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Try CounterSpy Welcome to Paisley Creek's Online Gift Shop Sign in to make shopping easier. New visitor? Start here. Pamper yourself with our unique gifts, elegant home decor, wall decor, wrought iron accents, sterling silver, crystal jewelry and fashion jewelry, gourmet and country kitchen decor, Isabellas Journey handbags, kitchen accessories, bath and body products, perfume bottles, olive oil bottles and dipping sets, Caldrea products, wine bottle holders, baby gift ideas, wine gifts, cat lover and dog lover gift ideas. Shop our online gift ideas for wedding gifts, birthday gifts, anniversary gifts, holiday gifts, corporate, bridesmaid, teacher and romantic presents. Unique Gifts and Online Gift Ideas Romantic Anniversary, Wedding and Birthday Gifts Shop our great gift ideas at Paisley Creek. For example, escape to the wine country with the great food, wine, and music from this wonderful Menu and Music Tasting the Wine Country Cookbook and Music Set! We have great golf gifts , birthday, wedding, anniversary gifts . Shop our pet gifts for a unique dog gift or cat gift for the animal lover on your shopping list. Baby gifts and newborn gift ideas. Browse our wine gift ideas shop for wedding gifts , anniversary, corporate gifts , christmas, holiday or birthday gifts . Undecided? Choose a Gift Certificate. Shop our unique gifts and gift ideas by clicking Unique Gifts . L' Erbolario Italian Bath and Body Products We proudly offer European bath and body products from L' Erbolario. Popular with Europeans, these elegant Italian bath products have stylish packaging reminiscent of the Tuscan countryside, wonderful fragrances and superior quality. These Italian bath and body products make perfect anniversary or birthday gifts . Shop our soap, bath salts, body and massage oil and delicate newborn and baby bath products. Need a great baby gift idea? Make a unique baby shower, baby gift or baby bath product gift basket. Shop online for our Italian L' Erbolario and other bath products and bathroom decor. Hand-blown Glass Perfume Bottles Bath Products, Bathroom Accessories and Bathroom Decor The elegant topaz and cream swirls of this hand-blown glass perfume bottle make it a delightful bathroom vanity accessory. Created by master craftsmen employing century-old methods, our perfume bottles make great romantic valentines gift, anniversary gifts or a unique birthday gift idea for her. Shop our decorative bath products, bathroom accessories and bathroom decor online here Bath and Body . Elegant Home Decor and Accents Candleholders, Clocks, Lamps, Wall Decor and Decorative Home Furnishings Shop our elegant home decor and accents from decorative pillows to beautiful tapestries and other wall decor and wall hangings. Shopping for a decorating idea for your home or garden? Add elegance to any room with this decorative accent Table, Office or Desk Lamp. Shop online for our home decorating products and house-warming gift ideas in our Home Decor shopping category Home Decor . Fashion Jewelry Sterling Silver, Austrian Crystal and other Costume Jewelry Shopping for romantic wedding, anniversary or birthday gift ideas for her? Check out our quality sterling silver, crystal and fashion jewelry. We offer handbags, unique rings, earrings, bracelets and sterling silver necklaces. Here's a great gift idea for her - this elegant three strand stone necklace and earring set in our Fashion Jewelry shop.. Santa Barbara Ceramic Designs and Cypress Homes Olive Oil Bottles and Dipping Sets This Montalcino Olive Oil Bottle and Dipping Set includes a decorated Italian style glass Olive Oil Bottle, porcelain Dipping Bowl and Recipe Booklet featuring ten bread dipping recipes. Shop our Olive Oil Bottles and Olive Oil Dipping Gift Sets from Santa Barbara Ceramic Designs and Cypress Homesby clicking Olive Oil Bottles . For some helpful hints, additional olive oil information and one bread dipping recipe, click Olive Oil . Kitchen Accessories and Decor Caldrea, Cypress Homes and Santa Barbara Ceramic Design Products, Serving Trays, Trivets, Coasters, Wine Bottle Holders and other Kitchen Accessories Shop online for our unique kitchenware, housewares, accessories