Citizens of the GDR had a number of shopping op-tions to satisfy their daily needs. As early as Decem-ber 1945, a consumer cooperative was established and given the simple name Konsum. Only three years later, there were already almost 300 independent consumer cooperatives in different cities. The German Consumer Cooperative Union (German: Verband Deutscher Konsumgenossenschaften / VDK) had the task of satisfying the needs of the population, covering as large an area as possible and setting the lowest possible prices. Because the GDR had largely arisen out of a vision to resist the destructive materialism of modern capitalism in the post-World War II period, East Germans did not have access to many popular commercial products. Instead, the GDR manufac-tured its own versions of popular items. A lot of these products are still sold in today’s supermarkets. Their enduring popularity could be a matter of pure Ostalgie (Eastern nostalgia), or perhaps it’s because these products are simply perceived as being superi-or in taste, function or aesthetic compared to their Western counterparts.Today, 30 years after reunification, my children are still using Putzi toothpaste.I created the picture using old Konsum bags I found at a flea market in the former East Berlin. The symbol of Putzi toothpaste was Sandmännchen flying on a toothbrush. The center piece is a Konsum commercial with the slogan / rhyme “Wir kaufen ganz allein, für Mutti im Konsum ein. / We go shopping all by ourselves for mother in the Konsum”.Besides that we see part of an advertising poster for a shoe factory – “VEB Schuhfabrik Zwönitz” – and a red Trabant convertible.
