The Karshorst Museum as well as its surrounding buildings started out as barracks built by the Nazi’s where they trained military engineers. It housed thousands of Berlin soldiers until the end of the Nazi regime when it was taken over by the Soviets due the signing of the Capitulation. The signing of the Capitulation also took place in the building which is now the Karshorst Museum, where the Germans surrendered to second world war, and was the symbolic start of dictatorship for the Soviets. The Soviets then used the buildings for military grounds as these buildings were hardly affected by bombs during World War Two. The museum itself became a home to a casino and offices as well as a restaurant for those of the Soviet high command.
After the Soviets lefts East Germany, the preparations of the Karshorst Museum were started. Those in charge of the museum wrote letters to survivors of World War Two to gather information. However, they often found the responses were contradictory to one another, as people experience situations differently when they are in fear. A Diplomatic Agreement was made between the Karshorst Museum and the Soviets prior to their return to Russia. This agreement is one of the reasons why the museum was founded and to this day every change in the museum itself must be made with colleagues in Moscow.
I was impressed by the amount of historical photos that were in the museum. A good majority of the museum consisted of these photos with a small description beside them. As a visual learner, I found this to be very helpful. The historic photos helped illustrate World War Two in a way that appealed to the audience’s emotions.
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| Outside of the Karshorst Museum |
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| The building built for the Nazi barracks |
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| Military vehicles used by the Soviets |
3 comments:
Aside from your other post, were there any other photographs that really struck you or things that opened your eyes?
I think the fact that it is a collaboration between the Germans and the Russians it quite interesting and complex, especially since I would assume they would have very different opinions on somethings. How do you think this influences what is present and the way things are presented? Do you think it does the muesum a disservice?
Yes Vince, I thought that the picture with the family who was murdered by the father also really struck me. I thought it really showed the mental effects of war and not just the physical. Jennifer, I really thought that the collaboration between the Germans and the Russians affected the way the west was presented within the museum. Throughout other places we have been to (such as the documentation centre) it seems that the west is portrayed more heroic. Not denying that it may have been better living conditions there then in the east. I felt that the Karshorst museum however did not show much about the positives of living in the west at all.
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