Culver City Observer -

The Wende Museum has reopened its doors to the public.

The Museum, located at 10808 Culver Blvd., is now open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and reservations are available through May 31.

The Wende collection contains art, artifacts, personal histories and archival documents that record life, expression and political developments in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union during the Cold War period from 1945 to 1991. It comprises a variety of media including design objects, works on paper, ceramics, paintings, sculptures, posters, textiles, clothing, furniture, photographs, films and books.

The Museum also holds a collection of more than 21,000 books and periodicals published in both East Germany and the Soviet Union on a diverse range of subjects. A portion of the book collection comes from Erich Honecker's personal library.

Upcoming exhibitions include Transformations: Living Room -> Flea Market -> Museum -> Art and See Thy Neighbor: Stern Photographers Thomas Hoepker and Harald Schmitt in the GDR, as well as the garden installations Common Fantasy and Relics of the Cold War.

Museum admission is free and reservations are required. Museum officials said they are unable to accommodate walk-ins at this time and those without confirmed reservations will be turned away. Private tours and school groups are still on pause due to the pandemic.

Visitors are asked to continue following Los Angeles County's health and safety guidelines. Visit the website https://www.wendemuseum.org/about-us/visit for more information and to make a reservation.

The Wende Museum is one of the few institutions in the world to hold an almost complete run of Neues Deutschland, the official organ of the central committee of the Socialist Unity Party (SED), the controlling party of the East German state.