Karl Marx and Capitalism

Pei Building, 1^st Floor

Admission 8.00 €, Reduced admission 4.00 €,
up to 18 years admission free
Detailed information on accessibility

Extended opening hours

18 to 21 August 2022, 10 am to 9 pm

Industrialization catalyzed enormous economic, social, and cultural upheavals in the 19th century. Karl Marx was among the most important critics of the volatility of “modernity” and capitalism. As a philosopher, journalist, economist, and political activist, he aimed to make the new dynamics comprehensible and malleable. Marx advanced to one of the most influential German personalities of the 19th century – with a controversial body of work still read across the world to this day.

The exhibition “Karl Marx and Capitalism” presents and problematizes that work and influence of Marx as a confrontation with a dynamically changing capitalism and the controversies of the 19th century. Themes that take center stage include the critique of religion and society, the emancipation of the Jews and antisemitism, revolutions, new technologies, nature and ecology, economy, as well as struggles and movements in Europe – themes that have lost none of their explosiveness, either. The exhibition thus connects the historicization of Marx to questions of his currency, while also taking a critical look at the reception of his theories in the 20th and 21st century.

We all have a certain idea about it – just not the same idea. The Deutsches Historisches Museum approaches the question of “Capitalism” in two related exhibitions: “Karl Marx and Capitalism” (10 February to 21 August 2022), and “Richard Wagner and the Nationalization of Feeling” (8 April to 11 September 2022). Both men, Marx and Wagner, had a far-reaching influence on the international discussion of the concept.

And yet it is striking that Marx and Wagner understood completely different things under capitalism. These differences have still not been thoroughly elaborated. In the 20th century, Marxism invoked Marx’s teachings; Marxism also became the ideology in states that committed torture and murder in the name of communism and socialism. In the 20th century, other movements invoked Wagner that stood in direct connection with massive crimes and radical, nationalistic anti-Semitism that led to National Socialism and the Holocaust. For us as a history museum it is therefore all the more important to focus on Wagner and Marx in their own time and to understand their impact first of all in the context of the 19th century. In this way, we hope to gain a greater understanding of their effect on the history of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Online tickets

Tickets can be purchased on site or online. We recommend purchasing an online ticket with a time slot. Especially on weekends and holidays there may still be waiting times. The ticket is valid for all current exhibitions in the Pei Building. Please also show the online ticket at our ticket desk, as you will receive a sticker there that entitles you to visit our exhibitions. Tickets can only be booked six weeks in advance. Tickets for Guided Tours can be only purchased on-site.

On Berlin Museums Sunday, every first Sunday of the month admission is free. Tickets for this are available via the Museums Sunday website.

Please note the applicable admission regulations and the current visitor regulations. The online ticket is offered with the support of visitBerlin . Accepted as a mobile ticket or printout: You will receive your ticket when you show it at the cash desk.

Please note that tickets cannot be refunded. The terms and conditions of visitBerlin apply. The booked time slot must be kept to. In case of technical booking problems please contact visitBerlin . For questions about the reservation please contact verkauf@dhm.de

View into the exhibition

In the exhibition “Karl Marx and Capitalism” © DHM/Yves Sucksdorff

Guided Tours

Booking offers

Adults

Guided Tour “Karl Marx and Capitalism”

Students

Guided Tour for Students “Karl Marx and Capitalism”

School classes (pupils aged 12+), School classes (pupils aged 14+), Students, Adults

Digital Presentation “Karl Marx and Capitalism”

Adults

Combined Guided Tour “Karl Marx and Capitalism” and “Richard Wagner and the Nationalization of Feeling”

Adults

Audio Guide “Karl Marx and Capitalism”

Accessible and Inclusive

The exhibition strives to be inclusive in its design and to enable visitors to learn about Karl Marx and the history of the 19th century via various sensory faculties. Seven interactive, multisensory stations support the access to the exhibition’s topics. The exhibition is to large extent barrier-free. The exhibits are displayed at different heights, and most display cases are accessible, being high enough for wheelchairs to fit underneath. All main texts are available in German, English, Easy Language, German Sign Language, German Braille and large print. Additionally, tactile typeface is provided at specific sites.

Accompanying Programme

The event series “Marx, Wagner and ...!” runs parallel to the two exhibitions “Karl Marx and Capitalism” and “Richard Wagner and the Nationalization of Feeling” and shows interconnections between them. The exclamation mark in the title of the series stands for the respective third person whose impact is examined in the light of the works of Marx and Wagner: Victoria, Princess Royal and German Empress, Mahatma Gandhi and Rosa Luxemburg, seen in connection with Marx and Wagner, are each the topic on one of the three evenings. The event series will take place in May and June 2022.

Karl Marx and Capitalism

Extended opening hours

Online tickets

View into the exhibition

Guided Tours

Booking offers

Guided Tour “Karl Marx and Capitalism”

Guided Tour for Students “Karl Marx and Capitalism”

Digital Presentation “Karl Marx and Capitalism”

Combined Guided Tour “Karl Marx and Capitalism” and “Richard Wagner and the Nationalization of Feeling”

Audio Guide “Karl Marx and Capitalism”

Accessible and Inclusive

Accompanying Programme

Publications