Museumsmeile

Enjoying Art & Learning about German History

The first sights that you encounter when entering the main exhibit at Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Those who know me know that I am a museum nerd. In fact, I have the shirt. to prove it! So when I heard about Bonn's Museumsmeile – Museum Mile – I knew where I'd be going when I had some free time.

Along with Beth, my Fulbrighter museum buddy, I first visited the Kunstnuseum Bonn. Some of the highlights were Stephan Huber's intricate maps (below, or here and here on his website), Patricia Thoma's woven paper robes, and the moss-covered objects in Diana Lelonek's "Center for Living Things." The museum itself was a cool space, especially the circle-shaped stairway that led to the upper galleries.

The central stairs at the Kunstmuseum (image from https://www.kunstmuseum-bonn.de/en/visit/your-visit/)

The next day, the school I was visiting had an unusual schedule, so I had the morning free. I jumped on the train back to Museumsmeile to go to Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, the Museum of the Contemporary History of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Unlike the current trend in the U.S. of trying to gloss over parts of American history that make people feel uncomfortable, the Germans seem to face it head-on. That was pretty evident in the very first objects that you see when you head into the first of the six sections of the museum's permanent exhibition (see above).

The museum was packed. Along with tourists like me, there were a ton of German school kids. I loved seeing the kids talking about and interacting with the exhibits. There were several groups working on activities that involved what looked like journal-writing and scavanger hunts.

The museum's permanent exhibition guides you through six main areas:

1. 1945-1949: Burden of the Past and Germany's Division

2. 1949-1955: Building and Rebuilding in East and West Germany

3. 1955-1963: Cold War and Deepening Division

4. 1963-1974: Continuity and Change

5. 1974-1989: New Challenges

6. 1989 to the present: German Unity and Global Challenges

Below are a collection of images from these exhibits. I'm a big fan of propaganda posters, so I was immediately attracted to the hundreds that were on display throughout the museum.

• Allied graffiti on a captured Nazi flag

• "The enemy sees your light! Black out!"

• "Guilty? Limits of individual guilt determination?"

• "All hands for construction!"

• Items dropped by the "Candy Bomber" during the Berlin Blockade

• Hitler and Stalin both burning books – “It’s the same flames! It’s the same method! It’s the same monster!”

• "Max Schmeling is stopped in 124 seconds!"

• "Volunteers"

• A hidden camera to record unrest in East Berlin in 1953

• A Soviet tank used in the East German uprising

• "Today: German Army/Tomorrow: German Soviet Republic"

• James Dean in “Because they don’t know what they are doing”

• A Coke ad – "Take a rest and drive refreshed!"

• "Nuclear Weapons? No!"

• 1972 Munich Olympics

• "Stop It"

• A military vehicle used to stop student protests in the 1960s

• Pieces of the Berlin Wall

I was struck by how many American objects were in the museum. I was not surprised to see things like Levi's and Coke ads, but there was a huge display about the landing on the moon (which included a steep ramp to climb up that evoked the feeling of being launched into space) and a piece of one of the World Trade Center towers. I didn't realize how much of an impact American culture has had on Germany.

Check out the image below of my favorite object, a dress made of medical gauze made after the war when there was a fabric shortage.

My favorite object from the museum: a communion dress that was made out of medical gauze because there was a fabric shortage after the war. Click on the image to hear an audio description from the museum.

Another cool space in the museum was the library. It had a bunch of great seating, iPad research stations, and hundreds of books. wCheck out the video below. I think every museum should have a physical place where patrons can dive deeper into the topics that are included in the exhibits.

Also, I have to give a shout-out to Google Translate for all of its help while at this museum. Some of the larger placards had English translations and there was a series of objects that were included in an English audio tour, but the vast majority of items were only in German. So my handy little app was my best friend 📱

I still have a lot to learn about Germany, especially about the lead-up to World War II and German responses to the Holocaust, but the museum gave me a glimpse of a nation openly grappling with its past.