Curating the history of socialist reuse

How two east German castles address their multi-layered heritage

Bibliographic Data

ID5700223
AuthorsGesine Schuster (IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume30
Issue7
Pages723-738
Publication date2024-07-02
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Heritage Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1352-7258 • E-ISSN: 1470-3610
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13527258.2024.2334236
OpenAlexW4394871577
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited15

Across Eastern Germany, many castles and stately homes were used as shops, schools or community buildings during the GDR. Since the 1990s, many of them have been turned into museums. This paper discusses the challenges of dealing with the history of socialist reuse in East-German heritage buildings comparing the former Prussian castles of Schönhausen (Berlin) and Rheinsberg (Northern Brandenburg). The comparison is based on five in-depth semi-structured interviews providing insights into the considerations of curatorial decision makers. It shows that there is still a high sense of uncertainty in how to address the GDR past, in particular when the role of the building was not clearly political. Personal recollections of the recent past lead to uneasiness in addressing this part of history. At the same time, the paper shows how attitudes have changed over time. Today, the GDR past is increasingly seen as an opportunity to connect to a wider audience and foster a more participatory and democratic memory culture

Ancient history · Archaeology · Economic history · German · German history · Political science · Reuse · Waste management · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Engineering · History · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration · Urbanization and City Planning

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