Polizeimuseum Niedersachsen

Description

In the heart of Nienburg/Weser’s pedestrian zone, the Polizeimuseum Niedersachsen presents the history of policing in its exhibition space and is administratively affiliated with the Polizeiakademie Niedersachsen. The collection traces the development of the police from the earliest times to the present day, with a particular emphasis on the post-war development of the Lower Saxony State Police.

The holdings were assembled beginning in 1987; the museum in its present form was founded in 2000. Between 2001 and 2011 the collection was housed on a considerably larger site in Hannover, before financial constraints and subsequent decisions by the Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Inneres und Sport led to its relocation. In November 2011 the institution reopened in Nienburg under its current name; the exhibition space was reduced from the original 1,400 m² to around 700 m².

The exhibition comprises approximately 1,000 historical objects, including uniforms, pieces of equipment, police vehicles, a reconstructed police station and equipment of the forensic identification unit. Also on display are numerous documents and photographs from police files, as well as artefacts from well-known criminal cases, including material relating to the case of the Hannover serial killer Fritz Haarmann, among them the murder weapon. The presentation ranges thematically from the history of policing and criminal-investigation work to rotating special and travelling exhibitions that examine, for example, the role of women in police service, the function of the police under the Nazi state, or investigative work in historical cases.

In addition to the exhibition, the museum maintains a library and an image and text archive, and regularly offers educational events.