and kitchen decor. Caldrea products to freshen your home. Santa Barbara Ceramic Designs and Cypress Home products, like this rooster serving tray, will add charm to your french country kitchen. Find great gift ideas and country kitchen decor onlinefor your home in our Kitchen Accessories shop. Sign up for our periodic Paisley Creek Newsletter Your Privacy is always protected. Paisley Creek Home Decor, Unique Gifts, Bath Products, Gift Ideas, Fashion Jewelry, Kitchen Accessories Home Decor and Accents | Tapestries | Bath, Body and Beauty Products | Kitchen Accessories Unique Gifts and Gift Ideas | Pet Lover Gifts | Wine Gifts | Gifts for Her | Gifts for Him Fashion Jewelry | Olive Oil Bottles | Fashion Accessories | Handbags About Us | Help | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | My Account | My Cart | Order Status | Links | Site Map 2002-2005 Paisley Creek Gifts. All Rights Reserved Online Gift Shop - Gift Ideas for Wedding, Anniversary and Birthday Gifts Testimonials I received this item in only 3 days! This was five days before the estimated delivery date. Solidly packed. Quality item. Excellent transaction! Kathryn, Mountain City TN I appreciate your attention to detail. Thank you so much for such outstanding customer service! I can't wait to tell my friends! Linda, Steger IL
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Teddy Bear, Birthday Gifts, Get Well Gift, Mothers Day Gifts for Mom, Romantic Valentines Day Gift Ideas and Cards Plush Huggables Bed Time Buddies Bears with Blankies Canine Chums Feline Friends Animal Madness Back Packer Zoo Pet Pals Outfits Accessories World Wide Shipping Click for Details Free Shipping for Purchases over $40.00 and for Military Orders 1-Great Gifts 10-Animals 11-Outfits 12-Romantic 13-Cat Gifts 14-Valentines 15-Chinese 2-Pet Lovers 3-For Mom 3-Occasions 4-Easter 5-St Patrick 6-Wild Ones 7- Halloween 8-Baby Gifts 9-Birthdays Support Center Affiliate Opportunities Contact Us ..... Link to Us Gift Occasions: - Baby Shower Gifts - Birthday Gift Ideas - Easter Gifts - Family Gifts - Fathers Day Gifts - Gag Gifts - Get Well Gifts - Graduation Gifts - Holiday Gifts - Long Distance Gifts - Mothers Day Gifts - Pet Gifts - Romantic Gifts - St Patricks Day Gifts - Teacher Gifts - Teddy Bear Gifts - Thank You Gifts - Valentines Day Gifts - Stuffed Animal Gifts FREE Shipping for Orders over $40.00 Teddy Bear Gifts, Birthday Gift Ideas, Get Well Gifts, Gifts for Mom, Valentine Gifts and more ... Teddy Bears that include your Well Wishes If you're searching for a teddy bear gift, a get well gift, a birthday gift idea,or a romantic Valentine's Day gift our huggable teddy bears are wonderful gifts. Our recordable teddy bears and stuffed animals are perfect as unique gift ideas for all gift occasions. Imagine their surprise when they squeeze your gift and hear the Sound of Your Voice . We're not just Teddy Bears We have over 150 different animals to choose from. We've got a menagerie of stuffed animals so that you can select the one that means the most to the person you want to connect with. We have re-recordable animal for wild life lovers, dog lovers, cat lovers. We also have re-recordable gifts for your pets. Give your favorate pet the sound of your voice. Now you can always be there with them. Recording your Personal Message Each teddy bear or stuffed animals includes a 10-Second Re-Recordable Sound Unit. If you are sending your huggable critter directly to someone, add a voice recording. We will send you an 800 number to call to record your message. If you plan to personally give your present to someone, then it's not necessary to order a recording. The Difference is in Our Presentation Our Teddy Bears and other Stuffed Animals are designed and sized for huggability. As thoughtful as flowers, but more durable, a Teddy Bear Gift with a personalized Gift Card will express your feelings to a loved one in a very special way. We will place your voice recording inside your cuddly messenger and wrap it in a very attractive wrapping with instructions to the recipient to Squeeze Me, I have a Special Message just for you . Hear what our Customers are saying... I ordered the "that'll do pig" for my friend for her birthday. I recorded