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Checkpoint Charlie Museum

Coordinates:52°30′28″N13°23′26″E/ 52.50778°N 13.39056°E/52.50778; 13.39056
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Haus amCheckpoint Charlie
Checkpoint Charlie Museum
Checkpoint Charlie Museum
Checkpoint Charlie Museum
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Checkpoint Charlie Museum, Berlin
TheFreedom Memorial

TheCheckpoint Charlie Museum(German:Das Mauermuseum – Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie) is a private museum inBerlin.It is named after thefamous crossing pointthrough theBerlin Wall,and was created to document the so-called "best border security system in the world" (in the words ofEast GermangeneralHeinz Hoffmann). On display are the photos and related documents of successful escape attempts fromEast Germany,together with the escape apparatus: hot-air balloons, getaway cars, chairlifts, and a mini-U-boat.The museum researches and maintains alist of deaths at the Berlin Wall.It is operated by theMauermuseum-Betriebs gGmbH,[1]and the director isAlexandra Hildebrandt.

History

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TheArbeitsgemeinschaft 13. Augustis anassociationnamed after the date the Berlin Wall was constructed. It was formed with the purpose to fight against human rights violations as a result of the wall, and to create solutions through activities such as press conferences, publishing, and exhibitions.[2]The museum project began as an exhibition by founding director and human rights activistRainer Hildebrandt.According to Hildebrandt: "The first exhibition opened on the 19 October 1962 in an apartment with only two and a half rooms in famousBernauer Straße.The street was divided along its whole length; the buildings in the east had been vacated and their windows were bricked up. We suggested that tourists be thankful to those border guards who do not shoot to kill ".[3]

On 14 June 1963, the museum opened in its permanent location onFriedrichstraße,known asHaus am Checkpoint Charlie.[3]TheArbeitsgemeinschaft 13. August e. V.was formally registered with the city as aVerein(association) on 16 July 1963.[4]The museum in its early days was known for its jumbled and chaotic exhibition style, with many objects and relics displayed without the usual organization of a conventional museum.[5][6]It was also a political center, and actively involved in planning and assisting escapes. It featured a library, films, lectures, and a publishing operation.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the corresponding considerable reduction in its public grant money, under the leadership of Alexandra Hildebrandt the museum evolved into a private undertaking, which "reinvented the former political center as a 'place of experience.'"[5]It operated, in the words of Hildebrandt, "according to business principles",[5][7]soon earning seven-digit profits[5][8][9]and becoming the most commercially successful museum in Europe.[5][10]In 2002, theArbeitsgemeinschaft 13. Augustgave up its charitable status and thus its remaining grants and tax breaks.[5][10]

It is now one of the most frequently visitedmuseums in Berlin,with more than 850,000 visitors annually.[11][12]In recent years, the museum has continued to add to its exhibitions on the international struggle for human rights, bringing attention to the cases ofSergei Magnitskyand others.[13][14]

In 2004, Alexandra Hildebrandt installed theFreedom Memorialto the victims of the border forces, in a nearby empty lot. The memorial was removed the following year, after the lease on the land was terminated by the owner. Both the memorial and its removal were the subjects of some criticism and controversy.[15][16][17]

Main exhibitions

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  • The wall from 13 August 1961 to its fall is an exhibition of photographs, writing, and objects, documenting the Berlin Wall and escapes across it, during the time it stood.[18]
  • TheBerlin from front-line city to bridge of Europeexhibition shows the history of divided Berlin, following World War II to its reunification.[18]
  • In theIt happened at Checkpoint Charlieexhibition the many historical events that took place at Checkpoint Charlie are presented.[18]
  • TheInventive Escapesexhibition focuses on various contraptions and ingenious vehicles, used to successfully evade the East German border security.[18]

Further exhibitions and events

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  • From Gandhi to Walesa Non-violent struggle for human rights exhibition portrays non-violent protests around the world, and how similar methods were used in Germany.[18]
  • NATO Mission for Freedomis a new permanent exhibition focusing on international and diplomatic contexts opened in March, 2012.NATOGeneral SecretaryAnders F. Rasmussenvisited the exhibition in May, 2012.[19]
  • TheRonald Reaganexhibition is a celebration ofPresident Reagan's life and work, and his contribution to the tearing down of the Berlin Wall.[18]
  • Raoul Wallenberg livesis a new permanent exhibition on the life and work ofRaoul Wallenbergthat opened in 2012.[20]
  • Mikhail Khodorkovskyexhibition:Mikhail Khodorkovskyheld a press conference upon his release in December 2013 at the museum. He gave thanks to themedia,former German foreign ministerHans-Dietrich Genscher,and German chancellorAngela Merkelfor their assistance in securing his release.[21][22][23]He expressed gratitude to the museum for hosting the press conference and for providing moral support in relation to its exhibition section about his situation, while he was imprisoned.[22]According to museum director Alexandra Hildebrandt, it was she who in 2011 encouraged Genscher to become involved in the diplomatic efforts to release Khodorkovsky.[24]
  • Nadiya Savchenkoexhibition: The museum installed an exhibition of the works ofNadiya Savchenkoin 2016, and helped in the efforts to secure her release from prison.[25]

Quotation

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We can also call ourselves the first museum of international nonviolent protest. Our exhibits include: TheCharta 77typewriter, the hectograph of the illegal periodical "Umweltblätter" ( "Environmental Pages" ),Mahatma Gandhi's diary and sandals and fromElena Bonnerthe death mask of her partnerAndrei Sakharov.

