Event details

Crumbling plaster in front of a brick wall — Photo: pexels - Leonid Altman

“

The revolution for freedom and against the SED dictatorship as well as democratic German unity: two historical events that have been the subject of much talk, debate and controversy. They ended the post-war period in Germany and made the new Europe possible.

”

Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk, "Freedom Shock "*, p.37

Even today, when many people only know about reunification or the GDR from their parents' stories, cultural differences between East and West Germans are still clearly visible in various factors.

With our book recommendations, we would like to provide insights into the history of the GDR and shed light on the self-image of former GDR citizens and the post-reunification generation in the present.

^{*Kowalczuk, I. (2024).}^{Freedom shock: A different history of East Germany from 1989 to the present day}^{. C.H. Beck.}

Media in Zittau

30 Years of Transformation in East Germany: Social Science Findings and Perspectives from the Saxon Longitudinal Study (including Görlitz)

35 Years of Reunification – Biographies and Perspectives from Upper Lusatia (including Görlitz)

Freedom Shock: A Different History of East Germany from 1989 to the Present

When I Think of East Germany...: Impulses for a Shared Future: East Germany as a Source of Inspiration

Germany is one: many things: Assessment and perspectives on transformation and reunification (also available as an eBook)

The New Wall: A Conversation About the East

The Takeover: How East Germany Became Part of the Federal Republic

This Side of the Wall: A New History of the GDR 1949–1990

East German Pride: An Appeal from a Post-Reunification Child

On the Privilege of Comparison: Experiences of East German Public Figures Before and After 1989

Walter Ulbricht: The Communist Dictator (1945–1973)

East German Pride: An Appeal from a Post-Reunification Child

The Treuhand: A German Drama

A Damaged Childhood: The GDR’s Daycare System and Its Consequences

Media in Görlitz

1989 and Us: Historical Politics and the Culture of Remembrance After the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Rise and Fall: Bautzen between 1960 and 1990

Colorful GDR: Images from a Vibrant Country

The GDR, the Stasi, and Me: ... or My Time in Görlitz

GDR / East Germany Color Works: 1972–1990

The Other Half of Memory: The GDR in German Historical Politics After 1989

The New Alienation: Why East and West Germany Are Drifting Apart and What We Can Do About It

Hope as a Principle: or Episodes from a Youth in the GDR

I Am East German and Against the AfD: An Intervention (also available as an eBook)

A Brief History of the GDR

Three East German Women Get Drunk and Found the Ideal State

East Germany: Observations of a Transitional and Sub-Society (also available as an eBook)

End – Upheaval – Reconstruction: Craftsmanship in the Dresden/Eastern Saxony Region between 1985 and 1995

Post-Reunification Children: For a Future of Solidarity and Equality Between East and West Germany

Revolution and Unification 1989/90: When Reality Overtake Fantasy in Germany

Experiences of Transformation: Upheavals in Everyday Life in East Germany after 1990

Unequal Unity: Why the East Remains Different

United in Disunity: East German Generation Z Between Two Worlds

Forgotten Inequalities: Biographical Narratives of East German Professors (also available as an eBook)

Betrayal Knows No Statute of Limitations: Life Stories from a Once-Divided Country

Once Upon a Time: East German Grandparents and Their Grandchildren in Conversation

What was it like for you?: The third generation from the East in conversation with their parents

Online resources

Unemployment After Reunification: Psychosocial Effects and Coping Strategies in the Face of Unemployment and Systemic Change

The Injustices of the SED and Their Criminal Prosecution: A Judge Recalls

Trade Unions and East German Transformation: Co-creation—Co-determination?

After the Fall of the Wall, Before the Future: Transformation and Conflicts of Democratic Culture in East Germany

The Fall of the Wall in the Teachers’ Lounge: The Experiences of East German Teachers During the Transformation Period

East Germany: Identity, Lived Experience, or Political Invention?

The media are exhibited both at HSB Görlitz and Zittau (depending on the location of the medium).