a little song for her over the 1-800 number and had it delivered to her office. She told me that she was having the worst day, and then the pig arrived and she was really happy! She played it for everyone in the office and called me the minute she got off of work to tell me that it was the best gift she had ever received. Unfortunately I can't see the stuffed animal since we are 1200 miles apart, but it really made her day and therefore you guys made my day. Thank you sooo much! " Patricia Click to view our recommendations by occasion We also have re-recordable pet toys and dog gifts. Creating a Talking Gift is as easy as 1 - 2 - 3 Choose from over 150 Stuffed Animals Record Your Message Let Us Deliver Your Gift An Otterly Wonderful Gift Starfish is the perfect messenger to speak your personal message. Just Lucky Just Lucky brings the luck of the Irish to everyone. Our Mission | Business Opportunity | Contact Us | Link to Us | Links | Free Greeting Cards | Site Map "The Internet's Best Recordable Talking Plush Stuffed Animal Gift Site" Unique Personalized Teddy Bear Gifts and Gift Ideas for Mom, Mother, Dad and Grandmother. Teddy Bears are perfect as Birthday Gifts, Get Well Gifts, Mothers Day Gifts and Romantic Valentines Day Gifts & Gift Ideas . Every Recordable Stuffed Animal gift includes a free personalized card and gift wrapping. It's a worderful personalized gift idea and a creative alternative to sending flowers! Try our Free Greeting Cards and read our Free Stories . We also have Gift Certificates . © 2001-2003, ConnectionChannel.com. All rights reserved. Teddy Bear Gifts White Teddy Bear -with Valentine Day Red Vest -with Easter Vest -with St Patricks Day Vest -with Red Vest and Flag Patriot -with Surgeon Mask and Gown Brown Teddy Bear -with Valentines Day Red Vest -with Fisherman Outfit -with Golfer Outfit -with Halloween Outfit -with Nurse Outfit -with Christmas Outfit Pink Teddy Bear Yellow Birthday Teddy Bear Personalized Baby Gifts Teddy Bear Gift Idea Bear Cub & Pajamas Puppy & Pajamas Kitten & Pajamas Stuffed Baby Bear Cub - Volume 1 Stuffed Baby Bear Cub - Volume 2 Stuffed Baby Bear Cub - Volume 3 Birthday Teddy Bear Gifts Mothers Day Gifts & Gift Ideas Valentines Day Gifts & Gift Ideas Stuffed Pink Cotton Candy Bears Stuffed Valentine Bears Stuffed Yellow Lemon Drop Bears Stuffed Blue Sapphire Bears Free Greeting Cards Free Birthday Cards Free Christmas Cards Free Fathers Day Cards Free Get Well Cards Free Love Cards Free Mothers Day Cards Free Thank You Cards Free Valentine's Day Cards Helping People Connect Free Teen & Yahoo Personals Online Chat Gay Dating, Gay Personals & Gay Chat Yahoo Personals Yahoo Astrology Free Daily Online Horoscope Online Dating Service Free Astrology Signs and Charts Online Dating Service Teen, Adult Senior & Latin Online Chat Rooms Free Online Dating Personals & Chat Moving Company Quote Teddy Bear Gift Outfits Fisherman Gift Bear Halloween Gift Bear Biker Gift Bear Cantor Gift Bear Nurse Gift Bear Golfer Gift Bear Graduation Gift Bear Christmas Gift Bear St Patrick's Day Gift Bear Valentines Day Gift Bear Easter and Spring Time Doctor Gift Bear USA Sweater Patriotic Outfit and Flag Featured Customer Stories Gifts for Baby's Gifts for Children Gifts for Father & Dads Friendship Gifts Get Well Gifts Gifts for Grandchildren Love Poem Quote Happy Birthday Greeting Military Gifts Gifts for Mother & Moms Gifts for Pets Sympathy Gifts Personalized Gift Ideas Adoption Gift Ideas Anniversary Gifts Baby Shower Gift Ideas Baby Gift Baskets Birthday Teddy Bear Gifts Birthday Gifts & Gift Ideas Birthday Gifts for Moms Cat Lover Gifts Childrens Gifts Christmas Gift Ideas Corporate Gifts Dog Lover Gifts Easter Gifts Family Gift Ideas Fathers Day Gift Idea Friendship Gifts Get Well Gifts Graduation Gift Idea Gifts for Mom Holiday Gift Ideas Mothers Day Gifts New Baby Gifts Military Gifts Missing You I Love You Personalized Gift Ideas Personalized Teddy Bears Personalized Valentine's Gift Ideas Pet Gifts Plush Animal Gift Ideas Romantic Gift Ideas Romantic Birthday Gift Ideas Gifts for Her Teacher Appreciation Thank You Gifts Teddy Bear Gifts Unique Gift Ideas Unique Baby Gifts Unique Birthday Gifts Valentines Day Gift Ideas Stuffed