Berlin, DE– Germany seems to have a museum for everything. From great works of art to the history of its favorite snack curry wurst, you can find a museum for it. When I travel, I try to seek out that which is fun and unique, which was why I chose to visit the DDR Museum. I wanted to find out what was life like in the former German Democratic Republic and if I had what it took to become a good Communist in the former East Germany.

Indoctrination into the socialist way of thinking begins early. In day care East German kids were collectively trained to go to the potty and the same time. No one was allowed to get up until all of the kids were finished doing their business.

Certain types of books, films and rock and roll were banned in East Germany and western style blue jeans were considered subversive and a symbol of non conformity. Eventually East Germany tried to make their own type of blue jeans, but they were horribly ugly and didn’t last long because of poor material and stiching.

If you were one of the lucky ones you got an East German made car–a Trabi! A popular joke at the time was that the back window of the Trabi was heated in order to keep your hands warm as you pushed it. As West Germany made BMW’s, Mercedes and Volkswagons, rumor was that parts of the Trabi were made from cardboard.

There are hundreds of artifacts, old propaganda films and even music to listen to at the DDR Museum. You can touch, feel, listen, watch and experience all of them to find out what life was like in the former East Germany. I had so much fun, I spent three hours there. There is also a GDR themed restaurant next door featuring East German favorites like, gold broiler and jagerschnitzel.

Now would I have made a good Communist in the former GDR, probably not. My potty mouth, taste for certain western vices and even my bluejeans, would’ve landed me inside a Stasi prison, but just because I’m not good enough to make it, doesn’t mean that you couldn’t. To find out visit the DDR Museum when you come to Berlin.

http://museum.de/en