East package

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Example of Erzgebirge folk art (here smoking man)

As Ostpaket parcels are between the new countries and the old countries or (prior to German reunification ) between the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany referred to.

As a term for packages

The term “ Ostpaket ” became generally known as a package with typical East German articles, especially food and beverages that were not available everywhere in the old countries at least immediately after the fall of the Wall. B. Hallorenkugeln , Hansa biscuits , Filinchen or East German spirits or beer brands. Ostalgic aspects also play a role here.

In 1996, the state government of Saxony-Anhalt suggested sending eastern parcels to the old states as a thank you for the western parcels before the fall of the Wall. The idea was provided by the later communications consultant Hasso Mansfeld. At least as a side effect, it was intended to improve the market opportunities for these products in the old countries. One of these packages is on display in the German Historical Museum in Berlin. In 2006, the state of Saxony-Anhalt had 1,000 Eastern parcels sent to "regional children" who had emigrated to the old states in order to strengthen their ties to their homeland and to encourage them to return and thus counteract the decline in population.

Especially after the fall of the Wall, the term Ostpaket is used as a contrast to the Westpaket also for parcels that "East Germans" sent to family members and friends in West Germany. These were mostly sent as thanks for the so-called western parcels. The senders of parcels from the East were faced with the problem of finding counter-gifts for the goods they received, which were everyday in the West but which were outstanding in the East and which could achieve a similar effect as possible. That was difficult given the range of goods in the GDR. The eastern parcels contained mainly craft items such as handmade art from the Ore Mountains or books. Groceries were seldom sent, if they were specialties like Dresden Christmas stollen or home-baked goods. In addition, certain goods that were in short supply in the GDR or were supposed to be exported through foreign trade were not or only to a limited extent permitted for parcel delivery. That concerned z. B. precious metals, gemstones, postage stamps or optical devices. Before the fall of the Wall, the term Ostpaket was used in the old Federal Republic for western packages , as these went to the east.

Research at the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg has shown that during the time of the division of Germany in the Federal Republic of Germany, packages from the East were illegally checked by the Federal Intelligence Service with the help of the Military Counterintelligence Service with the aim of exposing East German spies in the FRG.

Other uses

In the old Federal Republic, the social-liberal coalition's Ostpolitik was sometimes referred to as the "Eastern Package".

Cultural offers in the broadest sense that come from the new federal states are occasionally referred to as the "Eastern Package".

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Delicious: (N) ostalgie with OssiVersand. In: Spiegel Online . May 21, 1999, accessed January 2, 2017 .
  2. ↑ The father of the east packages goes to the west. In: Tagesspiegel . November 9, 1997, accessed December 3, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Karsten Stumm: Exhibited in the Historical Museum. In: Manager Magazin . December 24, 2007, accessed January 2, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Damir Fras: Scientists are considering how to prevent the migration of young people to the West. In: Berliner Zeitung . March 21, 2006, accessed January 2, 2017 .
  5. ↑ See Christian Härtel, Petra Karbus (Ed.): Das Westpaket , p. 117.
  6. ↑ The Ostpaket on a postal information page. Retrieved January 5, 2016
  7. ↑ Jens Schneider: 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall - Joyfully into democracy. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . May 17, 2010, accessed January 2, 2017 .
  8. ↑ Cf. Konstanze Soch, A great joy? , P. 188ff.
  9. ^ BRD secret services controlled "Western packages". In: Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk . December 8, 2017, accessed December 3, 2018 .
  10. ↑ BND also searched parcels from the East. In: Volksstimme Magdeburg. January 26, 2018, accessed December 3, 2018 .
  11. ^ Bonn Ostpolitik: Protest at Bach . In: Der Spiegel . No. 53 , 1970 ( online ).
  12. ^ Ostpaket - Art from Leipzig as a guest in Rheda-Wiedenbrück. ( Memento from January 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) In: kunstagentur-hoffmann.de . January 22, 2015, accessed January 5, 2016
  13. ^ Jochen-Martin Gutsch: Music: The first German band . In: Der Spiegel . No. 39 , 2010 ( online ).