“Collecting for Germany”? The Museum Under Four Forms of Government

The tour through the section of the exhibition dedicated to the history of the museum offers insight into how collection and exhibition practices have evolved over the course of German history under various forms of government. It begins with the armor in the Imperial Hall of Fame and continues through the last field uniform worn by Emperor Wilhelm II in the Nazi Army Museum, all the way to the Soviet “Flag of Kryvyi Rih” in the Museum of German History of the GDR.

Matthias Koeppel’s famous painting “… and everything will be all right again” ironically illustrates the reunification of Germany. The museum, now finally unified, also offers a retrospective look at the long and far from straightforward path toward becoming a democratic, multi-perspective museum.

The DHM continues this exemplary collection practice to this day in the second part of the exhibition. A bunk bed from an initial reception center for refugees stands at the end of the tour. It was added to the collection in 2016 by Walter Lübcke, whose subsequent murder by right-wing extremists also highlights the persistence of anti-democratic ideologies.

• On-site registration