"In early August 1990, I travelled around East Germany to select a town for a sociological study. I was interested in people’s experiences before and after the fall of the Wall. I wanted to find a town with a population of between 18,000 and 25,000 that was not too near the border of the Federal Republic or West Berlin. I also wanted a place with some historical tradition, and a modern and preferably diverse industrial structure. During this trip I took many photographs out in the East German provinces, which documented the atmosphere of transition, the sense of 'no more' and 'not yet'. Finally, I opted for the town of Wurzen, first recorded in 961, and that now had a population of about 19,000.
The mixture of mediaeval buildings, industrial estates, and workers’ districts from the 1920s and 1930s, and areas dominated by Wilhelminian architecture and Jugendstil facades, made Wurzen different from all the other nearby towns and prompted me to stay. Apart from a few short breaks, I lived with a family in Wurzen from August 1990 until early 1992. Afterwards, I often came back as a visitor, to observe daily life and talk to the people. During this period, I wrote down about 170 oral histories. In late 1990 and early 1991, the curiosity of people in Wurzen seemed to outweigh their scepticism. Never again would they be so willing to talk. Many citizens were hoping for rapid improvements, both materially and politically, and were, above all, thrilled by their experiences during the Wende.
My photographs from this first year of transition show streets still populated with people wearing aprons or boiler suits. In the meantime, Wurzen has not only lost its status as a 'district town', it has also lost about 4,000 residents. The selective demolition of buildings is not enough to cover up the vacant shops and apartment blocks. The feeling of 'things can’t go on like this' was soon superseded by a feeling of 'the way things are now doesn’t work either'. In this sense, my photographs have preserved the town’s memory."
Cordia Schlegelmilch (West-Berlin)
(4 rankings) 
