Studying before the fall of the Berlin Wall

What was it like to study in the GDR? What was everyday life like for students - in the lecture theatre and in the halls of residence? The exhibition "Movement and Standstill. The last academic year in the GDR", which will be on display in the main building of Friedrich Schiller University Jena from 14 April. The exhibition has been organised by the University Archives of Jena, Halle, Weimar, Chemnitz, Magdeburg and Leipzig. At the opening on 14 April from 6 p.m., historian apl. Prof. Dr Robert Gramsch-Stehfest will speak on "Courage instead of anger: The ʼturning generationʼ of Jena students 1988-1995" in Lecture Hall 24 in the University Main Building. Vice President Prof. Dr Bärbel Kracke and PD Dr Stefan Gerber, Head of the Jena University Archive, will give a welcoming address and introduce the exhibition. The exhibition will be on display until 20 May 2025.

Everyday life between "Red Week", military training and student club

"We are showing everyday student life as it was in 1988, completely unaffected by the events to come," says Stefan Gerber. In Jena, everyday life for around 5,500 young people mostly took place between halls of residence and seminar groups. Framed by political indoctrination in the so-called "Red Week", military training and parties in the student clubs. The majority of students lived in one of the dormitories, only a few had private accommodation. In the final days of the GDR, squats were also added.

Absurdities of university life at the time are also on display. For example, a display panel is dedicated to the so-called poison cabinet in the Jena University Library. Magazines and books from "non-socialist foreign countries" were kept there, as well as Nazi literature. Access to this banned literature was strictly regulated. Another topic is scholarships and how they were awarded. The exhibition also shows the restrained internationalisation of studies. "There were students from the Soviet Union and from the Middle East, for example," says Stefan Gerber. In addition, some foreign students were charged fees - one of the attempts to obtain urgently needed foreign currency.

A total of 35 display boards will be set up in the foyer in front of the Chancellor's Office and are aimed at today's students: "We invite students to think about today's rigidities and stagnation," says Stefan Gerber. After all, a democratically organised university is not a matter of course, not a completed project. The exhibition, put together by the archives of Central German universities, will be on display on the first floor of the University Main Building (Fürstengraben 1) until 20 May. Admission is free.