1
00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:09,679
We are
at a historic site,

2
00:00:09,679 --> 00:00:12,759
the Zeughaus of the
German Historical Museum.

3
00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:16,800
It was built
around 1700.

4
00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:19,120
As the name itself suggests,

5
00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:23,679
it was the weapons arsenal
of the Prussian army.

6
00:00:23,679 --> 00:00:27,679
This remained the case for about 150 years.
Then came the Revolution of 1848,

7
00:00:27,679 --> 00:00:29,640
and the supporters
of the revolution

8
00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:32,399
looted the arsenal.
The weapons were subsequently

9
00:00:32,399 --> 00:00:35,359
removed from the building
and moved to the edge of the city.

10
00:00:35,359 --> 00:00:37,920
In the GDR,
in the 20th century,

11
00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:42,240
this building here
was a museum of history,

12
00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:49,039
and then, in 1990, it became part of
the German Historical Museum.

13
00:00:49,039 --> 00:00:51,759
Mr Gross, what do
you associate with this place,

14
00:00:51,759 --> 00:00:54,679
and what will be
created here in the future?

15
00:00:56,039 --> 00:01:01,799
Well, first of all, you can see that
this is a magnificent space.

16
00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:05,599
The Zeughaus,
where we are now,

17
00:01:05,599 --> 00:01:09,000
is, in a sense, our largest
historical object.

18
00:01:09,519 --> 00:01:14,680
By telling the history of this site,

19
00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:18,680
we intend to respond precisely
to that within the Zeughaus,

20
00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:24,519
so that visitors understand
what these masks mean,

21
00:01:24,519 --> 00:01:29,040
what kind of museum

22
00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:31,680
this was
during the GDR period.

23
00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:39,640
What was staged here
during the Nazi regime

24
00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:45,680
and in what way it was used
as a Prussian military museum,

25
00:01:46,159 --> 00:01:49,359
after it no longer served

26
00:01:49,359 --> 00:01:53,359
its original purpose
as an armoury.

27
00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:59,359
In other words, all these layers will
also form part of a history of this site,

28
00:01:59,359 --> 00:02:01,840
so that, when
one enters here,

29
00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:04,519
one understands:
this is an exceptional place,

30
00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:09,879
before then entering into the chronology
of German history.

31
00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:15,680
I believe we are living in times
that many experience as deeply unsettled,

32
00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:19,199
when many have the sense
that certainties

33
00:02:19,199 --> 00:02:21,680
are being cast aside,
certainties to which

34
00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:23,120
we thought we
had grown accustomed.

35
00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:27,120
Why would you say it is important
to look back into history?

36
00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:30,560
Why is it important
to know German history?

37
00:02:30,719 --> 00:02:35,360
First of all, it is our task
to present and explain,

38
00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:38,719
if you will,
the whole of German history

39
00:02:38,719 --> 00:02:46,599
in its European and international context,
through a permanent exhibition.

40
00:02:48,039 --> 00:02:49,240
Why is that important?

41
00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:53,680
I believe it is especially
important today, because

42
00:02:55,199 --> 00:02:57,800
we are always in
a situation in which

43
00:02:57,800 --> 00:02:59,919
we do not know:
what comes next?

44
00:02:59,919 --> 00:03:02,719
And in that respect, I believe
this is one of the

45
00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:07,240
important aspects
of a historical museum:

46
00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:08,280
that it gives us,

47
00:03:09,159 --> 00:03:12,360
if you will,
orientation – not

48
00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:14,680
a prescribed orientation,
but one that

49
00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:16,800
each person works out
for themselves

50
00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:19,560
by looking at it
and then considering:

51
00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:25,240
What kind of time
am I living in today,

52
00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:30,520
and in what way do I reflect on what
happened at this site in the past?

53
00:03:31,759 --> 00:03:35,000
What is special about
the German Historical Museum,

54
00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:39,120
of course, is that we tell
this history through objects.

55
00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:43,719
And these objects are,
in themselves, impressive and compelling;

56
00:03:43,719 --> 00:03:47,560
some are also disquieting,
or perhaps even shocking.

57
00:03:48,719 --> 00:03:51,240
What would you say:
what kind of approach,

58
00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:54,360
what kind of attitude
would you wish

59
00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:57,479
visitors to this building
to be able to adopt?

60
00:03:57,919 --> 00:04:00,560
First of all, I would say
that exhibition as a medium

61
00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:03,560
is a very particular one.

62
00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:09,039
Unlike a text,
which is entirely linear,

63
00:04:09,039 --> 00:04:13,039
an exhibition like the one
we will present here –

64
00:04:15,199 --> 00:04:21,040
one that works primarily
with historical objects –

65
00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:27,120
leaves room for
visitors’ own responses.

66
00:04:27,879 --> 00:04:31,560
We cannot know exactly
what each visitor

67
00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:36,079
will see in a given object,
what they will find compelling,

68
00:04:36,079 --> 00:04:40,240
aesthetically appealing,
or perhaps unsettling.

