East German art critic Lothar Lang described the 1959 documenta as a "monster show"-a judgement that reflects the cultural-political tensions between the two German states. What image did artists and cultural functionaries in East Berlin, Dresden or Rostock have of the documenta, and, conversely, how did the curatorial teams view the GDR? In her study Exhibition Politics. The documenta and the GDR, Alexia Pooth reconstructs this special chapter in the history of the Kassel-based exhibition. The author traces a history of reception and perception in which, despite political animosity, there was always communication. The content ranges from the founding of the documenta in 1955 to Catherine David's