Berlin Wall anniversary prompts nostalgia for East German products

East German products have received a new lease of life 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall as Germans bask in nostalgia for the old Democratic Republic.

Years after the last Trabant chugged off the production line, the iconic car it is set to take to the roads again, but this time sporting an ultra-modern electric engine instead of the dirty two-stroke of communist days.

Despite possessing a body made of plastic and cotton matting, and a poor reputation for reliability, original Trabants still see a brisk trade on eBay in Germany with models in good condition going for as much as £2,000.

The Trabant's popularity has much to do with "Ostalgie", or nostalgia for the East, which has breathed life into a broad array of items linked to East Germany.

Given a modern marketing campaign, Vita Cola, the East's rival to Coca Cola, has been born again and has now become one of Germany's best-selling soft drinks.