Exhibition research display object 17: Morsleben Carnival video

Over the years, the carnival celebrations around the Morsleben repository have become known in and beyond the region, as the recording from the MDR's 7 p.m. news on 11.11.2006 demonstrates.

Launched as a company carnival in 1979 and organized by the Morsleben Carnival Ensemble, the celebrations took place in the company's own cantine until 1990 and were an opportunity to express criticism of the party and state leadership. At the same time, the carnival offered the opportunity to break away from existing hierarchies. In 1988, for example, the plant manager dressed up as a beggar at the Knights' Carnival (each year had its own theme) and collected donations, wearing a sign around his neck with the word “radiation-damaged.” In fact, the local carnival was so popular that the Carnival Ensemble was declared as an “Outstanding Folk Art Collective of the GDR” in 1987. One problem with having a well-publicized carnival located in Morsleben was that it was located in a border area where you needed a permit to visit the carnival. Factory employees had these, but this was a hurdle for other visitors to the carnival.

After the German reunification, the company carnival was discontinued, but was revived in 1995 in neighboring Beendorf. It was produced with the commitment of local volunteers, becoming important to the greater community and known beyond the region, until its last edition in 2012.