Service cube

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Interior view of a service cube in Karl-Marx-Stadt in October 1975.
Exterior view of a service cube in Berlin-Marzahn in November 1990.

The service cubes were in the GDR were offered in which different in concentrated form by the state domestic services building.

The name comes from the cuboid shape. In addition to clubs, hairdressers, post offices and department stores , the buildings mainly housed complex acceptance points for various services (shoemaker, dry cleaning, repair of electrical household appliances, photo development, etc.). There were also regional focuses. For example, the DLK Frankfurt / Oder had a doll clinic . Most repairs could be done on site. If this was not possible, the repair was carried out in a cooperation company. Due to a lack of spare parts, there were sometimes very long waiting times for repairs, especially in the 1980s.

The service cubes were operated by the service combines (DLK). These had existed in the GDR since the 1950s, and were expanded in the 1970s in connection with the socialization of handicrafts and small businesses. They were mostly district-led, some also district-led and had the legal form of a VEB .

After the turning point and the peaceful revolution in 1990, the service combinations were taken over by the Treuhandanstalt . Afterwards, the commercial space was used by (mainly western) trading companies and service providers.

literature

  • Rita Aldenhof-Hübinger: “Attention, dry cleaning!” Crafts and services in the GDR. In: Documentation Center for Everyday Culture of the GDR eV (Ed.): Progress, Norm and Stubbornness. Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-86153-190-9 .