Does NVA soup belong on the plate?

The canned food is no longer available in the Kelles online shop. The small family company from near Stendal came up with the idea. On the website of "Kelles Suppen-Manufaktur" it says: "East German men (and women) enthusiastically spoon up a soup hit that is reminiscent of old army times. The 'NVA field soup' is just reclaiming the stomachs." The soup made from yellow peas, pork belly, vegetables and bockwurst seems to be so popular that, according to the soup manufacturer, there are already delivery problems. "The demand is huge," says the website. The second largest food retailer, Rewe, has also recognized this and included the Ostalgie soup in its range.

GDR state coat of arms on tin cans?

The Federal Foundation for Reappraisal complains that it's no longer a nostalgia and sees it as a downplaying of injustice in the GDR. After that, tin cans with the GDR state coat of arms did not belong on a supermarket shelf. Foundation director Anna Kaminsky criticizes that the GDR state coat of arms, consisting of a hammer and compass surrounded by a wreath of corn, is the symbol of the SED dictatorship, which, among other things, used the NVA on August 13, 1961 to secure the construction of the Wall. It must be part of the cultural remembrance consensus of united Germany not to downplay the injustices in the GDR and to commemorate the victims of the SED regime with dignity.

The Rewe Group rejected the criticism. When asked by the epd news agency, a spokesman for Rewe Markt GmbH said there were no prohibited signs on the product labels. The Rewe group management has also declared that it is not responsible for the foundation, said Kaminsky. The supermarkets listed such products "at the request of customers". "Packaging and product presentation" are "the responsibility of the distributor," the federal foundation quoted the retail group as saying. Rewe asked the foundation to contact the suppliers or the judiciary if they saw a violation of the law in the products.

A Rewe Group spokesman told the press agency that the demand for products and recipes from the pre-reunification period is still strong in the eastern German states and that there is also a bit of (food) cultural identity. It is food from an entire generation "that has become rare and usually relies on original packaging". Market managers would have the opportunity to include regional products in the program in response to multiple customer requests.

Ex-cook of the People's Navy responsible for the taste

Rewe stated that the group had never received critical voices about the products before the Federal Foundation sent the mail. And on the homepage of Kelle's soup manufacturer, you can read that up to 15,000 soups leave the kitchen every day. They recently made it to the "Green Week" and onto the shelves of supermarket chains such as Edeka and Norma. Incidentally, according to the website, the boss's husband is responsible for the taste. He was a cook in the People's Navy and still knows all the recipes.

There are also other flavors from other manufacturers. For example, the "School kitchens Soljanka": A laughing boy in a pioneer's uniform and a red-smeared mouth with soup is emblazoned on the condense can. You can also buy it from Amazon: six cans for 26 euros 99. (N)ostalgia is also a business.