Undercurrents II: Archives and Counterculture

History is written based on the selection of source materials that make it to the archives, libraries, and museums. The criteria to decide what is worthwhile to keep and safeguard for posterity change over time and from place to place. “Official” documents kept by government institutions tend to have a much better chance of being stored and publicly accessible than private materials kept in people’s closets or under their beds. But that doesn’t necessarily mean these are less relevant or impactful.  

The Wende Museum has taken care of archival materials in danger of being lost forever; these are materials that have the potential to throw new light on certain aspects of Cold War history, and that were literally kept in closets and under beds. They include underground documents, photographs, zines, poems, artwork, and other publications from dissident and countercultural groups, organizations, and individuals. 

Among these special archival collections are Polish underground materials, mostly from the early 1980s, when the first independent labor’s union in one of the Soviet Bloc countries, Solidarność (Solidarity), caused shock waves through the socialist world. The Wende also holds a very extensive and unique collection of Soviet-Jewish samizdat materials, referencing Jewish religion, rituals, and social activities in a society that repressed the free expression of thought and religion. Finally, the exhibition presents parts of our exclusive Soviet Hippie collection, based on extensive research by historian Juliane Fürst.