iDeutsches Historisches MuseumMitte
Objects. History. Stories. Reviewing the Collection
Around 200 objects from the DHM's million-piece collection, some never shown before, exploring provenance, 150 years of collecting and how places have shaped history.
More in Berlin
A suit of samurai armour that Kyoto reservists sent to Hitler in 1938 sat unpacked in the museum's stores for about 40 years. It now stands across from the last field uniform Wilhelm II wore before he abdicated in 1918.
Around 200 objects from a million-piece collection fill the ground floor of the Pei building, some never shown before. The first part tells the museum's own story, from Prussian army hall of fame in 1883 through Nazi military museum and East German history museum. The second moves by place: an amber game board made in Königsberg in 1607, borders, flight and exile. You step out of a complete Biedermeier room straight to an IKEA bunk bed from a Kassel refugee shelter, a pairing curator Wolfgang Cortjaens refused to give up.
Blogger Juna Grossmann praised its "Haltung" (conviction). Entry is €7 (€3.50 reduced, under-18s free), texts come in German, English and plain language, and group-free quiet hours run Tuesdays 4 to 6 pm and Saturdays 10 am to noon.
Look for
Hitler's samurai armour
A Japanese suit of armour, sent to Hitler by Kyoto reservists in 1938 and unpacked again after about 40 years in store, faces Wilhelm II's last field uniform.
The Biedermeier room
A complete room of furniture, dishes and cutlery that left Germany during the Second World War and came back to Berlin in 2023, with a map tracing its owners.
The Kassel bunk bed
An IKEA bed turned into a bunk at a 2015 refugee shelter in Kassel, covered in children's drawings, set right beside the Biedermeier room.
The glass guest book
The Counts of Oettingen's welcome goblet, a glass engraved with 30 names and dates.
Kit from the last coal mine
A helmet, work bag, knee pads and heavy boots from Bottrop's Prosper-Haniel colliery, closed in 2018, displayed like relics, with miner Ayhan Artar telling his story at an interview station.
Good for
- Cheap Culture
- Nerding Out
With kids
Under-18s get in free. There are family tours on Sundays at 2 pm, school-holiday programmes and an audio guide for ages 8 and up.
Also at Deutsches Historisches Museum
On now nearby
Nearby
Image credits
9
- Objects. History. Stories. Reviewing the CollectionCourtesy of Deutsches Historisches Museum
- Founded on Antiquity: Berlin's First MuseumPhoto: Johannes Laurentius
- 100 Years of the Dictionary of the Egyptian Language© Ägyptisches Wörterbuch
- Destiny in the Stars: The Beginnings of the Zodiac© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung, Foto: Sandra Steiß
- Deutsches Historisches MuseumAvda / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Altes MuseumJean-Pierre Dalbéra / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
- Neues MuseumFred Romero / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
- Alte NationalgalerieManfred Brückels / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
- PergamonmuseumHerrAdams / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0