— Rainer Hildebrandt,"Origins - Development - Future", from mauermuseum.de[3]

Notes

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  1. ^"Das Mauermuseum-Betriebs gGmbH, Berlin".northdata.de(in German).Retrieved7 January2021.
  2. ^"Arbeitsgemeinschaft 13. August, Berlin - Firmenauskunft".FirmenWissen.Retrieved2 February2018.
  3. ^abc"Origins - Development - Future".Mauermuseum - Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie.Archived fromthe originalon 24 September 2010.
  4. ^Amtsblatt für Berlin - Jahrgang 1963[Official Gazette for Berlin] (in German). Vol. 13. Kultur-Buch-Verlag. 1963. p. 898.
  5. ^abcdefFrank, Sybille (2016).Wall memorials and heritage: the heritage industry of Berlin's Checkpoint Charlie.New York, NY:Routledge.sec. 3.1, 3.3.2, 5.3.ISBN9781315768908.OCLC953692087.
  6. ^Kinzer, Stephen (18 December 1994)."TRAVEL ADVISORY: CORRESPONDENT'S REPORT; At Checkpoint Charlie, A Museum Remembers".The New York Times.Retrieved7 March2018.
  7. ^Engel, M.; Konnerth, D. (21 November 1998)."Ex-Mitarbeiter des Mauermuseums erheben Vorwürfe gegen die Leitung" Wir arbeiteten in Angst und Schrecken "".Berliner Zeitung(in German).Retrieved10 March2018.
  8. ^Wensierski, Peter; Wiest, Sandra (9 February 2002)."Goldener Lebensabend".Der Spiegel(in German).Retrieved28 March2018.
  9. ^Gessler, Philipp (7 January 2005)."Haus am Scheckpoint Charlie".TAZ(in German).Retrieved28 March2018.
  10. ^abKunzemann, Thilo (14 February 2002)."Kontrollen am Checkpoint".TAZ(in German).Retrieved10 March2018.
  11. ^Gedenkstätten und zeitgeschichtliche Museen bleiben im AufwärtstrendArchivedJune 12, 2011, at theWayback MachineState of Berlin, 13 November 2009.(in German)
  12. ^"Top 10: Die meist besuchten Museen - Platz 4: Mauermuseum – Haus am Checkpoint Charly".berlin.de(in German). 20 February 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 16 August 2017.Retrieved16 August2017.
  13. ^Halvorssen, Thor (9 November 2011)."Checkpoint Charlie Museum - One man's heroic determination to fight tyranny with truth".National Review Online.Retrieved7 March2018.
  14. ^Trice, Emilie (28 November 2011)."Berlin Exhibit Explores Magnitsky Case".The New York Times.Retrieved7 March2018.
  15. ^Bernstein, Richard (25 December 2004)."Memorial to Berlin Wall Victims Divides the City Again".The New York Times.Retrieved26 January2018.
  16. ^Checkpoint Charlie: Mauermahnmal abgerissenHarald Rohde,Der Tagesspiegel,5 July 2005.(in German)
  17. ^James, Kyle (5 July 2005)."Berlin Council Targets 'Checkpoint Charlie' Memorial".NPR.org.Retrieved26 January2018.
  18. ^abcdef"Mauermuseum - Haus am Checkpoint Charlie (museum flyer)"(PDF).Mauermuseum - Haus am Checkpoint Charlie.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 23 June 2017.Retrieved2 February2018.
  19. ^Schmidt, Tanja (June 2012)."Vom Kanzleramt zum Mauermuseum".diplomatisches-magazin.de(in German). Archived fromthe originalon 27 January 2018.Retrieved26 January2018.
  20. ^Schmidt, Tanja (March 2012).""Raoul Wallenberg lives" at the Mauermuseum ".diplomatisches-magazin.de.Archived fromthe originalon 26 January 2018.Retrieved26 January2018.
  21. ^"Khodorkovsky expresses thanks to Germany, the media".Deutsche Welle.22 December 2013.Retrieved27 January2018.
  22. ^ab"Transcript of Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Open Press Conference in Berlin".Khodorkovsky.MBK IP Limited. 6 January 2014.Retrieved29 March2018.
  23. ^"Putin Critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky in Berlin".CNN iReport.Retrieved27 January2018.
  24. ^Martin, Michelle; Kelly, Lidia (26 December 2013)."Inside Germany's campaign to free Khodorkovsky".Reuters.Retrieved29 March2018.
  25. ^"Berlin zeigt Kunst von ukrainischer Pilotin Nadja Sawtschenko".B.Z. Berlin(in German).Berliner Zeitung.
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52°30′28″N13°23′26″E/ 52.50778°N 13.39056°E/52.50778; 13.39056

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