDR

For October in the store we are focusing on the roll of music during the GDR. All forms of media were contested in East Germany, but it often seems to me like music more so than others. Perhaps this was because it often still took a bit of work to acquire "western" music, making it all the more desirable.

To set the mood, we set up a window display with record players and reel-to-reel players as well as a selection of records from the state sanctioned record labels (Amiga, Schola, Litera and Eterna).





For the event itself, we invited people to bring a song that was important for them during the GDR, whether it came from a performer from East Germany or somewhere else. The final group or songs included selections by the Puhdys and Karat as well as Supertramp and Melanie.

We had a small group, but the discussion was very lively, ranging from the merits of various musical acts (in their various incarnations) to the "music scene" in the GDR to more philosophical discussions about both.
I actually had to interrupt the discussion so that we could play the songs people had written down. Thanks to the Internet, we could locate recordings of just about everything requested. Here we watch the Puhdys performing "Das Buch."

Ever Changing Interior

As we acquire more furniture, the arrangement in the store changes - and hopefully starts to look more and more welcoming. We still need more chairs, and a few tables wouldn't hurt either.






This classic GDR wall cabinet came from the upstairs neighbors, who bought it new back in the 1980s. It offers us a lot more "exhibition" space, while also being a much more typical example of GDR furniture than the older cabinet.

Opening Day/Night - Eröffnungsfeier

The opening was a long but fun day, with many visitors and much conversation and food.
The main topic was whether one can really speak of a cuisine belonging only to the GDR, or whether it was just a reflection or updating of regional cuisine. It seems like a theme we can come back to for more formal discussion in the future.
In the meantime, the front window displays our informal research of what people think of when they hear "DDR-Küche."










Der Abend war sehr schön. Die Tafel reich bestückt mit leckeren Sachen. So gab es z.B. Grießbrei mit Pflaumen, später Kartoffelsuppe mit Würstchen und und und.

An der Wand hing ein riesen Plakat. Am Anfang noch leer fühlte es sich den Abend mit all den Dingen, die den Besuchern zum Thema DDR-Gerichte einfielen. Jetzt ist im Fenster zu bestaunen.

Einer der schönen Momente des Abends waren die zufällig entstandenen Gespräche und eine daraus folgende weitere Zusammenarbeit. So kam ein Frau mit Kind, eigentlich nur um einen Schrank aus DDR Zeiten ihrem Sohn zu zeigen. Am Ende blieben sie und nahmen teil am dem geselligen Abend...

Intangible Work

The work in the last few days is unfortunately not visible and thus feels like there hasn't been much progress. Mostly the focus has shifted to preparing for the opening - distributing flyers, sending emails, designing activities. But before the opening, we have to at least temporarily secure the heating pipes, so that will be a job for next week.

The Battle Continues

Today we finally had good enough weather to put together the scaffolding and try to clean the facade and sign. It's not so obvious from this angle, but the scaffolding leans away from the facade at about a 20 degree angle, making it too dangerous to add the second level. Cleaning required the use of telescoping poles to reach the top of the sign.

It is still up in the air how we can actually change the sign. Most obvious solutions are prohibited either by cost or by the crazy construction of the facade, but cleaning the front of the building seemed like a good step and improves the general outside appearance.





In the end, the results are noticeable:

We found this photo of Georg-Schwarz-Str. in a book at the offices of the Haushalten e.V. The book was dated early 1993, so perhaps the "Modekiste" was the first post-Wende incarnation of the store.


Hierzu können wir gleich einen Aufruf starten. Wer hat noch Fotos von der Georg Schwarz Straße?
Weiss jemand näheres über die Geschichte über das Haus Nr. 14 in der Straße?

Wir wissen; es war ein Schlüsseladen, ein Blumenladen und ein Modegeschäft unter dieser Adresse ansässig.