69
00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:46,959
All of these are things
that an exhibition takes into account,

70
00:04:48,439 --> 00:04:51,160
of which the curators
are conscious,

71
00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:53,759
but where a degree of
openness remains.

72
00:04:53,759 --> 00:04:57,160
And that is one of the things
that makes exhibitions so fascinating.


73
00:04:57,160 --> 00:04:59,879
People often visit them
together,

74
00:04:59,879 --> 00:05:02,439
and talk about what they see:
How do you see this?

75
00:05:02,439 --> 00:05:04,040
What did you notice?

76
00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:06,720
It is not a linear
narrative with

77
00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:09,000
only one perspective;


78
00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,000
every visitor
will see something different.

79
00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:14,959
Another point is that
we expect visitors,

80
00:05:14,959 --> 00:05:19,959
especially to the
permanent exhibition,

81
00:05:19,959 --> 00:05:23,519
to come
from all over the world.

82
00:05:23,519 --> 00:05:27,319
The previous
permanent exhibition, too,

83
00:05:27,319 --> 00:05:30,079
had more than
50 percent of its visitors

84
00:05:30,519 --> 00:05:34,160
from abroad,
as well as many

85
00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:38,120
from other parts of Germany
rather than Berlin.

86
00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:42,000
We are, after all,
the major national history museum.

87
00:05:42,519 --> 00:05:47,560
And that, of course,
also means that

88
00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:51,759
when someone visits the museum
from Korea or Japan,

89
00:05:51,759 --> 00:05:57,639
or from the United States,
and encounters German history here,

90
00:05:57,639 --> 00:06:00,680
people will respond
in very different ways,

91
00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:03,000
and other aspects
will come into focus.

92
00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:08,120
The particular appeal of this museum
is, in fact, the permanent exhibition.

93
00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:10,319
While many other museums

94
00:06:10,319 --> 00:06:12,800
struggle with the fact
that their collection displays

95
00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:15,879
are not as well visited
as their temporary exhibitions,

96
00:06:15,879 --> 00:06:18,279
here, by contrast,
it is the main attraction –

97
00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:20,079
this is what people come for.

98
00:06:20,079 --> 00:06:21,639
What guiding principles

99
00:06:21,639 --> 00:06:24,560
will shape
this new permanent exhibition?

100
00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:29,560
It will be an exhibition
built around objects.

101
00:06:30,079 --> 00:06:35,160
We have a magnificent collection
of more than one million

102
00:06:36,639 --> 00:06:39,120
very different collection items,

103
00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:42,959
objects, sources of history
in our depots.

104
00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:49,079
And they are, in a certain sense,
the basis of our way of telling history.

105
00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:54,000
Then it is very important to me –
and to the team –

106
00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:59,560
that we retain
a certain chronology.

107
00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:01,600
That is not self-evident.

108
00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:05,560
One can also try to tell
history through themes.

109
00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:07,800
We consider it important,

110
00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:14,000
however, that this possibility
of orienting oneself in time

111
00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:15,920
should remain open

112
00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:21,079
to visitors, at least on
the upper floor of this building.

113
00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:24,399
So that, as it were,
one learns to understand

114
00:07:24,399 --> 00:07:26,519
 history through time

115
00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:29,959
or to reflect upon it.

116
00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:35,399
We will also, however, place
other things at the centre,

117
00:07:35,399 --> 00:07:41,120
for example in a new area
for families and children –

118
00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:42,199
that did not exist before.

119
00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:46,800
And the chronology, too,
and everything we do here,

120
00:07:47,639 --> 00:07:52,560
is shaped by a particular attitude,
one that has also been developed here

121
00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:56,199
over the past,
well, decades, one can now say,

122
00:07:56,319 --> 00:08:01,800
namely that we seek to ensure
that as many people as possible

123
00:08:02,439 --> 00:08:05,720
are able to find access
to this exhibition.

124
00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:12,120
Whether through inclusive measures,
or through the way

125
00:08:12,319 --> 00:08:18,040
we tell the story,
or indeed quite simply

126
00:08:18,319 --> 00:08:23,199
by ensuring accessibility
in every respect.

127
00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:30,839
The questions that our team
presents in the various sections

128
00:08:31,639 --> 00:08:34,879
are, of course, also
thematically focused.

129
00:08:34,879 --> 00:08:40,240
For us, chronology does not mean
that every moment is the same.

130
00:08:41,399 --> 00:08:43,440
Rather, there are
points of emphasis.

131
00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:45,440
There are moments of

132
00:08:46,759 --> 00:08:49,080
change,
of rupture, of caesura.

133
00:08:49,879 --> 00:08:53,039
These, too,
will very much form part of 

134
00:08:53,039 --> 00:08:55,879
the chronological presentation,
where we show: 

135
00:08:56,399 --> 00:08:59,840
suddenly something
entirely different is happening,

136
00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:03,039
or something quite
fundamental is changing.

137
00:09:03,799 --> 00:09:08,000
For instance,
at the moment when

138
00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:12,120
the geography of the earth
is perceived and understood anew.

