The Cold War Car Still Turning Heads

By

December 8, 2021

Categories

Features

Tags

, ,

Share

Washington, D.C. — Curious about how people traveled from East to West Berlin at the fall of the Berlin Wall?

These vintage vehicles are called Trabants and since 2006, the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. has hosted the Parade of the Trabants to showcase the history behind this symbol of freedom.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the parade was held virtually in 2020 and hosted Trabant owners from all over the world.

With restrictions lifted and other safety protocols put in place, this  year’s parade displayed 22 of the iconic but less than stellar Trabants along with other preserved Soviet automobiles.

These owners and drivers come year after year to show off the cars’ loud motor and compact designs  because as driver Eric Allen said “this is really the only time that Trabant owners really can get together and do something like this.” Mr. Allen brought his special car to the nation’s capital all the way from Indiana  to participate.

 

 

 

Related Posts

Elsa Smithgall, chief curator at The Phillips Collection. [Credit: Margot Schulman Photography]

May 20, 2026

Elsa Smithgall on the Art of Looking Deeper

Elsa Smithgall, chief curator at The Phillips Collection, leads Miró and the United States, an exhibition exploring the artistic exchange between Joan Miró and American painters in the 20th century.

May 18, 2026

The Erosion of Third Places

It’s market day in Andover, Mass., and everyone’s invited. Kids race between tents set up between the town’s offices and the public park. Neighbors chat with neighbors, carrying fresh produce and flowers home in their tote bags. Vendors talk excitedly about their wares, from artisanal woodworks to fresh croissants.