Thanks, YT algorithm. Found a new hidden gem

A strange sensation to watch a video about East German Products, narrated in English with a Dutch accent.

I live in the west of Germany and my proudly East German coworker/boss once brought some dish detergent because we ran out of it at the office. Of course it was Fit and came with a serving of East German brand history, presented by him.

Haha. My first knowledge of Spreewald Gherkins came from "Goodbye Lenin" (2003) film

Shocked you didn't mention Vita-Cola! Vita-Cola returned when Thüringer Waldquell secured the rights to the name and formula and began producing it in 1994. They even sponsored a football club in the early 2000s in Rostock! But that aside, gotta love how the EU is so serious about protecting regional foods. It's like how San Marzano tomatoes are special because of the volcanic soil used to grow them in that region. Dresdner Stollen is special symbolically as it was sent to West Germany by GDR citizens as a way of thanking them for sending care packets. The history of Stollen is quite interesting. Dresden Stollen was first documented in 1474. During Advent, bakers were not allowed to use butter, only oil, and the cake was tasteless and hard. They had to persuade to several popes as oil was expensive in Saxony and was hard to come by. Pope Nicholas V said no, and it didn't take until 1490 for Pope Innocent VIII to grant the use of butter. When Saxony became Protestant, this restriction on butter was removed, and overtime, richer ingredients like marzipan was added.

Dresdner (Christ)Stollen was always a popular Christmas treat with a very good reputation even in the West before reunification. It was often sent by families living in the GDR to family members living in the West for Christmas.

We still use Fit because its cheap and good. Nudossi is expensive but is high quality and has a superior taste compared to Nutella. And Rotkäppchen because its just good.

Yes! I know Spreewald Gurken from the movie Goodbye Lenin! 😁 Greetings from Czechia!

Gut gemacht KZfaq. Dass Sie mir diesen Channel vorgeschlagen haben😊

For those who don't know: The Red Tower is the oldest structure in Chemnitz. Whether it's called that because of the red porphyry tuff or the long use as a dungeon remains a mystery. It is mentioned as early as 1466! It is believed it is the remains of a 12th-century keep that oversaw early market trading on the Aue (floodplain) in Chemnitz, and the residence of the town magistrate, who was appointed by the emperor. Its use as a prison is only documented from the 16th century onwards. In 1570, it had 13 cells for 19 prisoners. It was still being used as a prison in 1840, when the city walls had already been dismantled. It burned down during WWII in 1945 but was completely renovated after 1990. Another GDR product is Club Cola. The government announced a project to create the drink at the 1966 Leipzig Spring Fair, and was first bottled in East Berlin in April 1967. Club Cola is still available in Germany today, however it is not made according to the same recipe as the drink that used to be sold in the GDR, since the original formula was lost in 1990 when the former brand owners were going bankrupt.

I recognised that pickles inmediatly from the film Goodbye Lenin, really good movie.

I have a still unopened bottle of East German beer that I bought in England in the summer of 1990.

Another East German brand that is still around is Piko, who make model trains. Their product is much larger now than it was in the DDR-era, with trains being produced in N, TT, HO and G scales. They've even bought tooling from a defunct American company. What's confusing though, is there is a British company that makes track called PECO and they're pronounced the same way.

As a French, I much prefer Nudossi to Nutella, and so have more than once ordered some from Germany. Everyone who tasted it here as a result, also prefers it to Nutella. Whether or not it would be worth it for Nudossi to spend a fortune on marketing is another matter, but they could easily find buyers here, if people could taste it.

Another surviving East German product is Orwo photographic film, they are planning to release new products for stills and motion picture.

Thanks for a great channel! When talking GDR brands, although not consumer goods, you should also make a video about Ampelmann.

Nudossi! 👍 Great Show!

Chocolate we ate as kids in Yugoslavia. We called citrona wit c instead z. All those products were good products the problem was limited availability

“Russisch Brot” was also a Common Cookie in West Germany. I ate those in my childhood in West Germany. it was a “Bahlsen” Produkt.

oh hey! we here, just outside berlin in brandenburg, still see fit a lot - never knew it was a brand from the GDR 😂

I bought a watch from Germany. It came with a bag of Russich Brot and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Zetti Knusper Flocken is another good product from East Germany that you can get the West. I have also seen Filinchen but only in East German supermarkets.

A surviving East German Brand is Multicar producer of small trucks.

rottkapchen is very important here in berlin

When I lived in Rostock, I bought Nudossi thinking it was a supermarket brand till someone told me the story

How could you exclude Vita Cola?

I really enjoy Halloren, having developed a taste for it on my many trips to Germany - it's very different to English chocolate, and I can occasionally find it in the Lidl and Aldi supermarkets here

Very interesting. I'm on the hunt for Nudossi, next time I'm in Germany....love Hazelnuts.

