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Compendium
Ampelmännchen ("green/red man" at pedestrian crossings)
A cult object now often found on keyrings, snowglobes, and t-shirts. After reunification, the GDR men (complete with trademark hats) were due to be scrapped and be replaced by the more standardised West German traffic lights. Thanks to the "Save the Ampelmännchen" campaign, they continue to let pedestrians know when it is safe to cross the road in many streets of the former GDR.
Barkas
Van made by companies like VEB Barkas Werke Hainichen. (VEB: publically owned company in the GDR). It was used as a police car, ambulance and minibus. Like all cars and vans produced in the GDR, the Barkas ran on an Otto two-stroke engine.
FDJ (Free German Youth)
A mass organisation for young people in the GDR, which provided many facilities and meeting places for young people. It organised concerts, readings and sporting events and published its own newspapers. The goal of the FDJ was to teach young people about GDR socialism. Anyone who was not a member of the FDJ by the time they reached fourteen years of age could expect difficulties at school, when applying to university and when looking for an apprenticeship.
Grilletta (burger)
What West Germans called Hamburger, East Germans called Grilletta: a pork meatball that was cooked on a barbecue. It was usually served in a bun with ketchup, if any was available.
Jahresendfigur (end-of-year figurine)
The official name for all items that sold around Christmas, for example, Father Christmas figurines, or chocolate angels.
Jugendweihe (coming-of-age celebration)
This celebration was the GDR counterpart to a Protestant confirmation or Catholic communion. It took place in the eighth year of school after completion of classes on political education. As in the religious ceremonies, young people were awarded a certificate and a book, in this case, an almanac called Socialism - Your World. Instead of a sermon, political speeches were made. Today, these celebrations are still very popular in former East Germany. Without the almanac, however.
Kartoffelferien ("potato holidays")
The name of work carried out by school pupils and students at harvest-time. Potato picking was a compulsory part of a university degree for students.
Kosmonauten (cosmonauts)
The Soviet name for spacemen, from the Russian word kosmos. The most famous GDR cosmonaut was Sigmund Jähn. He was the first German to travel in space and spent two weeks in orbit in 1978.
Sättigungsbeilage ("filling side dishes")
Bread, rice, pasta and potatoes were called "filling side dishes" on GDR menus. Whatever one happened to be available was served along with the main meat course.
Soljanka (solyanka)
A typical GDR soup originally from the Ukraine. Solyanka, a mixture of pieces of meat, ham, onions, peppers, pickled gherkins and sour cream, was available in every single restaurant in the GDR. Even today, solyanka can be found on many menus.
Stasi (Ministry of State Security)
Abbreviation for the Ministry of State Security. It was originally created to track down Western secret service agents, but was soon used to spy on the citizens of the GDR. The network of full-time spies and part-time watchdogs was enormous: in just about every block of flats there was at least one person who regularly informed the Stasi about the things their neighbours had said or done. Unpopular people were often imprisoned for no reason, or were accused of crimes they that had not committed. The brutal methods of interrogation used in Stasi prisons led to many deaths.
Tal der Ahnungslosen (valley of the clueless)
A term used colloquially in the GDR to refer to any areas that did not receive West German TV programmes, for example, the area east of Dresden.
Trabant
Better known as the Trabi, the Volkswagen of the GDR. This small car was produced by VEB Sachsenring Zwickau. As there was a shortage of metal, the car had plastic bodywork. Its highest speed was 120 km/h. Any GDR citizen wishing to own a Trabi had to wait, on average, for ten years. So many ordered a car at a young age, hoping that it would have arrived by the time they had settled down and started a family.
Pionierorganisation (pioneer organisation)
The GDR children's organisation was formed by the FDJ and was politically motivated. It was divided into the Young Pioneers (first to third year of school) and Thälmann Pioneers (fourth to seventh year of school). Its main goal was to educate children about "real socialism" in the GDR.
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