Bonn’s house of history (House of History) The museum has opened its new permanent exhibition, “You Are Part of History.”
The latest addition to the chronologically structured exhibition can be found – logically enough – at the very end. This is a red protest sign against the new military convention law, with the slogan “Wages up, weapons down.” A museum employee took it back to the museum from its display in Bonn’s Hofgartenweise on 5 December. Less than a week later, it is already displayed as a historical document in the “Today” section, the last of the five time periods included in the interactive exhibition.
The show’s approximately 3,800 exhibits take visitors back in time to the last eight decades of German history – from the end of World War II in 1945 to the present day. Almost everything that was and is important in German history – both West and East – is on display. Bringing contemporary history to life is the goal of the new permanent exhibition, which was financed with €25 million ($29 million).
It took six years to plan and design and after 14 months of being closed, the permanent exhibition is now reopening.
Wolfram Weimer, the Federal Government’s Commissioner for Culture and Media, who stood in for Chancellor Friedrich Merz on short notice at the ceremony in Bonn, was impressed by the result: “The new permanent exhibition is a wonderful reflection of our modern history.”
A new focus on German reunification
Even before the renovation, the Haus der Geschichte, which opened in 1994, was one of the most visited museums in Germany.
However, according to museum officials, by 2024 a certain imbalance between the different historical sections had become apparent. For example, as much space was devoted to the 35 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall as to the first four years after the end of World War II.
That’s changed now: The reunion takes center stage, and the 45 years before it get as much space as the 35 years after it ended.
Much more space is now given to current topics of debate in Germany such as immigration and integration, racism, LGBTQ+ life, climate policy and the media.
Personal stories and fascinating objects – such as dolls covered in mud from the 2021 floods in the Ahr Valley – are used to illustrate recent events, particularly helping young people answer the important question, “Why should I care?”
Several interactive elements also help, such as a station where you can place your own photograph over images of historical events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall or Germany’s victory in the 1954 football World Cup.
Another exhibit allows visitors to vote on the policies they will fund. Sitting in authentic Bundestag seats, they can choose between “strengthen the military,” “protect wildlife,” or they can split the money equally. Results can be seen immediately. Democracy can be that simple.
Harald Berman, President of the Haus der Geschichte Foundation, explains, “We want to show how history is made – and how each of us can shape it through our actions as citizens of a democratic constitutional state.”
Weimar: home of history ‘has an important part in how we see ourselves’
The Haus der Geschichte (with branches in Berlin and Leipzig) is also an important national collection. More than one million items are stored in its collection.
Culture Commissioner Wolfram Weimar emphasizes the importance of the museum as “an important part of how we see and think about ourselves.”
The new permanent exhibition asks: “What kind of democracy do we have, what kind of republic is this?” Weimar said.
“Germany has often been described as a democracy on probation,” he said. “And here you learn that after 80 years, we are already a perfect democracy with all our controversies and conflicts. Presenting this image is a great achievement of this exhibition.”
This article was originally written in German.