Germany Guide
North Rhine-Westphalia
Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Address: Museumsmeile, U-Bahn Heussallee/Museumsmeile
Opening time: Tues– Sun 9am–7pm
Price: Free
Website: www.hdg.de
The Haus der Geschichte der BundesrepublikDeutschland charts the history of the Federal Republic of Germany in a lively and entertaining way; as you leave the U-Bahn the first thing you see is the luxurious railway carriage used by chancellors Konrad Adenauer and Ludwig Erhard but originally built for Nazi bigwig Hermann Göring. Pick up the English-language guidebook (€6) as the labelling is in German only. Rubble marks the start of the story in 1945, with grim footage of concentration camps and of destroyed German cities; it continues through the beginnings of democratic politics and of artistic rebirth to the 1950s Wirtschaftswunder – the "economic miracle" – where exhibits include a BMW Isetta bubble car, nicknamed the "cuddle ball" or "motorized raincoat" for its modest dimensions. Upbeat displays on consumerism, US cultural influence and the changing role of women balance grimmer ones on the Berlin Wall, the 1960s Auschwitz trials and Baader-Meinhof/RAF terrorism, and the museum balances coverage of the West with a look at parallel developments in the East.