The Story of Karlshorst

The Story of Karlshorst: May 20th Field Question

I would like to talk briefly about Karlshorst, as it was one of the most interesting museums I've seen thus far since our arrival in Berlin.

A historical location, the Karlshorst museum was the building in which the unconditional surrender of the German forces to the Allies took place. From there, it served several purposes for the Soviets during their occupation of Berlin until 1967, at which point it became a surrender museum until 1994. From then on until this day, it serves as a joint German/Russian museum of the Second World War up until the German's surrender.

Now allow me to speak briefly about the Karlshorst museum; it was unique, it had a story to tell. At first glance from the outside, that would not seem the case, it's a fairly small establishment with several soviet tanks lined up outside of the building. That perspective all changes when you step foot inside the museum. It's not a standard museum, it isn't a confusing maze of exhibits that tell isolated bits of information. Instead, it tells a complex, flowing tale of the second world war through photographs. Beyond that, the photographic aesthetic of their museum was so important to the story they were trying to tell (Beginning, middle, and end of the war) that they placed a special emphasis on it within the exhibit. Explaining the importance of the photos, and the historical bias that comes from the photographer himself.

In an effort to keep this concise, I'll finish with this. I loved the Karlshorst museum. Unlike other museums, it didn't throw a complex torrent of isolated information through unconnected exhibits at you. Instead, it begins with a clear goal, with a clear, very emotional moving story, and through that story it teaches you about the war and emotionally moves you in ways that most other museums can't.