Beyond the Wall: Art and artifacts from the GDR

US$ 150

For 40 years, the Cold War dominated the world stage. East and West Germany stood at the frontlines of the global confrontation, symbolized by the infamous Berlin Wall, which separated lovers, friends, and families, coworkers, and compatriots.

The Wende Museum in Los Angeles, California, is named after the period of change following the wall’s destruction. It was established in 2002 to study the visual and material culture of the former Eastern Bloc, and, with physical and psychic distance, to foster multiple perspectives on this multilayered history that continues to shape our world.

This encyclopedic volume features over 2,500 items from its extraordinary collections. Never before has a book included this full a spectrum of art, archives, and artifacts from socialist East Germany: official symbols and dissident expressions, the spectacular and the routine, the mass-produced and the handmade, the funny and the tragic. Packaged in a slick, portable box, the book also comes with a facsimile of a GDR family scrapbook, documenting real and imagined travels both within East Germany, and across the border.

Accompanying these remnants of a now-vanished world are texts from scholars and specialists from across Europe, Canada, and the United States, with themes ranging from the secret police to sexuality, from monuments to mental-mapping.

More than 900 pages, featuring over 2,500 objects
Color-coded tabs for swift navigation throughout the eight main chapters
Most comprehensive overview of GDR visual and material culture to date
Several dozen images of everyday life and public events from the most famous GDR photographers
Bonus material inside the handy shipping box: 56-page facsimile of a GDR family scrapbook, documenting real and imagined travels both in East Germany, and across the border
Enhanced multimedia content, providing original videos and audio recordings from the GDR

Starting November 18, 2017, visit the Wende Museum at its expanded campus in Culver City’s Armory Building, a site originally created in preparation for World War III but re-designed by Michael Boyd, Christian Kienapfel, and Benedikt Taschen to welcome its 100,000+ collection of artifacts.

The editor and author

Justinian Jampol is Founder and Executive Director of the Wende Museum. His work focuses on visual cultural studies and the connection between contemporary art and Cold War iconography. Jampol studied at UCLA before earning his doctoral degree in Modern History from Oxford University. The curator of several exhibitions, Jampol has also produced two documentary films on the Cold War, as well as urban art programs including The Wall Project. His writing and work has been featured in The Atlantic, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and The New York Times.

Beyond the Wall: Art and artifacts from the GDR

Justinian Jampol

Hardcover, quarter-bound, with ribbon bookmark, thumb index and booklet, 8.7 x 12.6 in., 904 pages, in cardboard box with handle

ISBN 978-3-8365-4885-4
Multilingual Edition: English, German

Other editions

“The best-kept collection of Cold War memorabilia.”

— Vice
“A comprehensive pictorial history.”

— The New York Times
“…an extremely detailed story on the daily life in the DDR, probably a more coherent one than its inhabitants could ever tell. It is a fascinating and rich (with its weight of 5kg) source of the visual culture of that era, which is definitely making its comeback today…Inspirational goldmine for artists, designers (and hipsters), it will look majestic on your coffee table and it will certainly keep you amused for a long time. A real must-have.”

— Happy Famous Artists, London
“…quite possibly the greatest such collection in the world.”

— The Atlantic
“This magnificently produced volume offers a substantive contribution to (Cold War) debates and is an invaluable aid to a deeper understanding of a crucial chapter in Germany’s turbulent history.”

— The New York Times Sunday Book Review, New York

Oren Peli

“Beyond the Wall presents an amazing historical snapshot of a country and culture that no longer exists. As the only book on our coffee table, it always gets picked up by guests who are instantly intrigued. Anyone can find something fascinating in the book, whether or not you’re already a history buff.”