The German National History Museum

A list of things, never to forget...

The capital’s premier Museum of history is located in the Kaiser's Armory on Unter den Linden, Berlin’s dramatic triumphal avenue that spans the center’s most important buildings – cultural, religious and civic. It is an imposing four-story structure that needs every inch of its enormous size to contain a history that stretches back 25 centuries. The National History Museum is meant to be comprehensive and it is.

Stuff left behind in a rush...

As a result, it is a little overwhelming. The Germans are an ancient people and a lot has happened in Germany. One could pick anyone of a dozen eras and devote an entire museum just to that. In fact, Berlin has those museums and because I love history museums I have visited several of them. The DDR museum is dedicated to the life and times of the Eastern zone between 1945 and 1990.  I also went to the Museum at Check Point Charlie, dedicated to the Berlin wall. A brief period (1961 to 1990) in historic terms, but a pretty good look at a very interesting time.

And yet you find both of these subjects treated relatively well in the comprehensive museum. It really is quite extraordinary. Culture, politics, economics and international affairs are all traced through the centuries.

As befits a country that visited upon the world what is its greatest tragedy (WW II), the museum tackles the dark side of German history. And not just of that era but before and after. By chance, our visit occurs during the museum's first large special exhibition of the Hitler era. The exhibit “Hitler and the Germans” attempts to make sense of the 1920s and 30s - a time when Germans had a choice and they either chose Hitler or sat back and allowed that choice to happen.

If anything, I thought they were a bit hard on Germans of that time.  We, of course, all know how the story ended and so it is easy to think that we would have done something different. I'm afraid I am not as optimistic. Would Americans fall for the “Big Lie”?  Well, how many of our countrymen think our president is a Muslim? (Look it up, its scary). And then there's Sarah Palin and her distinction between “real Americans” and people like me. I'm not saying she would have concentration camps, but its not hard to imagine her starting a war with somebody (Iran).  And then there was the Bush era.  How do you know in advance the depths to which a politician will sink?  Voters are not always as careful as they should be.  I think there is an element of luck - good and bad.