"... who were denied the right to participate." East German democrats in the early post-war period

Last year marked the 75th anniversary of the founding of the two German states and the promulgation of the Basic Law. The importance of this Basic Law is shown by 30 portraits of East German democrats who stood up for its values in the Soviet Occupation Zone (SBZ) and in the young GDR. Some paid for this with their lives. The biographies show how important a constitutional state is and how vulnerable democracy is. The fates illustrate the brutality of an authoritarian system that promised otherwise - but also the danger of looking the other way.

The exhibition of the Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the Past comprises 20 panels. Three thematic panels provide an introduction to the historical context, the creation of the Basic Law and its fundamental rights as well as the parallel establishment of a communist dictatorship in the Soviet Occupation Zone / GDR. A further 15 panels present people who campaigned for democracy and basic rights in the Soviet Occupation Zone and the GDR between 1945 and 1953. Their commitment and their fate are each linked to the relevant articles on fundamental rights.