The special exhibition “Life by the Rails. Photographs of the GDR by Burkhard Wollny” shows selected black-and-white photographs by Burkhard Wollny from 21 January 2022 until 19 February 2023. Remote stations, heavy steam locomotives and many passengers – that was all part of life in the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

Trains, Locomotives and People Burkhard Wollny is a photographer and train fan from near Stuttgart. He is especially keen on old steam locomotives. Before the fall of the Berlin wall, he repeatedly traveled to the GDR and to West Berlin where many of the old locomotives were still in service. This resulted in unique pictures of life in towns, in the provinces, at stations and on the railway lines.

Traveling by train was part of everyday life in the GDR. While West Germany became a car nation after the Second World War, East Germany remained largely faithful to its railways. Around 1980, 40 percent of passenger journeys were still made by train. From today’s perspective, that sounds like a progressive traffic concept but 40 years ago, it was considered backward. Small stations, crowded commuter trains and a wide network of branch lines took people to the farthest reaches of the workers’ and peasants’ state.