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"Prosperity for All", Obereichsfeld, July 1990: In front of a shop window [4/13]

OBJECT INFORMATION

Info

July 1 1990
Heiligenstadt
Created By: Bernd Schmidt

License: Creative Commons License

Pedestrians on July 1, 1990 - the day of monetary, economic and social union between Germany and the GDR - in front of a shop window in the Heiligenstadt city center

Depicts

age, child, group of people, pavement, shop, showcase

Context

consumption, merchandize, monetary union, sorrow

Text in image

Schmuck / Kunst / Gewerbe

Other items in this set

Memory

"Back then I came up with the slogan 'Im Konsum ist der Westen los' [a pun on how the West was now flourishing at Konsum, the GDR supermarket chain]. On 1 July 1990, the currency union, which was controversial among certain sections of the population, took effect. For many, this change came too soon. They feared that the economy might collapse in the East. In March, I took a look around Obereichsfeld, and the concern was palpable. When the new currency arrived in July, it was quickly followed by completely new products, naturally from the West. Eastern products were removed from the shelves and sold off for next to nothing. On that day, people gathered outside shop windows everywhere, curious to see what was going on inside."

Bernd Schmidt (Göttingen)