On June 20, 2019, the kick-off conference of one of the 14 BMBF-funded joint projects on the subject of "DDR Research" took place. Titled "Over Life in the Dictatorship", scientists from various disciplines presented research projects on the topics of repression, legitimacy, coping and perspectives at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder).

Scientists from the joint project Mod-Block-DDR from Bremen and Frankfurt (Oder) also took part in the kick-off conference in order to promote the exchange and scientific cooperation between the joint projects.

Jutta Günther heads the research network on "Modernisation Blockades in Industry and Science in the GDR" (Mod-Block-DDR), which is initially funded by the BMBF with 3 million euros for four years. In this network, scientists from the University of Bremen, TU Berlin, the University of Jena and the European University Viadrina are working on the question of the economic heritage of socialism and transformation.