DDR – MUSEUM VIEWS (Germany, 2003-2008)
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the East Germans too wanted to benefit from Western consumer culture as quickly as possible. In one fell swoop all their old utensils went out with the rubbish. Today these utensils, along with furniture, dinner sets, clothing and appliances, can be seen in museums created just for them. Collectively these objects, which often bear witness to the hope for a better life, afford a picture of daily life in the DDR. Among many East Germans the displays call up feelings of nostalgia (‘Ostalgie’). West Germans, on the other hand, respond with pique or ridicule. Anja Bohnhof photographed several of these privately-run DDR Museums in Berlin, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia.