In 1954, under the name of VEB Chemische Werke Buna, the chemical plant became the property of German Democratic Republic (GDR); with its 18,000 employees it was one of the fice largest industrial combines in the GDR. In the 1950s, VEB Chemische Werke Buna also developed into the largest carbide producer in the world. As rubber production expanded, plastics and synthetic rubber became the most important export goods to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). This international significance turned Buna Werke into a symbol of the GDR's industrialization and potential wealth. As reflected in the famous slogan from that time: “Chemical industry brings bread, wealth and beauty” (Chemie bringt Brot, Wohlstand und Schönheit) (Würz 2021). Within the framework of GDR's chemical programme in 1958-60, plastic was assigned a state-supporting function. A newly created world of goods made of plastic was meant to satisfy the private consumption needs of the country's population and to demonstrate the superiority of the socialist state over capitalist West-Germany (Böhme and Ludwig 2012: 73). Plastics were used as substitutes for light metal, wood and porcelain in everyday consumer good production and therefore could be found in every household in the GDR since the 1960s.

However, there was a a dark side to this production growth. GDR state authorities ignored or downplayed the severe side effects of the chemical industry. Production facilities were technically obsolete, some of them dating back to the 1940s and almost in their original state at the end of the 1980s. Combined with an increasing production volume, this led to extreme environmental pollution (Derlien, Faupel and Nieters 1999: 3). The black dust surrounding the chemical plant became famous within the region as “Buna Air“. The nearby Saale river was heavily polluted; mercury and cyanides in the groundwater were many times above the threshold values allowed for at this time (Könau 2015). A creamy, stinky foam on top of this river made it impossible for locals to swim or to use its water. Extremely unhealthy working conditions in Buna Werke resulted in the exploitation of workers. In many areas where no one wanted to work anymore forced labour was established. Prisoners and construction soldiers (Bausoldat:innen¹) were used in order to fulfill the production plan (Vesting 2003: 54, 152). Some people worked while standing in mercury with non-sufficient protective clothing, and accidents happened regularly, even letal ones (Kriener 1990).