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Book premiere: Craft between upheaval and reconstruction in Dresden!
The Dresden Chamber of Crafts presents a book about the changes in crafts after reunification in 1989, published on June 20, 2025.
Book premiere: Craft between upheaval and reconstruction in Dresden!
In a celebratory setting, the Dresden Chamber of Crafts published a new book that highlights the upheavals and developments in crafts on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of German-German reunification. The title of the book "End - Upheaval - Reconstruction. Crafts in the Dresden/East Saxony region between 1985 and 1995" already gives a first impression of the dramatic changes that the industry had to endure during this time. Historian Matthias Donath has documented the economic and social changes that had far-reaching consequences for the region. The book comprises almost 160 pages and, in addition to detailed analyses, also offers contemporary witness reports from craftsmen and public figures, as President Jörg Dittrich emphasizes. These stories are essential for understanding the processes and challenges that the craft encountered at the time.
As bpb.de reports, the transformation from the planned economy to the market economy in East Germany was accompanied by great hopes. But many of these expectations were not fulfilled: the political upheaval led to a dramatic economic collapse. The previously stable large companies in which many GDR citizens were employed shrank rapidly, and the region's employment structure changed profoundly. In the first years after reunification, an estimated 80% of the workforce in the former GDR lost their jobs - a crisis that has been compared to the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The change in craftsmanship
The publication of “End - Ubruch - Reconstruction” fills a significant gap in historiography from the perspective of the craft. It becomes clear that the monetary union and the spontaneous economic opening left East German companies unprepared for global competition. Zeitenwende-lernportal explains that with the introduction of the D-Mark as the sole means of payment, many companies immediately ran into difficulties. The conversions and privatizations by the Treuhandanstalt led to around 200 combines ceasing their work as early as 1990. At the same time, many East German companies remained in a situation that threatened their existence despite massive federal funding.
The Dresden Chamber of Crafts has set itself a major task by documenting this change chronologically. With lots of photos and graphics, the reader is inevitably transported back to the time of upheaval. The final part of the book also contains a timeline of important socio-political and craft-political events of the 1980s and 1990s. In addition, there are directories with abbreviations, illustrations and a register of people to underline the relevance of the documentation.
The book is only available through the Dresden Chamber of Crafts. Anyone interested can contact the chamber directly (email: kommunikation@hwk-dresden.de). This chronological review of a formative chapter in German history is of great value not only for historians, but for all people who experienced this eventful time or would like to learn more about it.