ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in this book. The book shows that a greater awareness of German Democratic Republic (GDR) design discourse and practice could inspire a richer range of possibilities for design activity in the future. In August 1950, when the GDR was less than a year old, the Dutch Modernist architect and designer Mart Stam laid the foundation for a design collection. The Institute for Industrial Design was to have its own library, photo archive and collection of exemplary industrial products. The fate of the Sammlung industrielle Gestaltung illustrates the extent to which there exists a fundamental disagreement in Germany about whether or not the history of GDR design constitutes a legitimate research topic at all. If the legacy of the GDR is viewed only through the lens of coercion and repression, then many other interesting and important facets, such as the GDR industrial designers' socially responsible design approach, will be overlooked.
