alternative forms of education
alternative lifestyles and resistance of the everydays
avant-garde, neo-avant-garde
censorship
conscientious objectors critical science
democratic opposition
emigration/exile environmental protection
ethnic movements
film
fine arts folk culture
human rights movements
independent journalism
literature and literary criticism media arts
minority movements music national movements party dissidents
peace movements philosophical/theoretical movements
popular culture
religious activism
samizdat and tamizdat
scientific criticism social movements
student movement surveillance
survivors of persecutions under authoritarian/totalitarian regimes
theatre and performing arts
underground culture
visual arts
women's movement
youth culture
applied arts objects
artifacts
cartoons & caricatures
clothing equipment
film
furniture
graphics grey literature
legal and/or financial documentation manuscripts memorabilia
music recordings
other other artworks
paintings
photos publications
sculptures video recordings voice recordings
Jan Faktor established a center for the independent literary scene in the GDR in the 1980s. His own writings contributed to this scene, while at the same time challenging its conventions and standards. His pre-mortem bequest (estate) to the Akademie der Künste (Academy of Arts) contributes to better understanding the independent literary scene in the GDR, the ties among authors and texts, as well as its limitations.
The collection reveals the life and work of the famous Lithuanian theatre director Jonas Jurašas. He was expelled from the position of director of the Kaunas State Drama Theatre in 1972. Jurašas did not agree to work under the proposed conditions of ‘Soviet theatre director’. He expressed his own view of what kind of working conditions and rights artists, and specifically theatre directors, should have. His terms were rejected by Soviet cultural administrators. Jurašas became unemployed, and had to endure poor living conditions. He and his family were among the first people in Soviet Lithuania to request permission to emigrate to the West, and received it from the Soviet government.
This collection contains letters which the Libri Prohibiti Library obtained from the estate of the poet and manager of the Czechoslovak underground band Plastic People of the Universe, Ivan Martin Jirous. These letters were written by his wife, the painter Juliana Jirousová, during his many stays in prison. However, we can also find several unknown letters which were written before their wedding. This collection contains over 120 letters.
The János Baksa Soós Special Collection administers the acoustic, written and visual documents of János Baksa Soós’ oeuvre. Throughout his career (which began in Budapest and consummated in Berlin), Baksa Soós turned attitude into an artistic medium and acted in the spirit of conviviality. The goal of the collection, which is held in the Tamás Cseh Archive, is to present the works of the artist, who was active in several genres, in the context of the era and the effects of his attitude on his milieu.
The German Historical Museum in Berlin was granted in 1991 the user rights for a series of photos from Jürgen Nagel. At the point when the GDR was about to become history, the museum actively engaged in acquiring items which were representative for the regime to overcome. Jürgen Nagel's photos are significant for capturing everyday life in the GDR, culminating with the immortalisation of the autumn demonstrations in 1989 in East Berlin and the last days of the GDR in October 1990.