An retirement home in Dresden has recreated a corner of the former communist East Germany in a bid to help residents with Alzheimer’s.

Several rooms at the Alexa Seniors’ Residence have been redecorated with garish 70s wallpaper and clunky furniture from the former German Democratic Republic (GDR).

The home’s management have scoured flea markets and eBay for communist-era bric-a-brac, including unwieldy portable cassette players, outdated cookers and a giant bread-slicer.

The home even runs its own small shop, selling residents everyday products from the era, while a photograph of Erich Honecker, the general secretary of the East German communist party looks on.