Documentation Centre for Everyday Culture of the GDR

Since 1993, objects of everyday material culture have been systematically collected, researched, and documented in Eisenhüttenstadt. The results of this work are made available to the public through exhibitions and publications.

2021 The Museum Utopie und Alltag. Alltagskultur und Kunst in der DDR vereint die zwei Einrichtungen Kunstarchiv Beeskow und Dokumentationszentrum Alltagskultur der DDR unter seinem Dach. Everyday Culture and Art in the GDR unites the two institutions – the Beeskow Art Archive and the Documentation Center of GDR Everyday Culture – under one roof.

Since 2016, the Documentation Center has been supported by the Oder-Spree district and financially funded by the state of Brandenburg.

After the elimination of the municipal subsidy in 2012, the Documentation Center’s association sponsorship came to an end. From 2013 to 2015, it continued to operate as a department of the Municipal Museum of Eisenhüttenstadt.

In 2001, the first permanent exhibition – “Life in the GDR” – was opened. In 2012, a new permanent exhibition – “Everyday Life: GDR” – followed. This was made possible through funding from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media and the Ministry of Science, Research and Culture of the State of Brandenburg.

In 1999, the Documentation Center of GDR Everyday Culture was transferred to the non-profit sponsorship of an association of the same name. The city of Eisenhüttenstadt, the Oder-Spree district, and the state of Brandenburg provided funding primarily for its operations.

In 1996, the City Council of Eisenhüttenstadt made the fundamental decision regarding the further development of the Documentation Center. In the same year, funding from the European Union and the State of Brandenburg was approved for the historically appropriate renovation of the museum building, which was carried out in 1998/99.

In 1994, the Documentation Center found its home in a historic children’s nursery in Residential Complex II. In November 1995, it opened its first special exhibition there – “Tempolinsen and P 2” – which was subsequently shown as a traveling exhibition. It garnered significant attention and established the Documentation Center as a specialized museum of GDR everyday culture, both among the public and in professional circles.

In 1992, the idea emerged to establish a museum dedicated to GDR everyday culture at the site of Eisenhüttenstadt, a planned city founded in 1950/51. On the decision of the City Council, its development began in 1993, initially as a department of the Eisenhüttenstadt Municipal Museum. In the same year, historian Andreas Ludwig was appointed as director of the municipal museum association and commissioned to build a collection on GDR everyday culture. The acquisition of items for this collection was carried out in a participatory manner, based on the decisions of private and institutional donors, largely without predetermined curatorial selection criteria.