Intershop was a chain of government-run retail stores in the German Democratic
Republic (GDR) (East Germany) in which only hard currencies (and later
Forum Checks) could be used to purchase high-quality goods, originally oriented towards
visitors from Western countries, and later as an outlet where East Germans could purchase goods they could not otherwise obtain.
An unintended consequence was that ordinary East Germans had some insight into the selection of goods available in the west,
which they could then compare with the rather limited offerings available in their own country.
History
Intershop was founded on 14 December 1962 as a publicly
owned company (Volkseigener Betrieb - VEB). Its purpose was to
increase the flow of hard currency into the GDR. There was such a lack of hard currency that even small amounts were welcome. The
groups targeted were mainly tourists and other foreigners in transit from the west. The first mobile carts were in the
Berlin Friedrichstraße train station. There,
cigarettes were sold for a much cheaper price than was
available in West Berlin. After the success of cigarette sales came alcohol and other goods.
Already in 1962, annual sales totalled more than one million Deutsche
Marks.
Originally, Intershop was organised as a division of Mitropa, the company that provided
catering services to the Deutsche Reichsbahn. With the arrival of the
first Interhotels, which were intended to house Western tourists, Intershops also began appearing
in these Western-oriented hotels. One could also purchase items in their room (via room service) with hard currency. Over time,
these hotel-based Intershops grew as well.
Later, Intershops were opened at border crossings, rest stops and transit stops on the GDR Autobahn, railroad stations, bus stations and airports. As an example of the GDR regime's desire for hard
currency, in the 1980s, in the Berlin Friedrichstraße subway (U-Bahn) station, there was an Intershop kiosk on the platform of
the U6 line created specifically for travellers from West Berlin who may not have wanted to pass through the GDR border controls.
One could disembark from the subway, make a purchase, and then get back on the next train and go back to West Berlin, all without
processing through the GDR border controls. Purchases could be paid with any fully convertible currency, such as U.S. dollars,
British pounds, Swiss francs, etc., and especially the West German mark. The selection included food, alcohol, tobacco, clothing,
toys, jewelry, cosmetics, technical devices, music, and much more. These products were not available for purchase using
East German marks, although the majority of these goods were produced in East Germany
for sale to western companies.
Until 1974, GDR citizens were not allowed to hold foreign currency. By decree of the Council of
Ministers of the GDR (Ministerrat der DDR), this ban was relaxed in that year, and East Germans were then allowed to shop in most
Intershops. The Intershops at Autobahn rest stops (so-called "Transitshops"), which were sometimes self-service, were still only
for travelers from non-socialist countries and required travel documents for entry. Additionally, certain items such as tobacco,
spirits, coffee, perfume, brand name clothing, watches and jewelry required a foreign passport. The prices for these goods were
significantly less expensive than in West Germany or West Berlin, while the other goods that would have interested East Germans
were relatively expensive. East Germans could not legally exchange East German marks for hard currency. The only legal ways for
East Germans to acquire hard currency were either gifts from relatives living in the West or wages earned for work in western
countries. In 1974 there were 271 Intershops. In 1977, Erich Honecker publicly denounced
the Intershops in a speech on East German state television. Nevertheless, many East Germans continued to shop there for the
variety, desirability and quality of goods. The Intershops acted as a sort of safety valve to deal, albeit in a limited way, with
the pent-up demand of East German consumers for desirable, quality consumer goods.
Starting in April 1979, East Germans were required to convert hard currency at the East German
state bank (Staatsbank der
DDR) into so-called forum checks. A forum check mark had a value of one West German mark. The Forum
Außenhandelsgesellschaft mbH was responsible for the management of Intershops and had 900 employees.
In the 1980s, there were 380 Intershop locations and the revenues were in the billions of DM.
In addition, for East Germans without access to hard currency, there were 300 Exquisit (which
sold higher priced clothing, shoes and cosmetics) since 1962 and 550 Delikat shops (which sold
high end and gourmet food items) since 1976. Most of the goods sold in Exquisit and Delikat shops were of East German origin but
were normally unavailable in the regular state-run stores. Many East Germans expressed strong criticism of the regime's Intershop
program--honest work alone was not enough to buy anything in an Intershop.
The Ministry of State Security (Stasi) monitored the Intershops
very closely, often working as cashiers. In some stores, security cameras were present and passports were often checked. The
transport of these goods was also monitored often. Even so, there were numerous thefts and even some armed robberies of Intershop
stores. The investigations of these crimes always involved the Stasi as well as the regular police. In many cases, store managers
and employees were involved in the crimes. Beginning in the 1980s, a portion of the salary of Intershop workers was paid in hard
currency and additionally employee tips had to be ceded, in order to curb these problems.
Because photographing of Intershops was not allowed, there are only a very small number of photos of the inside of the stores.
Most of those that do exist are from the Stasi archives. The West German photographer Günter Schneider collected numerous photos
of Intershops while working on a larger report about the transit corridors in East Germany.
Similar Stores
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