Intershop was a chain of government-run retail stores in the DDR in which only hard currencies could be used to purchase high-quality goods. The East German mark was not accepted as payment. Intershop was originally oriented towards visitors from Western countries, and later as an outlet where East Germans could purchase goods they could not otherwise obtain.
From the shop, then, there was also a chain of Hotels and of Aiplanes.
After Die Wende, all the shops disappeared, but now it's possible to have a look at the DDR world in a small shop in Friedrichshain near Stralau. The place is between a real shop (some objects are original some others have been re-produced by the same factories that were producing them during the DDR) and a museum part, where you can have a look at the more Ostalgic and famous objects of the time.
Today, 30th of July 2017, the shop is closing, they can not afford the rent.
From the shop, then, there was also a chain of Hotels and of Aiplanes.
After Die Wende, all the shops disappeared, but now it's possible to have a look at the DDR world in a small shop in Friedrichshain near Stralau. The place is between a real shop (some objects are original some others have been re-produced by the same factories that were producing them during the DDR) and a museum part, where you can have a look at the more Ostalgic and famous objects of the time.
Today, 30th of July 2017, the shop is closing, they can not afford the rent.
Elke Matz was born in the East, grew up in the West and was a graphic designer. She managed to gather together a huge collection of designer products from the GDR, especially from Mitropa, at a time that those products were not considered valuable. She started the Intershop 2000, intended initially to exhibit the material culture of a rapidly vanishing era through commercial products, but also to accommodate a growing demand for such items (the timing coincided with the beginning of the so-called Ostalgie). Elke transformed it into a real shop, which was mentioned in tourist guides and the shop became well-known until its closure in 2017.
I met her in 2019 at the well known Zwiebelfisch in Savignyplatz during the interviews for Deutschland Übergestern.