Animal Gifts Wedding Favors Animals on Key Chains Frog Duck Lamb Lady Bug Butterfly Skunk Raccoon Golden Eagle Polar Bear Panda Bear Brown Bear Koala Bear Monkey Zebra Lion Tiger Leopard White Tiger Black Cat Dalmation Rottweiler Bull Dog St Bernard Grey Wolf Cow Pig Moose Bunny Black Bear White Buffalo Buffalo Poodle Wolf Cat Bull Dog Pug Black Labradore Golden Labradore Owl Seal Black Panther Mustang Cardinal Mouse Blue Eagle Orca Whale Sea Lion Plush Stuffed Animals Black & White Lamb Blue Lamb White Lamb & St Patrick Vest Bison Buffalo Plush Moose Golden Otter Gray Wolf Plush Animals Plush Pink Bunny Pink Pig Panda Bear Polar Bear White Owl Owl & Red Vest Owl & Graduation Gown Valentine Bear Yellow Duck Dog Lover Gifts Shar Pei German Shepard St Bernard Shaggy Dog Boxer Collie Jack Russel Scnhauzer Basset Hound Pug Boston Terrier Black Lab Yellow Lab Dalmation Black Poodle White Poodle Bull Dog Cat Lover Gifts Maine Coon Yellow Tabby Tonkinese Abyssinian Scottish Fold Siamese Black Short Hair White Short Hair Pet Lover Gifts Dog Toys Dog Gifts Stuffed Dogs Puppy Toys Cat Toys Cat Gifts Affiliate Business Opportunity Drop Ship Wholesale Stuffed Animals on Hearts Lobster Moose Puffin Black Bear Rabbit Bunny Duck Pig Piglet Polar Bear Cow Bull Lamb Free Greeting Cards Free Birthday Cards Free Christmas Cards Free Fathers Day Cards Free Get Well Cards Free Love Cards Free Mothers Day Cards Free Thank You Cards Free Valentine's Day Cards Last Updated: 05-12-04 Helping People Connect Providing Links to some of the Best Sites by Category Free Daily Horoscopes - Psychic Tarot Readings - Online Love, Chinese, Zodiac Signs Charts & Yahoo Astrology Reviews Online Dating - Free Chat Rooms & Dating Services - Yahoo Personals - Christian, Singles, Teen, Latin, Adult, Seniors & Gay Web Site Reviews
Creative Gift Wrapping Today
At Home : Holidays / Special Occasions : Creative Gift Wrapping : Home & Garden Television Program Guide Shows A - Z Decorating Remodeling Gardening At Home Crafts Store SEARCH AT HOME Antiques / Collectibles Books / Videos Cleaning Entertaining General Information Holidays / Special Occasions Outdoor Parties Table Settings / Decor Tips / Techniques Wine Other Hobbies / Interests Kids / Family Moneysaving Ideas Organizing Personal Care / Health Pets Real Estate Recipes Shopping Tips / Techniques Vacations / Travel Creative Gift Wrapping Today at Home : Episode TAH-568 -- More Projects » Edye Ellis shows how to create these simple, quick and inexpensive wrapping paper. Today at Home host Edye Ellis shows some creative, artistic ways to wrap gifts for any holiday or special occasion. She demonstrates how to make custom gift wrap and how to use ordinary household items such as bubble wrap, newspapers and more. Gift for a child Use old newspapers for this one. The comic section would be a perfect choice for any child. Wrap the box, then from a variety of colored pieces of construction paper, cut out some figures or designs. (One suggestion would be to trace the child's hand onto the construction paper.) Glue the construction-paper designs onto the package. A great way to top the package is to take some packing-foam peanuts, thread with colored wire and twist into any shape desired. Adorn the package with this foam-peanut creation, and children will love it. Bubble-wrap gift Who doesn't enjoy bubble wrap? Then why not use it to decorate a package. Wrap the package with tissue paper first, then apply the bubble wrap (smooth side down) with clear glue on the package. Secure the bubble wrap tightly by using tape if necessary. Decorate the package with cutout designs, placing them between the bubble wrap and the tissue paper. Wrap for odd-shape gifts For those hard-to-wrap gifts that don't have a box, consider using scarves. Place whatever you're wrapping in the center of the scarf, take two corners and tie them together and take the other two corners and tie as well. The recipient will have a gift and a scarf as an added bonus. Pieces of material (silk or whatever) can be used if a scarf is not available. ALSO IN THIS EPISODE: Today at Home : Episode TAH-568 • Kwanzaa Bowl • Creative Gift Wrapping • Hanukkah Table Home | About Us | Newsletters | Questions | Advertising Site Map | Privacy | Legal DIY | Fine Living | Food Network | Shop At Home Great American Country | HGTVPro | Living | Video On Demand Comparison Shop for Home Gifts & Patio Furniture at Shopzilla © 2005 Scripps Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.
