Catharina de Habsbourg

At the table

The iconic West German Toast Hawaii

In West Germany during the 1970s, Toast Hawaii became a popular, iconic meal consisting of sandwich bread topped with ham, a canned pineapple ring, and processed cheese, often garnished with a maraschino cherry.

What people wore

The practical Dederon smock apron

Many women in the GDR wore colorful sleeveless smock aprons made from Dederon, a robust and quick-drying synthetic polyamide fiber, for housework and in various workplaces.

Getting around

Drastic reduction in long-distance travel time

For comparison, the travel time from Abensberg to Berlin by train in 1974 was 9 hours and 27 minutes, significantly faster than the 19th-century horse-drawn carriage time of nearly 72 hours.

What it cost

Average monthly wages in 1989

In 1989, the average gross monthly wage for an East German worker was 1,100 Mark, while in West Germany, the average was 3,300 DM.

Music

Rare records and fragile needles

Shellac records were so rare that customers had to trade in an old disc when buying a new one. The needles used to play them often wore out after only two or three uses.

Daily life

Affordable school lunches in the GDR

Eighty-five percent of children received a warm lunch at school, with parents typically paying 50 pfennigs per meal. Popular choices included Spirelli pasta with tomato sauce and Jagdwurst.