We also collect films
The film archive of the German History Museum
When the German History Museum (DHM), which had already been founded but was still without a home, moved into the Zeughaus on the boulevard Unter den Linden and found a fully equipped cinema in the Museum of German History, it was clear that not only films would be shown here, but also collected. Over the course of more than 30 years, an archive has been created which, with around 900 analog 35mm and 16mm film prints, is one of the small film collections in Germany. Feature films and documentaries, advertising and propaganda films from Germany and its neighboring countries, America and Asia are stored here. The example of successful West German films such as the Sissi and Karl May films shows that it is possible to have different opinions about the artistic status of some works without denying their immense cultural and historical significance for several generations. The DHM's film archive also includes rare silent films, Oscar winners from Hollywood, popular cinema and representatives of German, European and international auteur films. Most of the films are also available for loan to other venues. We are now offering an insight into the archive for a period of ten weeks: What effect do our films, which otherwise lie silent and lonely on the shelf, have when they shine on the screen again? What happens when they are viewed and discussed, when they move us and make us think, when a wound-up celluloid tape starts to move in the cinema projector and transforms space and time?
