From Making Dumplings to Going on a Cruise: Everyday Life in the GDR at the Depot

The GDR’s first cruise ship

The ship was originally built in Gothenburg, Sweden, and was initially named “Stockholm.” In 1959, the GDR purchased the “Stockholm” for approximately 20 million Swedish kronor. In 1960, the ship finally set sail as the MS “Völkerfreundschaft.” For 25 years, the “GDR’s dream ship” was operated by the Free German Trade Union Federation (FDGB). According to the Rostock Seamen’s Association, the ship was decommissioned on July 5, 1985, at the Warnemünde passenger pier.

Travel documents and photos serve as reminders of voyages on the cruise ship to the Black Sea, Egypt, or even Athens. Many of the documents have been well preserved and carefully kept by their former owners. “They kept these; for them, they were little treasures,” says Strohmeier-Wimmer.

Standing up to capitalism

Yet the “Völkerfreundschaft” was far more than just a vacation ship. Places on board were often a reward for workers or party veterans and, at the same time, an expression of the GDR’s ability to stand up to the West. 

“They were actually trying to demonstrate, in the competition between systems, that the socialist state had the same capabilities as the capitalist state,” explains Strohmeier-Wimmer. Cruises were therefore also politically charged. The Federal Republic of Germany had always been the immediate point of comparison for the GDR. This put pressure on the regime to make certain offers—or at least to believe it had to make them.

“Much of what the state does, it does intrinsically, of its own accord. Because it feels that the population demands it. We don’t even know if the population actually demanded it. I think they had other problems than going on vacation on a cruise ship,” explains Strohmeier-Wimmer.

A life event

For the historian, “people’s friendship” cannot therefore be viewed in isolation from the GDR’s social policy. While many of these offerings did bring real benefits to people, they were also part of a system designed to secure public approval.

At the same time, the preserved documents and travel diaries of former passengers describe the individual crossings, the ship’s layout, and the onboard program, sometimes in great detail. For Strohmeier-Wimmer, they demonstrate the significance these voyages held for many travelers. “It was simply a life-changing event,” he says.

Brochures and menus from that era still offer a glimpse into what these voyages might have been like. Although the “Völkerfreundschaft” was a single-class ship, it did not lack in comfort. On board, there was an outdoor and an indoor swimming pool, a hair salon, a smoking lounge, a veranda café with a large dance floor, and a movie theater seating 180 people. In addition to everyday dishes, the menus also featured items such as turtle soup.

Today, the mementos from the "Völkerfreundschaft" lie among thousands of other objects in storage. They bear witness to the diverse experiences that shaped everyday life in the GDR: from vacations, political aspirations, and personal experiences, to both beautiful and difficult moments. 

Anyone who would like to see for themselves can visit the repository on guided tours, which are offered Monday through Friday as well as on the first Sunday of every month.

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