A couple of weeks ago I visited the DDR museum that is located right in front of the Berlin Cathedral.
It was on a pretty busy day, on a Saturday, but it was not a problem at all sine the museum has so much to offer and so many interesting corners that the crowd does not bother at all.
The museum basically introduces East-Berlin before the wall was taken away. You can get to know how the communism influenced the development of the city (well half of the city), and how it left its trace that we can still see up until today. Basically, the museum has different sections where you can get to know different things. I would mention the things I liked the most:
At the beginning there was a children education section where visitors can see what children did in the school, what kind of song they were singing, you can actually touch old toys, exercise books and many other objects from those times. It was such an amazing feeling!
My other favorite section was the old prison, which is a very very tiny room featuring only a bed, a sink and a toilet. When I went inside and closed the door I could very much experience how it was when someone was locked up in the prison for years.
The third most interesting part for me was a wardrobe that features military clothing and personal hygiene products. When men were obliged to be part of the army they had to share their rooms, and everybody had a small closet with a couple of hangers and shelves. The only way of fitting your personal stuff was to keep it extremely organized and tidy – that was also the purpose of giving them such a small place for storage. They had cleaning checks every week that was extremely strict.
Lastly, you can visit a real communist flat including living room, kitchen and bathroom.
Besides my favorite parts of the museums, you can sit in a real old Trabant and see a movie about the construction plans they made to develop the living of people etc.
I must say that I felt very ‚home‘ in this museum, because of the fact that my country – Hungary – was also a communist country, and all the stories and features were just the same, therefore I still have a very personal touch with the museum.
You can spend there 1 hour or 10 hours, depending how much you are interested. I can highly recommend it for everyone – for those who know and have experience the communist influence maybe if their own counties (like in my case), and for those who are not familiar with the subject at all. I visited the museum with my boyfriend (who is Dutch) and he was amazed by seeing all these things. Since he has never seen something like this, everything was very very new for him.
I hope I inspired you to visit DDR! :)
PS.: When I was passing a book shelf, I was happy to discover a lovely guide book that helps you orientate in Hungary. I love the cover, it is such so authentic Hungarian!!
