Prologue - What is „TimeZone: East Germany"?
Everything begins with a love story. She came from the East, he from the West. When the Berlin Wall, which divided the two nations, fell, they set out to explore East Germany. She longed to show him her homeland. Following each trip through the country they returned home bringing a piece of the GDR (German Democratic Republic), a bit of her childhood, pieces of an ephemeral inheritance.
But, these journeys came to mean more. Soon they were using every outing, every free minute to gather history - from bits of daily living to comprehensive documents witnessing life in East Germany. What began as a pastime slowly became a second job, finally turning into what is, likely, the world's largest private collection of day-to-day life in the East - from everyday items, documents, films, photographs to a comprehensive library.
„TimeZone: East Germany" is an initiative to encourage public research, presentation and discussion of history - whether from a nostalgic or more critical perspective - in the context of the divided Germany. We offer a hands-on experience, brought to life with items from the collection and the personal reminiscences of those who lived there.
