Gifts and souvenirs If looking for Urlaubsmitbringsel, holiday presents, from Germany you could do worse than hunt down souvenirs from the former East. The isolation of the GDR meant that its economy, infrastructure and its consumer goods developed independently from the rest of the world. Ubiquitous global brands and products were simply not available there. This gave rise to goods and artefacts that were made locally solely for consumption by East Germans. By and large, these goods were of an inferior quality and had little value beyond the functional. However, after reunification and the dismantling of the GDR, many of these objects obtained a cult status, in part due to their limited availability and in part due to the fact that they capture the spirit of a bygone era. The Trabbant car is a fine example of this Ostalgie, a play on words using die Nostalgie, nostalgia, and Ost, East. Intrinsically tied up with the history of East Germany, Trabbis, as they are fondly known, were immortalised in television footage showing East Germans driving over into West Germany when the Wall came down. They were very basic mass-produced cars and prone to breakdowns, as catalogued in the many Trabbi jokes that Germans still tell. Today you can pick up a well-used Trabbi for a few Euros, but you'll also find model-sized versions in most Berlin gift shops. Another intriguing example of Ostalgie is das Ampelmännchen, the little lamp man of the old East German crossing signal. After unification, the German government attempted to replace the Ampelmännchen with the ordinary West German signal, in line with standardised traffic signals across Europe. However to many East Germans, this move smacked of Wessi, Western, imperialism and a "Save the Ampelmännchen" campaign was promptly started, with great success. Today the much-loved Ampelmännchen has become one of the most compelling icons of the new Berlin and you can see him across East Berlin, and on t-shirts, key chains and books sold in the many souvenir stores. Links Ostalgie Museum - memorabilia from the GDR. Consumer Goods from the GDR - an online archive These links are included for educational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement by the BBC of the products or services featured. |