BERLIN — Vehicles manufactured in the German Democratic Republic rolled to final hammer prices well beyond expectations at Historia Auctionata’s GDR Museum sale August 26.
The Doberitz DDR Museum collection was assembled across more than 20 years by the late Manfred Husges and toy enthusiast Peter Klapp to document the output of East Germany from 1945 until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
The postwar partition of Germany lead to a classic “tale of two cities” scenario, with the Western sector thriving and the Eastern area, controlled by the Soviet Union, languishing amid corruption and mismanagement. Nowhere was that more apparent than in the manufacture of vehicles, best symbolized by the lowly Trabant and the odd Barkas line of service vehicles, most of which carried estimates of €100-€130.
As predicted, the top vehicular lot in the auction was a 1987 Barkas B 1000 KK patient transporter, which Westerners would describe as an ambulance, formerly owned by a psychiatric hospital in the GDR. It sold for €18,000 ($19,478, or $25,711 with buyer’s premium).
A one-off convertible conversion of a 1985 Trabant P 601 also performed well, hitting €8,000 ($8,657 or $11,427 with buyer’s premium). With a custom Pioneer sound system, lowered stance and custom wheels, this is one Trabant certain to stand out at the next car show.
Another strong performer was a 1981 Barkas B 1000 KA closed box truck, delivering €7,000 ($7,575, or $9,999 with buyer’s premium). Featuring a vehicle wrap from a previous rug retailer, the vehicle, like most in the sale, was museum-ready and not immediately drivable.
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