Tower and Town, July 2020

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West Meets East

It was intriguing to read about the changes to Berlin in the May Tower and Town. Having taken many trips to the old DDR, East Germany, for research purposes, I was there in March 1989 and again shortly after reunification in December. While I had many interesting visits, in March 1989 I was asked to talk to students at the winter sports academy in Gotha. In my innocence I assumed the 15 to 18 year olds would like to know about England, or in my case Canada, or perhaps the USA, BUT NO, they only wanted to know about jeans and the pop stars! I was a bit out of my depth. From Gotha I travelled to Dresden by train, first class and in the freezing cold as the window would not shut. However, a kind Russian army major lent me his greatcoat and it was very heavy and warm.

The December visit was to study Christmas markets, a theme two of us had done for about 12 years in the West but here was the opportunity to see what went out in the many towns and villages in the East. We visited a doll-making town in Thuringia, where I had been in March when the local café had offered good hot food, mostly sausages with boiled cabbage and potatoes. However, the December visit to the same café with the same owner and the same menu, ended with a plate of sausages, fresh salad and chips. When asked about the boiled potatoes and cabbage, the owner politely but firmly stated: “You are entitled to salad and French Fries”, which became my motto for many years. His ideal with reunification was not a large car or even disinfectant for the toilets but ‘western’ food.

Caroline G Goodfellow was the Curator of Dolls, Toys and Games at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Caroline Goodfellow