Mitten in den Neunzigen Jahren war ich während meiner Universitätsstudien (Erdkunde mit Deutsch) bei der Uni Derby zweimal in Deutschland berufstätig - einmal bei einer Ausgrabung in Osnabrück und dann bei einem Busbetrieb in Aachen und ich errinere mich gut an den „Ostmarken“ im Supermarktregal und habe oft diejenige gekauft. Noch heutzutage habe ich ein noch laufendes RG 25 Mixgerät, womit ich oft Kaffee mahle!

I've been interested in life in the GDR for some time but it is really difficult to find good material en English about it. Thanks so much and keep up the good work. Greetings from Spain.

I really enjoy your channel! Thanks!

Mokka fix gold is produced in Poland by woseba and wildly available, also mentioned in good bye Lenin

As a West German I buy fit because the bottle just fits so conveniently in the cabinet. The West German brands all have bottles that demand more cabinet space than necessary. Do their manufacturers think that detergents are some type of lifestyle products?

Florena also has a very good shaving cream which is made to be used with a shaving brush.

Yay! Found another interesting hidden channel

Absolutely fascinating, thank you

The Konsum market chain is alive and well in Leipzig, as well as Club Cola, which is a good drink.

Lovely video, but personally I missed the "Pfeffi" aka peppermint-liqueur like the ones produced by Berliner Luft or Nordbrand Nordhausen. Although both are available in western Germany as well, it's much more common in the east.

This was simply incredibly interesting!🎉

You should do a video about Intershops!. Excellent channel, btw 😊

Very interesting. Great video, as always. Thanks for starting this channel and sharing all this.

Thank so much for the awesome videos and content that you present! This is such helping me not only to improve my english knowledge, but also about GDR and history! Greetings from Brazil!🇧🇷🇩🇪

Another former East German brand is Rügener Badejunge cheese, although it is no longer produced in Rügen, but in Thuringia.

My local supermarket here in the States carries Radeburger Pilsner.

Rotkäppchen is iconic and pretty hip as well

In Poland, you can buy Mocca Fix Gold. I associate it with East Germany thanks to Goodbye Lenin

Just now find your channel. Thank you for providing interesting material. 👍 Keep it on! 🖖

Want to try this Nudossi. Really enjoying the channel and learning about GDR

Bring back the Trabant.😊

love your channel. I'm 52 so I remember the DDR though I never visited it. D.A., J.D. NYC

Werder Ketchup, Bautzner mustard and pickles from the Spreewald, and forget the rest

As a bulgarian, who lives in a neighbourhood, which had a school formerly named Wilhelm Pieck, Ive always been keenly interested in Eastern Germany. Great channel!

I enjoy the German products sold at the local Aldi here in the United States. The German Christmas products were mostly sold out well before Christmas. It would be intersting to find a former DDR product in Aldi here.

Vielen Dank for your in depth research and great video!! I live the pickles!! :)

mam ciągle w użyciu młynek do kawy z DDR - AKA Mona / I still use a coffee grinder from DDR - AKA Mona

Thank you🎉

Bohme chocolat also exported far east into Russia, you can buy it today in many Moscow supermarkets. Middle price category.

Dr. Quendt offers also the Karlsbad host wafers, thin and filled with hazelnut.

In August of 2022, my wife and I had a meal in Berlin at a nice restaurant adjoining a huge open-air atrium. Being in Berlin for the first time and nearing the end of our stay, I decided to have sausage. My plate was provided with some little squeeze packets of Bautz’ner mustard which kinda surprised me. I thought our restaurant was a little too upscale for condiment packets. I loved the mustard, though, and I pocketed the extra packets when we left the restaurant. It looks like a regular yellow American “ballpark” mustard but it’s not vinegary. It’s really good. When I got back to the US, I was able to order some via Amazon. I’m running out now but shipping is too expensive for me to buy it again. Until I figure out something, I’m rationing my squeeze bottle.

Your vlogs are much needed and really helpful. DDR was a country that seems to be misunderstood and underappreciated. I love what you and Katja Hoyer are doing to explain life in the DDR.

I was born and raised in West Germany and I love Nudossi! MUCH better than Nutella. I also love "Spreegurken".

Some things are missing: Vita Cola, Bautzner Kekse and Zeiss cameras come to mind.

Love that he kept his word, gonna order some Nudossi

Ein süßer Haselnussaufstrich aus 36% Haselnüssen klingt gut.