Birthday Presents || Special
GDR Souvenirs - Birthday and Anniversary Presents Preface || Introduction || Official Gifts || Gifts to the Party Birthday Presents || Special Items || Site Map Information || Guestbook || Picture galerie Birthday and Anniversary Presents by Andreas Michaelis One might be forgiven for thinking that birthdays, even those that come in round figures, are essentially private or indeed contemplative occasions. Not so, if the birthday boy happens to be the head of a state or Party or is in some other way in the public eye. In that case, a birthday becomes a public event. The guests can no longer be hand-picked, nor the tidal wave of presents averted. Gifts made to GDR leaders, if they were of the right kind, tended to end up in the museum. They included both highly individual pieces and items off the mass production conveyor belts. These souvenirs sometimes commemorated significant social occasions, sometimes insignificant; some were presented by governments, some by ordinary working people; and, while some might be suited to the personality and office of a president, others were given in friendship or comradeship. Along with presents to mark birthdays or other occasions in the lives of the state and Party leaders, there are certain items that were presented by home or foreign givers on particular GDR anniversaries. Most of these, and the oldest too, were left by Wilhelm Pieck at his death. One remarkable for its origins was given to him in Moscow in December 1943: a desktop calendar handcrafted out of wood for the Communist leader by German prisoners of war in the Soviet Union. The red crayon inscription reads: Unity and peace to the German people - Wilhelm Pieck - From antifascist prisoners of war in USSR p.o.w. camp 158. Three presents given to Wilhelm Pieck in Soviet exile in 1936, on his sixtieth birthday, have survived. They were made by Soviet industries, using material from the current production line, and represent a kind of gift that seems to have appeared for the first time in the USSR in the 20s. These presents signalled a deliberate rejection of feudal or bourgeois traditions and a liberation from the material and artistic values of an old societal system then supposed defunct, and their meaning to the recipient lay purely in their symbolic function. Doubtless it would be going too far to suggest that there was an individual artistic style of expression peculiar to socialism as practised in the Communist bloc countries - but it remains true that this kind of characteristic symbolic gift was in evidence in almost every east European country till the late 1980s. The workers at the factory or plant in question would normally be identified as the givers of presents of this sort. Thus Wilhelm Pieck was given a ball-bearing mount by the workforce at the 1st State Ball-Bearing Works, a clock (inevitably) by the workforce at the 2nd State Clock Factory in Moscow and a smoker's set made of cogwheels by the Sergo Orjonikidse Machine Tools Works. In 1954 the workers at Zeulenroda furniture factory took Pieck by surprise when they remembered an anniversary he had probably forgotten himself: in 1894, the President, then an apprentice carpenter, had joined the German Woodworkers' Association, and his fellows in the craft were keen to mark his diamond jubilee as an active member of the trade union movement. On the side of the chest they made to celebrate the occasion is an image of Stalinallee (Stalin Avenue) in East Berlin, which East Germany touted as the premier socialist street in the capital of the GDR. Naturally the Communist bloc had another tradition, first practised in the Soviet Union: the naming of cities, factories, co-operatives, streets and public amenities after prominent Communist personalities, often when they were still alive. A danger was concealed in this kind of honour, however. If a personality fell out of favour, or was downgraded by his successors, the names all