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On this episode of Radio GDR, our host Shane Whaley talks with Joes Segal, the Chief Curator of the Wende Museum in LA. Joes shares more with us about the mission of the cold war art museum as well as how they pick which of their 100,000 items to display and much more!
The Mission of the Wende Museum of the Cold War.
The Mission of the Wende Museum: Preserve, Inspire, Explore
The mission of the Wende Museum is to preserve Cold War art, culture, and history from the Soviet Bloc countries, inspire a broad understanding of the period, and explore its enduring legacy.
Named for the Wende (pronounced “venda”), a German word meaning “turning point” or “change” that has come to describe the transformative period leading up to and following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the Wende Museum:
- collects and preserves artwork, artifacts, archives, films, and personal histories from Cold War–era Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union relating to the period 1945–1991;
- challenges and engages the public through experimental exhibitions and interdisciplinary programming inspired by the collection;
- illuminates the past and informs the present through creative collaborations with contemporary artists and designers; and
- promotes rigorous scholarship, educates students, and stimulates general interest through lectures, symposia, and publications.
Interview Wende Museum on the Radio GDR Podcast – the only English language podcast dedicated to East Germany.
These are some of the topics we cover:
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- Joes Segal shares more about himself and how he came to be associated with the Wende museum.
- He shares more about the founding of the Wende Museum and its mission
- We learn more about the materials from the GDR owned by the Wende Museum including personal papers from Erich Honecker.
- We talk about the general reaction to the Museum from citizens of the former GDR.
- How they decide on which items to exhibit.
- What is Joes Segal’s favourite item in the museum.
- Joes shares more with us about some of his favourite Wende Museum exhibitions.
- He shares more with us about the East German Handbook
- What exciting plans or projects are coming up for the museum.
- When visitors leave the Wende Museum what does Joes hope they get out of their visit.
And Much Much More!
Follow the Wende Museum
Official Wende Museum website
Twitter
Books and Movies recommended by Joes Segal, Chief Curator of the Wende Museum
The File – Tim Garton Ash
The People’s State – East German Society from Hitler to Honecker – Mary Fulbrook
The Tower – Der Turm
Goodbye Lenin
The Lives of Others
Barbara
Sonnenallee
Why not join our East Germany Facebook group to talk more about the GDR with others who are also fascinated with its history.