packaging and product design produced in the german
democratic republic (GDR) is the subject of his private
collection and reveals a little-known side of german
popular history.

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the rise of modern design
during the initial phase of the GDR, product design was
dominated by an official stalinist aesthetic, but the ideology
of stalinism proved terribly unsuited for the postwar world.
it relegated the needs of consumers to dead last on the
priority list, demanding sacrifice in all areas of life in the
interest of building heavy industry based only on primary and
secondary production. clothes, toys, household items, and cars
were all considered by the SED party to be wants, not needs.

the regime had been against modernism, it favored historicism in
product design, and thus was initially against the use of plastic
because of its modern aesthetic. the products of socialist
industry and construction should reflect the cultural heritage of
germany, imitating styles such as baroque, rococo, chippendale,
‘gründerzeit’, and others.

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the omnipresence of plastics in every-day life
when the population exerted pressure on the party to abandon its
anti-formalist stance and adopt a version of practical functionalism
in design, the SED had to back off its anti-bauhaus line.
‘national in form, socialist in content’ was then the official party slogan
for how to produce goods.
plastics came to symbolize the practical, and valuable
rather than the cheap and disposable.
it was largely because of this that plastics came to be seen in the
GDR by the majority of the population as a quality material and a
sign of technological progress, not a cheap imitation.
there was a general acceptance and even pride in the clever
use of it to make socialism work even when resources were
tight.

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toys and propaganda
there was abundance of military toys, which were supposed
to serve the education of peace. the little citizens already became
familiar with the role of the army at a very early age.
‘sandmännchen’ (little sandman) was a children's bedtime television
programme. the show represented everyday life, travel, and
fantastic adventure, as well as a certain amount of propaganda.
the title character bore startling resemblance to the then leader
of the GDR, walter ulbricht, and the show was often a showcase
for socialist technology and success.

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trabant
the ‘trabant’ was an automobile formerly produced by auto maker
VEB sachsenring automobilwerke zwickau in saxony.
it was the most common vehicle and was also exported to other
socialist countries.
it had room for four adults and luggage, and was compact,
fast and durable. since it could take years for a trabant to be
delivered from the time it was ordered people who finally got
one were very careful with it and usually became skillful in
maintaining and repairing it.
the trabant was a steel monocoque design with roof, bootlid,
bonnet and doors in ‘duroplast’, a form of plastic containing
resin strengthened by wool or cotton.

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read more

‘east german memory and material culture’
by paul betts
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu

‘plastics and dictatorship in the german democratic
republic: towards an economic, consumer, design and
cultural history’
by eli rubin (pdf document)
http://www.ghi-dc.org/bulletin38s06/89.pdf

‘the trabant era’
by f. meissner / m. benndorf
http://www.m.benndorf.easynet.be

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günter höhne
was born in 1943 in zwickau, saxony, germany.
he is teacher, journalist and curator of design exhibitions.
lives and works in berlin.
he compiled the book ‘DDR design’, KOMET edition, cologne.