The collections of the German Historical Museum

The holdings of the Collection Militaria comprises an extensive number of uniforms, consisting of approximately 9,500 items: tunics, trousers, headgear, and military equipment. From the point of view of quality and profile, they are acknowledged to be the most important on Geman soil, and internationally the collection is of the leading ones.

Although no uniforms are available from their time of origin in the 17th century, the collection's holdings facilitate the illustration of the developing tendencies of uniforming armies. They likewise foster connections and relationships between uniforms and fashion, the prevailing taste, and contemporary political opinions.

The collection maintains uniforms from the 18th century -- mainly coming from the holdings of the Zeughaus -- as well as items from the 19th and 20th centuries. In the past, it was traditionally oriented toward the history of Prussia. But due to a determined collecting activity, the museum has been able to acquire uniforms of other territorial German states and European nations since 1952.

The collection's profile not only includes uniforms of the three services and paramilitary organizations, but also working clothes that resemble uniforms of civil occupations, such as transportation and communications, the Red Cross, the Federal Post Office, forestry, and hunting. Likewise collected are single pieces of political and youth organizations: Boy Scouts, NSDAP, HJ (Hitler Youth), FDJ, and "Pioniere" (East German Youth Organizations).

In its entirety, the holdings' nature is that of a specialized collection, arranged and available for scientific purposes. Due to its proportions and its historical significance, individual sections of the entire collection of uniforms already form separate collecting fields, such as headgear (helmets, spiked helmets, caps, steel helmets).

To complete the inventory of unique jackets and granadier and fusilier caps from the 18th century, a braid pattern book from the time of Friedrich II. is an significant piece in the collection. This historically and documentarily important book contains original trimmings in form of embroidered bows, gold and silver braids, and braid timmings of Prussian uniforms.

Among the outstanding objects are personal uniforms, worn by personalities of the House of Hohenzollern, famous military commanders, and politicians such as Friedrich II., Friedrich Wilhelm III., Königin Luise, Wilhelm I. Wilhelm II., Bismarck, Karl Liebknecht, Ernst Thälmann, and Army General Heinz Hoffmann.

Have a look at the archive.