Post-socialism
The opening of the Iron Curtain in 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 changed the lives of millions of people. Countries were newly founded or re-established, and long-standing social structures disappeared. Countless people not only lost their jobs and income, but also saw the fundamental foundations of their own identity called into question. Familiar routines and constraints were replaced by entirely new possibilities. These changes came about suddenly and affected almost all areas of life. They not only gave rise to hope, but also created uncertainty. This phase, which had such a profound impact on Europe, is perceived very differently depending on where and under what circumstances it was experienced.
In the GDR, mass demonstrations and pressure from the emigration movement brought down the politically and economically stricken system. In the free People’s Chamber elections in March 1990, GDR citizens voted for German reunification. On October 3, 1990, the GDR joined the Federal Republic of Germany and, at the same time, the European Union and NATO.
In retrospect, the fall of the Berlin Wall and (re)unification are understood as a major event affecting the entire (East) German society. This upheaval brought about lasting changes in social and political structures and set in motion processes that are still ongoing today.
Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz: From a Propaganda Site to a Modern Space Museum
Click here for the German version. In the late 1970s, the small mountain village of Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz in the Vogtland region suddenly became a state-sponsored pilgrimage site. The reason for this was the so-called “space-first” achievement of the “Workers’ and Peasants’ State”: “The first German in space—a citizen of the GDR,” East German media proudly reported […]
Photographs by the artist Rita Ostrovska: A Reflection of (Post-)Soviet Jewish Experience
Click here for the German version. “Basically, our journey to Germany began as early as December 1997. In the bitter cold, I stood in long lines outside the German Embassy in Kyiv to get an appointment and the necessary forms for a visa application,” Rita Ostrovska recalls more than two decades later. Born in Kyiv […]