Curiosities from East Germany

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From 1949 to 1990, East Germany was almost completely closed off to foreigners. “The East German Handbook” (Taschen, $40), by

Justinian Jampol,

brings to light some 2,000 objects from the now defunct country. The items come from the collection of the Wende Museum, a Culver City, Calif., institution focused on Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in the Cold War era. They go beyond propaganda and include symbols of everyday life, from children’s toys to mail-order catalogs. “Taken all together, they suggest that life in [East Germany] was represented by more than dissidence and repression,” writes Dr. Jampol.