had to be changed. Thus cities, works and streets named after Stalin were renamed almost immediately after the 20th congress of the Soviet Communist Party in 1956, and Stalin memorials were toppled. Stalin was dropped from the leadership hall of fame. The boulevard once known as Stalin Avenue became Karl Marx Avenue, which it remains to this day (though the names of other leading Communists have been largely removed following the velvet revolution in eastern Europe). In 1946, for his seventieth birthday, Wilhelm Pieck, then leader of the German Communist Party in the Soviet zone of occupation, was given a number of china figurines and a metal sombrero by the Party's cell in Mexican exile. Rather more useful, no doubt, was a cigarette case embellished with portraits of Lenin and Stalin which he received from Soviet comrades for his seventy-fifth birthday. One motif that recurs insistently in the presents given to him on that birthday and his eightieth is the first of the GDR's five-year plans. It was launched in 1951 and declared over in 1955, ahead of schedule, the targets more than met. Even at that date, the propaganda that accompanied the beginnings of an East German planned economy could be grotesque, and the items that recollect this phase will doubtless tickle many now. It would only be fair, however, to bear in mind that in the first decade of the GDR's history the struggle to fulfil plans was accompanied by a genuine sense of a fresh start, a new and energetic departure - and in this respect it was finally a more honest thing than the ossified, dogmatic planned economy of the 70s and 80s,with its clichés and hot air. Slogans such as Peace - Reconstruction - Prosperity, or the five-year plan emblem together with its motto The key to our success, are eloquent not only of the political vocabulary favoured during the 50s but also of the hopes and longings of the East German people. Among the many activities mounted by the Freie Deutsche Jugend (Free German Youth) was the Wilhelm-Pieck-Campaign , intended to prompt greater effort by the country's young people and the working population in general, to mark the President's eightieth birthday. On this occasion, the apprentices at the Bitterfeld electrochemicals combine gave Pieck a stylish folder containing documents and statements concerning their FDJ group. At their deaths, Pieck and Grotewohl left several hundred folders of this kind, with enough material for a hefty tome, or a feature-length satirical programme. Elsewhere, workers in factories set a good example in cost-cutting. If honorific gifts were produced in series, a given item could be made at a fraction of the cost of an individually-crafted piece. The figure of a muscular miner in a combative attitude, an optimistic expression firmly on his face, was far and away the most frequently given present for Pieck's eightieth birthday. He received numerous gifts from comrades in the Federal Republic too. Most of them were little items with some local connection, such as a figure of Roland from Bremen , or one of Hamburg's typical Hummel figures . The GDR leadership's duties routinely included visits to factories. These visits served primarily to demonstrate the closeness of the state and Party leadership to the working classes. In 1953, Prime Minister Otto Grotewohl visited the Ernst Thälmann Polygraphics Works at Saalfeld. He may have been critical of the work being done by the graphic artists and designers there; at all events, for his sixtieth birthday the following year he was presented with an entire collection of draft designs for new product labels. In the 50s, in addition to the obligatory gift, a leader might be honoured by having a work team (at least) named after him. Long before he officially took over the reins of the state and Party, Walter Ulbricht was so popular that labour collectives bore his name as early as 1953. For his sixtieth birthday, one of his work teams presented him with a desktop set praising his endeavours on behalf of peace, unity, democracy and socialism. Ten years later, as chair of the GDR's Council of State, he received for the first time one of the traditional presents from the Soviet armed forces in Germany - generally bombastic