main content start,
permanant exhibition of the berliner unterwelten e.V.
© Philipp Dase
permanant exhibition of the berliner unterwelten e.V.
© Berliner Unterwelten e.V. / Holger Happel

Albert Speer's plans for Berlin were not utopian, but a concrete building project. As General Building Inspector, the architect designed broad axes and monumental buildings of enormous dimensions that were intended to demonstrate the Nazi system's claim to power. Berlin would no longer have served as a living space for its inhabitants, but as a representation space for the regime. For the realization of the plans Speer demanded and supported expulsions, deportations and slave labor. In the aspired new construction of the metropolis, vision and crime were inextricably linked.

The history exhibition of the Berliner Unterwelten e.V. illuminates architecture and urban planning in Berlin during the Nazi era and analyses the ideological objectives and criminal consequences. In addition, legends and clichés surrounding the "world capital Germania" are deconstructed. The multimedia exhibition invites visitors to independently explore the multi-layered topic. More than 20 authors - many of them working for Berlin universities, memorial and documentation sites - have contributed to the interdisciplinary project. In its seven thematic sections, the exhibition presents selected building projects and sheds light on the constructional, social and ideological backgrounds - always in the context of the crimes committed for the "redesign": Expulsion, deportation and forced labor. The rooms on a mezzanine floor in the Gesundbrunnen subway station provide the appropriate location for the exhibition. Here, media stations, text and image banners, exhibits and architectural models provide a comprehensive insight into the plans and projects of the GBI. Additional film, audio and PC stations as well as "pull-out shops", which provide further detailed information, are available for individual in-depth study. The original exhibits include part of a "Speer candelabra", artefacts from the site of the "Klinkerwerk" concentration camp subcamp near Oranienburg, a fragment of a column from the New Reich Chancellery and an experimental lamp from a tunnel in front of the Soviet Memorial on the Straße des 17. In addition, the large-scale model of "Germania" created for the film "Der Untergang" (2004) will be on display. This is impressively juxtaposed with an immediately adjacent illuminated wall depicting the criminal consequences of the large-scale construction project.

In April 2015, the permanent exhibition was expanded by a thematic offer. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the end of the war in 1945, Berliner Unterwelten e.V. presented the special exhibition "Kriegsbunker als Stadtdekoration - NS-Planungen für die Friedenszeit" (War Bunkers as City Decoration - Nazi Planning for Peacetime), which will be expanded to include a 1:35 scale model of the Humboldthain Flak Tower by the well-known model builder Manfred Jonas for the start of the 2016 season.

Opening hours,

  • Monday-Friday closed
  • Saturday 11:00 - 17:00
  • Sunday closed
Last entry

16:00

Special hours:

May 21st: International Museumsday (free entry)

August 26th: Long Night of Museums: 6 p.m.–2 a.m.

December 29th to 31st, 2022: 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Closed:

May 20st, June 24th, December 23th, 2023

  • 1. January closed
  • 21. December closed
  • 22. December closed
  • 23. December closed
  • 24. December closed
  • 25. December closed
  • 26. December closed

Location,

Berlin Underworlds Museum
Brunnenstraße 105, 13355 Berlin

Telephone,

+49 (30) 499 105-17

Fax,

+49 (30) 499 105-19

Website,

www.mythos-germania.de

Prices,

Admission price 6,00 €

Reduced price 5,00 €

Reduction for pupils, trainees, students, unemployed persons, members of the Federal Volunteer Service, severely disabled persons and holders of a Berlin WelcomeCard.

Buy ticket

Related Events

Tickets

Admission price

6,00 €

Reduced price

5,00 €

Reduction for pupils, trainees, students, unemployed persons, members of the Federal Volunteer Service, severely disabled persons and holders of a Berlin WelcomeCard.

Buy ticket

Catalog

Myth Germania - Vision and Crime (Eds.: Dagmar Thorau and Gernot Schaulinski)

Ordering possibilities

Services

Organizer

Links

Accessibility

More Exhibitions

Cookie-Policy

We use cookies to provide the best website experience for you. By clicking on "Accept tracking" you agree to this. You can change the settings or reject the processing under "Manage Cookies setup". You can access the cookie settings again at any time in the footer.
Privacy | Imprint

Cookie-Policy

We use cookies to provide the best website experience for you. By clicking on "Accept tracking" you agree to this. You can change the settings or reject the processing under "Manage Cookies setup". You can access the cookie settings again at any time in the footer.
Privacy | Imprint