139
00:09:12,279 --> 00:09:16,120
Or at the moment
when entirely different forms

140
00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:20,720
of media take centre stage,
and with them

141
00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:26,120
political public life
is reshaped.

142
00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:30,080
Representation 
functions differently.

143
00:09:30,879 --> 00:09:35,799
All of these ruptures are also part
of what we show within the chronology.

144
00:09:36,399 --> 00:09:39,759
There is great curiosity about
historical objects,

145
00:09:39,759 --> 00:09:41,879
about the possibility
of encountering

146
00:09:41,879 --> 00:09:44,679
these historical objects
in physical form in a museum.

147
00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:49,679
What is the appeal of historical objects
in the age of digitalisation?

148
00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:54,200
I believe this was a question
that, a few years ago,

149
00:09:55,320 --> 00:10:00,679
was met with great concern:

150
00:10:01,639 --> 00:10:06,559
the fear that
digitalisation would cause museums

151
00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:10,600
to lose their significance –

152
00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:15,600
especially since we ourselves
have been pioneers

153
00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:20,159
in making our collection available
digitally to anyone in the world,

154
00:10:20,159 --> 00:10:22,320
in some cases
in the highest resolution,

155
00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:25,320
so that, in that respect, people
would not need to come here at all.

156
00:10:26,279 --> 00:10:28,960
In fact, precisely the opposite
has happened.

157
00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:33,279
Museums have attracted
more visitors.

158
00:10:34,519 --> 00:10:38,879
Museums have become
more important as social spaces,

159
00:10:38,879 --> 00:10:42,679
as spaces of
encounter and experience,

160
00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:45,799
and simply
places to spend time.

161
00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:48,240
And evidently,

162
00:10:49,279 --> 00:10:51,799
digitalisation has
increased the desire

163
00:10:51,799 --> 00:10:55,639
to encounter the original,
rather than diminishing it.

164
00:10:56,000 --> 00:11:04,320
The objects we will show
come from different periods

165
00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:09,000
in the history of
our collections.

166
00:11:09,559 --> 00:11:15,919
Some of them even go back
to our predecessor museums.

167
00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:18,519
Here in the space
where we are now,

168
00:11:18,519 --> 00:11:21,720
you can see, for example,
weapons, cannon barrels,

169
00:11:22,399 --> 00:11:25,720
but the range of objects we show
is much broader.

170
00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:31,279
Militaria is one of the many
areas of our collection –

171
00:11:31,279 --> 00:11:33,440
naturally so, since

172
00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:37,960
we are, after all,
in a former armoury: a Zeughaus.

173
00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:43,519
And so, for a historical museum
that also deals with

174
00:11:43,519 --> 00:11:46,559
political history
and histories of violence,

175
00:11:46,559 --> 00:11:50,360
it is important to be able
to draw on militaria as well.

176
00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:57,559
However, we have such a broad range
of different objects –

177
00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:05,320
from everyday history,
to remarkable rarities and documents –

178
00:12:07,559 --> 00:12:14,440
that this is in fact
a place where

179
00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:17,840
both cultural and
political history are represented,

180
00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:21,919
and will continue to be represented,
through objects:

181
00:12:21,919 --> 00:12:26,399
from Napoleon’s hat to

182
00:12:26,399 --> 00:12:31,039
the first German-language version
of the American Declaration of Independence

183
00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:34,679
When a new
permanent exhibition is created,

184
00:12:34,679 --> 00:12:38,279
it is a process in which
many people are involved.

185
00:12:38,279 --> 00:12:41,039
How should one imagine it?
What is the process like?

186
00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:48,480
Well, first of all, we are dealing
with around 9,000 square metres

187
00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:50,799
and vast spaces.

188
00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:55,960
And accordingly,
it is an intellectually

189
00:12:55,960 --> 00:13:00,879
extraordinarily challenging
undertaking, in which

190
00:13:00,879 --> 00:13:04,399
essentially the entire museum team

191
00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:07,720
is involved in one way
or another.

192
00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:10,720
Particularly
in the Collections Department,

193
00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:13,399
but also in administration
and beyond.

194
00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:18,120
And then we also have
a dedicated exhibition team for

195
00:13:18,759 --> 00:13:25,679
this permanent exhibition,
working on different periods of history.

196
00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:30,720
We have an
internationally composed

197
00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:34,279
advisory board for this
project, alongside our

198
00:13:34,559 --> 00:13:37,200
already active
Academic Advisory Board.

199
00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:42,120
And that means it is an
interplay between

200
00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:45,480
quite a large team
working on the project,

201
00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:52,840
engaging with one another
on various levels,

202
00:13:53,879 --> 00:13:57,639
particularly, of course,
with regard to the museography.

203
00:13:57,879 --> 00:14:02,639
That is to say,
the installations needed

204
00:14:02,639 --> 00:14:08,720
in order to present the objects,
the texts and the media that we use

205
00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:12,200
in the best possible way,

206
00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:17,919
so that visitors are
left with certain impressions –

207
00:14:17,919 --> 00:14:20,000
impressions we want to create,
or that we hope

208
00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:23,799
will open up an understanding
of what we are presenting.