German Historical Museum, Berlin, Germany

German Historical Museum, Berlin, Germany

German Historical Museum is Germany’s National Historical Museum. Located in Berlin’s historic district of Mitte, it sees itself as a place of active communication and discussion of history.

The Deutsches Historisches Museum was founded by the then Federal Republic of Germany and the Land Berlin in 1987 on the occasion of the 750th anniversary celebration of Berlin. The buildings and collections of the Museum für Deutsche Geschichte (MfDG), the central historical museum of the GDR, were transferred to the ownerschip of the Deutsches Historisches Museum within the framework of the contract on German reunification. Thus with reunification in 1990, the Deutsches Historisches Museum became the museum for the history of all parts of Germany.

In addition to acquisitions made by the MfDG, the stocks also included the militaria collection of the former Royal Prussian Zeughaus (Armoury). Supplemented by numerous new acquisitions since 1987, the collection of the Deutsches Historisches Museum now comprises some 900,000 objects. The Deutsches Historisches Museum has placed a large part of its collections at the disposal of researchers and the interested public online through its Database.

The Permanent Exhibition in the Zeughaus, German History in Images and Artefacts, with more than 7,000 objects, provides a unique overview of German history within its international context. The museum’s temporary Special Exhibitions can be seen in the Exhibition Hall designed by the Chinese American architect I.M. Pei. They are devoted to formative historical events, epochs and social developments.

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