and symbolically top-heavy affairs. That first gift was a model of a Soviet cosmonaut memorial. A present from the Soviet armed forces to Otto Grotewohl has survived too, a figure reaching for the stars and thus symbolizing humanity's unceasing striving after higher things - an allegory that recurs frequently in Communist and socialist iconography. The Honecker era, too, in due course provided the Deutsches Historisches Museum with a number of anniversary presents. The desk set given to Erich Honecker, on his sixtieth birthday, by Lieutenant Colonel Kurkotkin, commander in chief of the Soviet armed forces in Germany, and bearing a personal dedication, particularly intrigues all who see it. The martial character of the set was no doubt intended to convey that the SED First Secretary could count on the massed firepower of the Soviet Union behind him, and thus settle in to a quiet period in power. The composition - typical in approach, given its origin - does in fact include a number of useful items, regardless of its military character and offputting design: a radio, a thermometer in the TV mast, a calendar, and four ball-points disguised as missiles. Ten years later a Soviet-German joint-stock company, SDAG Wismut - which was the last company in East Germany to remain under partial Soviet administration and control (till 1990), because of the uranium it was mining - presented a conversation piece inspired by mining. The bismuth workers, honouring an established tradition, selected a particularly fine mineral sample. The musical box they built into the sample seems never to have been used. On the same occasion, Honecker was presented with a pick by the Senftenberg Brown Coal Combine. It was not to be the last he received in his lengthy career as head of state and Party. It was not only the leaders of state and Party that were given these heavily symbolic presents; the tradition was observed at every level of the state and Party hierarchy. Stasi boss Erich Mielke kept a trophy room, as it were, at his headquarters in Normannenstrasse. Numerous honorifics are now on display there, gifts to Mielke or the ministry on a variety of occasions. Some were passed on to the Stasi ministry's information centre, whence they were made over to the Museum für Deutsche Geschichte in 1990. There are the usual plaques and tapestries, but one of the Stasi ministers birthday presents was a rather unusual model of an electric oven. In the GDR, 7 October was a national holiday, an annual celebration of the establishment of the first German workers' and peasants' state, and the date was marked with a grand parade, a government ceremony, and countless local festivities around the country. And every five years, on jubilee occasions, the state and Party leadership celebrated in lavish style. Leaders from friendly countries, and representatives from around the world, would pay their respects to the GDR. Again, it is the presents made by the Soviet armed forces that are especially striking. The model of the Soviet memorial in Treptow Park, which symbolizes the liberation of Germany from fascism and stresses the role played by the Red Army, was a gift to mark the GDR's silverjubilee in 1974. The outsized helm presented to Honecker on the 35th anniversary by the Schwerin SED regional leaders alluded to the well-worn image of Erich Honecker as the great helmsman of state. The accompanying letter is a gem, sparkling with all the routine phrases that had become de rigueur among the Party leadership echelons. The regional first secretary thanks our dear comrade Erich Honecker for his outstanding personal contribution to the conception and realisation of policies designed to assure the happiness of the people and the safeguarding of peace, and asserts that the people of our region are paying tribute to these fine socialist politics by making greater endeavours than ever before, in every field of society. By the time of the 40th anniversary celebrations, however, a gloomy knowledge of imminent upheaval darkened the leaders' festivities - though surely none of them could suspect at the time that it was to be the GDR's very last birthday.
Groomsmen Gift
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