Federal Foundation complains that Rewe plays down the SED dictatorship

Created: 08/17/2022, 09:46 am

By: Constantin Hoppe

Ostalgia or trivialization of GDR injustice?

The supermarket chain Rewe offers "GDR nostalgia products" for sale and has received a lot of criticism for it.

Kassel – Canned goods in GDR decor, complete with hammer and compass: From the point of view of the Federal Foundation for Work-Up, the SED dictatorship is being downplayed with GDR nostalgia products on the market.

In a press release, the Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship complained about the lack of history in the Rewe supermarket chain.

As the director of the foundation, Anna Kaminsky, announced, the retail giant's East German supermarkets were offering "canned goods in GDR decor complete with a hammer and compass".

Products such as Soljanka and Jagdwurst are also available in specialized online shops, at sales fairs and on large online marketplaces.

The supermarket chain Rewe is currently being criticized for tin cans with a GDR look.

(symbol image) © Imago

"Historyless": Federal Foundation criticizes Rewe for marketing GDR products

The foundation sees the design of the cans as the real problem.

Kaminsky recalled that the GDR state coat of arms with a hammer and compass in a wreath of corn was the symbol of the SED dictatorship.

By marketing products in the manner mentioned, Rewe is playing down the injustice of the communist dictatorship.

Rewe, on the other hand, refers to the manufacturers of the canned goods and customer requests: The markets carried the products at the request of the customers.

In the eastern German federal states, the demand for products and recipes from the pre-reunification period is still pronounced.

"Packaging and product presentation" are "the responsibility of the distributor," explained Rewe in a statement on the allegations.

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"Rewe's answer is an expression of a lack of history that leaves you stunned because the group shirks any responsibility for its range," said the director of the federal foundation.

"When the second largest food retailer in Germany justifies GDR nostalgia products solely with customer requests and the legal situation, it is not the cans that are the scandal, but the attitude of the group!"

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It must be part of the cultural remembrance consensus of united Germany not to downplay the injustice of the communist dictatorship and to commemorate the victims of the SED regime with dignity.

The Federal Foundation for Work-Up works on the history of the SED dictatorship and has the task of accompanying the process of German unity.

Kaminsky recalled that the GDR state coat of arms with a hammer and compass in a wreath of corn was the symbol of the SED dictatorship.

(con)