“We’re cutting off the branch we’re sitting on!”

A glance at the collections of the Deutsches Historisches Museum reveals the immense variety of objects that are related to different epochs and topics of German history. They tell stories of our past or current lives, of famous or often unknown persons and events. In our new blog series #Umweltsammeln (#Environmentcollecting) we present various objects that have to do with the topic of “environment”. Unexpected questions raised by the heads of the different collection sections open new perspectives on historical objects and often reveal startling parallels to questions that deal with our current world.

The collection of the DHM Library takes up the topic “Environment” in many different ways. By acquiring specific objects, for example, it documents the eventful history of the relationship between humankind and the universe. Charlotte Lenz, staff member and deputy director of the Library, shows how the motivations and intentions of explorers of the universe have changed over the centuries.