Gunter Schabowski Press Conference
Schabowski, the spokesman for the East German Communist Party Politburo, played a vital role in the toppling of the East German Communist government in the fall of 1989. During a press conference on November 9, 1989, a reporter asked him about new travel regulations issued by the government that seemed to indicate the possibility of easier travel into West Berlin through the Berlin Wall.
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Thälmann Pioneer's Shirt
This shirt is an example of the uniforms worn by children aged 6-14 who were members of the Young Pioneers in East Germany. Founded in 1948, the Young Pioneer movement was similar to the Boy and Girl Scout movements that originated in the United Kingdom at the turn of the century and spread around the world.
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Vending Machine
In the United States coin-operated drink machines - generically called "coke machines" - are ubiquitous consumer objects regularly punctuating our everyday landscapes. We feed them our money and out roll individually packaged liquid refreshments. During the last years of the Cold War designers in the East Bloc developed their own regional version of the "coke machine".
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Oh Richard, Oh, My King!
This aria from the Gretry opera, Richard the Lion–Hearted, was adopted by royalists during the early years of the Revolution. The song’s accusation that the king had been abandoned by all but his most devoted followers made it a suitable counter–revolutionary anthem.
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Hymn for the Festival of Marriage
Although festivals drew much smaller audiences during the final years of the Revolution, the government continued to celebrate them. Now, however, they tended to commemorate apolitical events: thus a festival, and hymn, devoted to the subject of marriage.
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