#east-germany

#east-germany

In 2019 researchers at Berlin's Computer Games Museum made an extraordinary discovery: a rudimentary Pong console, made from salvaged electronics and plastic soap-box enclosures for joysticks. The beige rectangular tupperware that contained its wires would, when connected to a TV by the aerial, bring a serviceable Pong copy to the screen. Arcade fire East German attractions at ColdWarGames. Photograph: Dora Csala/AlliiertenMuseum At the time, they thought the home-brewed device was a singular example of ingenuity behind the iron curtain.

Depopulated towns in Germany's ex-communist east have come up with a novel scheme to bring back life: offering people several weeks of super-cheap housing to give would-be residents a taste of the place. The "trial-living" scheme aims to revitalise half-deserted communities as Germany nears the 35th anniversary of its reunification on October 3rd. One of those giving it a shot is Weslawa Goeller, 50, a kindergarten educator with a two-year-old daughter who is getting to know the small town of Guben on the Polish border.