Memories of Eastern Germany (by andofotherthings)

Memories of Eastern Germany

By andofotherthings · On 9 Nov, 2014

Things about me: The business man who brought German sausages to Vietnam on how he acquired a taste for German culture and cuisine during his studies in the GDR.


If you have ever had a sausage on a stick or a Xúc Xích Bánh Mì in Hanoi chances are it was made by Đức Việt owned by Mai Huy Tân who brought the famed German sausage to Vietnam after his studies in the GDR.
 
& Of Other Things met the business man who earned a PHD in economy mathematical economics at the Martin Luther University in Halle to ask about the things that remind him of his time far from home.

Proud to be a representative of German-Vietnamese friendship he ruffled through his memories with a hint of nostalgia for a time and place long gone: “Showing you these object is a good opportunity for me to reminisce. Sometimes a bit sad, but usually merry. The past is the past! But you can rummage a bit. At the time I was always occupied and everything was exciting.”

Interview by Nora Wehofsits ● Photos by Quang Fabien

Photo Albu
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There are pictures of my family who stayed back in Vietnam in the album. During my four years in [Eastern] Germany we were never able to talk on the phone. I didn’t have any contact with them, nor with my relatives in Paris. They lived in the West so I wasn’t even allowed to write to them. My family in Hanoi and I could at least exchange mail. Via air mail that took about four weeks: Halle-Hanoi.
 
I still have a lot of pictures from back then. Here is me and my Vietnamese friend, who studied in Dresden… the picture is 30 years old! Together we organised evenings of culture in Halle with other Vietnamese people. We would sing together, we played, danced, cooked together and ate Vietnamese food.

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Letters from Karl-Heinz

When I first came to Kammerstadt I met a German, Karl-Heinz Diesch. An acquaintance had introduced him to our Vietnamese group. I only spoke a little German at the time so we couldn’t really have a conversation at first. 
 
He became like an older brother to me. At the time he was working in a chemistry factory and knew a lot about culture, literate and countries. He introduced me to German culture, for example he told me about Bertolt Brecht. And he wrote to me a lot, nearly every day, even after I returned to Vietnam. He has really beautiful handwriting. I kept all the letters, back then they were a kind of homework for me. And he continuously encouraged me to learn the German language, despite all the difficulties
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During my first winter in Germany Karl-Heinz was like a sturdy wall for me who took my fears away. A lot of Vietnamese people [in the GDR] were rather isolated, because unlike me they did not have the chance to learn German and get into contact with Germans. Many were only there to work. But when you are isolated you don’t feel content. I had already returned to Vietnam when I read about the fall of the [Berlin] Wall in the newspaper. Shortly after the letters stopped. Karl-Heinz died after the reunification [of Germany], but I still remember him clearly to this day.

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PHD certificate

I was the first foreigner to earn a PHD at this institute. I first wrote my thesis by hand. Later it was copied on a type writer in the office of my thesis supervisor. There was very good library, it was incredibly well equipped. Yes, most of my memories of the GDR are positive. East Germany still exists geographically, for me the reunification was a political process, and the fall of the wall was inevitable. I had already detected first indications [of what lay ahead] before November 1989.

Shortly after the reunification I was in Germany again – in the West, for a scholarship for a post-doc. I was able the process of reunification back then. I can still remember the change from Ostmark to D-Mark well, 1:1. But I was glad when the wall was gone and that it had happened quite peacefully, without war. Only it wasn’t easy for a lot of Germans back then, because of the unemployment. The political regime no longer exists, but the people are the same. Most of my friends from back then stayed in their homes even after the reunification.

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Folk Song Collection

As a child I was in a children’s choir, but I can’t really sing anymore. On German children’s TV in the GDR they always sang: “Sandmann, dear Sandmann, it’s time! We say our evening greetings… Children, dear children, I had fun! Now hurry off to bed and sleep well….!” A well known good night song!
 
It was Karl-Heinz who got me interested in folk music. When he visited he brought me a book of folk music. I still have it here. It was my first present in the GDR. Then came the first Christmas period in Kammerstadt which impressed me immensely. Since then I really like listening to Christmas carols and I even attempted to sing the songs myself! I wanted to share the impression the music made on me and started, with my then very limited German skills, to try and translate the songs into Vietnamese. That of course also helped to improve my language abilities. Later I myself published a book of German songs with Vietnamese lyrics, I worked on that for nearly 20 years.

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This interview was conducted in German. It has been edited, condensed and translated into English and Vietnamese.

This article is part of a mini series to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and explore the lives of the 100.000 Vietnamese people who lived in the GDR during the 42 years of its existence.

http://www.andofotherthings.com/2014/11/09/memories/