Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr (Dresden)
Much of Germany’s history has been shaped by war and conflict. So how does a military museum illustrate such a violent history successfully? Over an exhibition area of 13,000 square meters, this museum creates an immersive and gripping timeline of warfare and its myriad repercussions, by often highly inventive means.
Why go there?
Dresden is arguably East Germany’s tourist beacon. For some, the draw is the Old Town and the chocolate-box views along the banks of the river Elbe. History fans may be more drawn by the story of the devastating aerial bombings during WW2. For those who are already interested in Dresden’s place in the timeline of the War, this museum would be a natural part of your trip. Architecture buffs will also be hooked in by the Daniel Libeskind building, which is just as dramatic as his famous Jewish Museum design in Berlin. The original building, a grandiose arsenal built in 1877, is cut through by a colossal metallic wedge, completed in 2011, making for an unforgettable sight.
The museum is sponsored by the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, and many elements of a traditional military history museum are present. The cannons and tanks, weapons and uniforms should more than satisfy military enthusiasts. Likewise, children will enjoy exploring the vast space with the opportunity to get up close to many of the exhibits. There are displays especially aimed at children, but quite how much the youngest visitors will understand the profound debates that the museum engages in is questionable. Should you wish to take a pit stop before tackling more of the museum’s extensive sections, there is a large on-site café-restaurant, a necessity in a museum of this scale. All captions are translated into English, with the museum clearly aiming to appeal to an international audience; its website is available in several other languages, alongside German and English.
What’s inside?
The interior has a somewhat industrial appearance: stark white walls allow the displays to speak for themselves. The main museum is divided into two sections, one chronological and one thematic. The chronological section gives a whistlestop tour of the main conflicts of German history, beginning as early as 1300. The Napoleonic and Thirty Years wars are covered, alongside key sections on WW1 and 2, as well as the interwar years. The thematic half offers insight into the more unusual structural elements of war, such as the use of animals. A world beyond weapons is also explored, including the physical, emotional and moral injury inflicted in battle. There are glances beyond the front line, too. War changes women’s role in society, for instance: warring governments tend to have fixed ideas of what women should contribute to a war, but war itself does not necessarily respect those ideas. Hitler’s medal for mothers with four or more children, known in common parlance as the ‘Mutterkreuz’, might seem like the wrong kind of medal for a military museum, but the museum explains that Hitler believed women should raise future generations of soldiers.
Perhaps the most memorable displays are those that are visually innovative, challenging what we expect to see in a military museum. Shells are suspended from the ceiling, for example, resembling an art installation. The display of prosthetics is also artfully arranged against the hollow outlines of human forms. This makes the common sights of a military exhibition all more the interesting, even if just aesthetically. There are areas where this conceptual approach is arguably less successful, but, as with most art pieces in museums, such ‘success’ in highly subjective.
German History Museums 