In my part of Germany there is a brand called 9 Springe. They sell a cola that has the same formula as Vita Cola and funnily they also use similar colors. You can still buy their products. I also love VIBA nougat and Mühlhäuser Pflaumenmus (plum jam). Ah, so much cool stuff that's still or once more available. Btw. Dr. Quendt has also really tasty Oblaten (wafers) that remind me of the ones my aunt gets, when she visits relatives in the Czech Republic. Thanks for bringing back good memories :)

I'm from the very west of Germany, worked in food retail for years. Some of these brands are staples that we sold all the time, for example was Rotkäppchen Sekt one of the four sparkling wone brands we had in a rotation of weekly discounts (the others being Mumm, Freixenet and... idk Metternich maybe)

Dr. Quendt makes the best stollen, in my opinion.

Gefeliciteerd met uw onderzoek mijnheer 👍

I was soo suprised to hear a Dutch accent once I clicked on this video. Love to see the interest in regional history exceeds borders! Thank you for your research and dedication!!

Thank you very much sir. That was very informative video.

Really really lo e your videos! 👏

I love east germany ❤

Some of the East German brands went out of production a few years after the unification. The trademark protection for those brands vanished after a number of years - or clever busimen bought them. That leads to the phenomenon that some brand name returned .... but often not produced in East Germany and often use a different recipe than their predecessor. That leads to confusion since some East German customers tend to pay these products in the beleve they support jobs in the region. So these products don't say "Produced in East Germany " on the package - they know about the impression that the brand is known and suggests a regional product. "Spee" - a washing detergent is an example for this confusing product image. Many assosiated it with East Germany. Though the factory returned to the Henkel company after the unification they moved the production wothout much publicity to the West - but still keeping the brand - knowing about there market share in East Germany.

Nice video! But shouldn't Köstritzer be there as well (even if today it's part of Bitburger)?

Interesting. Thank you for sharing

I had multiple teachers from East Germany in secondary school and they'd always make me curious about the various products they missed badly. I'm so happy to see so many lovely things still available today. I still hope I can taste some Spreewaldgurken some day... Great channel! I'm glad I found this.

Great video. Could you cover how elections worked in the GDR?

Hope to see a part 2 with Schlager-Süßtafel

Even after 30 years, east and west Germany haven’t fully integrated. Interesting and sad at the same time

Great video, as always!

My Ruhla quartz alarm clock still runs after 40 years.

The red package at you're holding your hand of candy I can't pronounce the name is actually soul stateside to and I've actually seen that brand on my grocery shlf and I have seen that candy candy aisle so probably tomorrow I'll walk down to my local grocery store which is only around the corner and try that brand of candy

You forgot one very specific product that's still available. ORWO film. A descendant from the original Agfa wolfen plant, that was forced to sell it's film as orwo. They still produce film today, and recently put out a new colour film.

My first camera was a Praktica. They are still around -- just not as iconic as it used to

Great video! Really interesting information

Interezting video!

Nice Canadian Tuxedo!!! Love the vids, keep them coming

I bought two mint condtion east german arny back packs. one to save. one to use.

For the laundry detergents they are Fewa Spee Milwa. These are still available post reunification. Oddly Spee has an advertisement deep into West Germany the Wuppertal Schwebebahn Verkehrsverbund Rhein Ruhr. Sadly in current the Stiftung warentest 2023 that actually loses out to Persil the West German laundry detergent. Can one buy them on the opposite side of the Iron Curtain the American Zone Bayern Baden-Württemberg Hessen Rheinland-Pfalz & Bremen or not inside a Kaufland Rewe Globus or not? Which an American contract worker for the US government calls the a Walmart equivalent in Germany. These products from the former East Germany are never mentioned in Stars and Stripes Germany edition. Which is better between the two West German Pril or Fit East Germany?

I'd like to try Nudossi, Im Italian and Nutella is a mainstream product, o.c we have more artisan offering on the market but they usually can't make it abroad...next visit to Germany I want to buy Nudossi, is it available in Berlin?

My new favorite channel😁

I love your Dutch accent

You reminder me of Rossish brot!! So good! The watchmaker industry would be a fabulous subject

Oh, they recently started selling Halloren kugeln here in St. Petersburg. I wondered what's their history yet never bothered to google it. Thanks to the video, now I finally know.

I find it sad that Eastern European products like these aren't available here in the Netherlands, I genuinely would like to taste some of these. Especially the hazelnuts.

Going to berlin in a week, making a list of these things so i can try them out.

Such a fun channel for those of us with an interest in the DDR

I want my wall back and 4 meters higher !!

Чувак, ты крут) очень интересно, все по существу и без лишней воды) ...и какое то странное чувство ностальгии, хотя я в ГДР никогда не был и ни одного из этих продуктов раньше не видел

Very cool! I’m just digging into the fascinating history of the GDR and reunification. Thanks for making this video!