Museums mark Christmas with toy exhibits

In addition to giving many children a glimpse into their parents' childhood days, the exhibitions will help chart the development of what became an important export industry for the communist east, organisers say.

In addition to giving many children a glimpse into their parents' childhood days, the exhibitions will help chart the development of what became an important export industry for the communist east, organisers say.

Published Nov 18, 2014

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Berlin - Two German museums are kicking off the Christmas season with exhibitions on a largely forgotten part of life in the nation's former communist east: its vast and varied production of children's toys.

Meissen's Stadtmuseum exhibition, which runs from November 19 until February 22, showcases more than 4 000 toys manufactured in former East Germany, including model cars, steam trains, puppets, doll's houses and board games.

The massive collection was pieced together by 41-year-old Eric Palitzsch, a private collector who lives in the town of Rabenau and has collected toys made in East Germany since he was 15.

The Nuremberg Toy Museum exhibition, which also features items from Palitzsch's vast collection, looks at the toy industry's role in the former East German economy, and its impact on design colleges and state-owned enterprises.

The Nuremberg exhibition runs from November 21 until March 1.

The two exhibitions coincide with the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which brought an end to the East German communist state.

In addition to giving many children a glimpse into their parents' childhood days, the exhibitions will help chart the development of what became an important export industry for the communist east, organisers say. - Sapa-dpa

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