Roads of the world

A look at life behind the façades

Almost every town in the former East Germany had a “Strasse der Jugend,” or Youth Street.With reunification many were renamed, but 337 have survived. One is in Cottbus. The street sign is bilingual in recognition of the Sorbian minority there. Cottbus was once East Germany’s most important supplier of coal and energy. However, since the Wall came down, around a third of the inhabitants have left. Most have been young people seeking a better life in the West. Therese, 17, cuddling up to her boyfriend, Thomas, 19, lives here. This street has been her home for six years, since her father accepted a post as a parish preacher. “I like living here,” says Therese. Her parents’ apartment directly overlooks the Glad House youth center. Even in the old socialist days it was a cult hangout. Therese goes there regularly to listen to concerts or sink into the soft sofas, lost in conversation with her friends. The youth center attracts around 70,000 visitors a year. They put on plays, produce videos, hold parties, learn photography. In the writers’ workshop, 17-year-old female authors discuss matters of existential importance: what would it be like to be a boy? What would I be without my mother? Should women shave their armpits? When the young writers presented their work at the beginning of March, their older listeners were suddenly reminded of what it is to be young. And that a look down an empty street cannot reveal very much about life behind the façades.

(Text: Barbara Bollwahn, Photo: Kathrin Harms)