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Objects. History. Stories.

"A story has come to an end" — Ayhan Artar on the closure of Germany's last hard coal mine.

17 September 2026 2 Min.

The exhibition “Objects. History. Stories. Reviewing the Collection” presents around 200 selected objects from the collections of the Deutsches Historisches Museum – items that not only trace the larger movements of history but, above all, make visible the personal stories connected to them.

In this video interview, Ayhan Artar describes his work as an electronics technician at Germany’s last hard coal mine, the Prosper-Haniel colliery in Bottrop, which ceased operations in 2018. Today Artar’s safety helmet is held in the collection of the Deutsches Historisches Museum, where it recalls the world of underground mining that shaped the Ruhr region for generations. For Artar’s family, it is a story that led from the Turkish Black Sea coast to the Ruhr.

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The Author

Simon Sacha

Simon Sacha was an academic trainee in the Collections Department and has been working as a project assistant on the exhibition "Portraits of German History" (working title) at the Deutsches Historisches Museum since September 2026.

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Objects. History. Stories.

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