---
title: "Leipzig Festival of Lights 2023 | \"Trabi\" by Signal Creative"
url: "https://lichtfest.leipziger-freiheit.de/en/festival-of-lights-programme/festival-of-lights-2023/augustusplatz-trabi-signal-creative"
description: "[Translate to Englisch:] Am 9. Oktober 2023 erinnerte das Lichtfest Leipzig 2023 an den Herbst 89. Das Projekt „Trabi“ von Signal Creative war auf dem Augustusplatz zu sehen."
language: "en"
breadcrumb: "Root > Leipzig Festival of Lights > Leipzig Festival of Lights Programme > Festival of Lights 2023 > Augustusplatz: Trabi – Signal Creative"
---

Trabi

Signal Creative & Post Bellum

 

Audiovisual installation

on Augustusplatz

**12 Trabis in Leipzig – 1,000 Trabis in Prague**

Flight. Panic. Hope. The exodus of East Germans in September and October 1989 was immense. Crowds of people moving towards freedom streamed through the centre of Prague. In total, 15,000 East Germans reached West Germany via the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany. “They ran, hurried, pushed their way forward; we stood still, motionless, we did not even look at one another, we felt so much, but above all bewilderment,” Petr Pithart (co-founder of the Civic Forum during the Velvet Revolution of ’89 and later prime minister) recalls of those September days in ’89.

The audiovisual installation “Trabi”, consisting of twelve Trabants in front of the Opera House, recalled this decisive autumn event, when around one thousand abandoned Trabis were left behind in and around Prague. The project presented memories from both sides: those of the surprised Czechs and the indelible images of fleeing Germans climbing over the embassy fence, as well as the authentic stories of Germans whose path to freedom led through Prague. The range of contemporary witnesses was broad: visitors to the Leipzig Festival of Lights heard and saw on screens inside the Trabis, among other things, the memories of the first German refugees, of refuse collectors who had observed the events, and the reaction of the then General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Miloš Jakeš, who, under pressure, allowed the train carrying the refugees to travel to West Germany. Of course, the famous address by the then Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, from the balcony of the German embassy was also included. One of the screens also showed image and sound material specific to Leipzig. One of the Trabis allowed visitors to look inside and under the bonnet; the vehicle experts from “Trabi erleben” were happy to answer questions during the Trabi Talk.

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*Trabi* at a glance

### Augustusplatz

Location

### audiovisual installation with 12 Trabis

Project type

### Signal Creative and Post Bellum Prague, Czech Republic

Artists

 

 

The artist team in portrait

- Signal CreativeSince 2013, Signal Creative has organised one of the defining festivals for contemporary digital and creative art, the Signal Festival in Prague. In addition to the dramaturgical and production concept of the festival, Signal Creative also realises its own projects worldwide. One of these is “Trabi”, created in collaboration with Post Bellum.
- Post BellumThe non-governmental organisation Post Bellum was founded in 2001 by a group of Czech historians and journalists and is dedicated to collecting and documenting eyewitness accounts from the 20th century. The focus is on accounts by witnesses about the totalitarian regimes. Post Bellum was responsible for the content of ten of the eleven screens.
- Local cooperation partnersThe twelve vehicles in front of the Opera House were provided by “Trabi erleben”, a company devoted entirely to the passion for the “racing cardboard”: hardly anyone remains unmoved by it. “Some simply find it sweet. Others want to master it.” We are, of course, talking about the four-wheeled symbol of German reunification: the Trabant. The Trabi was and remains highly sought after. Whereas in the former GDR people once had to wait up to 15 years for their own Trabant, today it has almost become rare again. The little cardboard companion is especially popular as an object of desire, above all in the context of tours and events that are, quite literally, out of the ordinary.
    
    For the Leipzig-specific content in one of the Trabis, Signal Creative worked, among others, with the Leipzig City Archives and the Archiv Bürgerbewegung Leipzig e. V. People from Leipzig also contributed private commemorative photos.