[nforgerit]

Not an expert either, esp. because I'm too young and socialized in West Germany with family ties to Thuringia, though.

What always struck me was Eastern Germans' tendency to practical things (and an enormous creativity in fixing broken stuff!). In addition, this is 1949 Eastern Germany, the country was devastated and this part under Soviet rule. It might sound a bit weird as a gift from today's wealthy point of view but historically "a good pair of shoes" was always something people appreciated throughout all times and cultures.

[mdp2021]

> historically "a good pair of shoes" was always something people appreciated throughout all times and cultures

(It seems I am indulging in anecdotes a bit in this page, but anyway) In the portrait of "Lenin" Ulyanov by Paul Johnson in Modern Times, you will read

> Lenin left Zurich to return to Russia on 8 April 1917. [...] At Stockholm, comrade Karl Radek bought him a pair of shoes, but he refused other clothes, remarking sourly, ‘I am not going to Russia to open a tailor’s shop’.

[cess11]

At the time clothes were typically made to last and did, with shoes being a weak point due to the harsher wear and tear of rubbing against the ground.