Intershop

This article is about the former East German retail stores. For the e-commerce company, see Intershop Communications.
Intershop's logo
The Intershop in Berlin Friedrichstraße underground train station, accessible from West Berlin only, c. 1990, the only one with shop windows. East German books, as on display here, were not sold in normal Intershop stores.

Intershop was a chain of government-owned and operated retail stores in the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) in which only hard currencies (and later Forum checks) could be used to purchase high-quality goods, usually from or associated with Western countries. The East German mark was not accepted as payment. Intershop was originally oriented towards visitors from Western countries, and later became an outlet where East Germans could purchase goods they could not otherwise obtain. An unintended consequence was that ordinary East Germans had some insight into the selection of goods available in the West, which they could then compare with the rather limited offerings available in their own country.[1]

  1. ^ Miller, Stephen (12 October 1977). "Untitled". Associated Press. Berlin.