The Arts in GDR – Discipline, Duty or Freedom?A political borderline is often harder to pass than physical one. The barrier existing between the two Germanies is almost insuperable, both mentally and physically. As a result, our notions of cultural life in the German Democratic Republic are often rather one-sided.For instance, thinking of East German paintings, we immediately get visions of heroic, muscular workers and idealized political leaders. How true are these visions?To the citizens of the GDR, their historical past is very important. Many young painters are trying to connect with the earlier part of this century, picking up the threads so brutally severed by the Hitler regime. Representing a generation born after the war, they can feel no gilt. They also feel less crushed by Germany’s cultural heritage. Even if many East German artists have fled tot he West n their quest for a greater freedom of expression, cultural life in the GDR is still varied and interesting.