Zeitgeschichtliches Forum

Description

In the centre of Leipzig stands the Zeitgeschichtliche Forum, a museum of the Stiftung Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. It is dedicated to the division of Germany, everyday life under the communist dictatorship of the GDR, the process of reunification and the political and social challenges faced by unified Germany in the 21st century.

On the recommendation of the Independent Commission on Federalism, the foundation was commissioned in 1992 to establish an "Archiv der Deutschen Einheit" in Leipzig. At Grimmaische Straße 6 an exhibition, documentation and information centre was set up for this purpose; it opened on 9 October 1999, the tenth anniversary of the mass demonstration in Leipzig. Since then the museum has used exhibitions, panel discussions and film screenings to convey historical and contemporary topics.

In front of the museum, the bronze sculpture "Der Jahrhundertschritt" by Wolfgang Mattheuer shapes the exterior space and leads into the permanent exhibition. This begins with the period after the Second World War, portrays life in the GDR and extends to the present-day Federal Republic. The Monday demonstrations of 1989 in Leipzig are regarded as a central turning point; the presentation at the historic site documents the upheavals in the GDR and Eastern Europe as well as their effects on Europe and world politics.

A comprehensive revision of the permanent exhibition, completed in 2018, places greater emphasis on the post-reunification phase and highlights themes such as the process of coming together, international terrorism, digitization and globalization. To illustrate recent German history, approximately 2,000 objects, photographs and films as well as numerous oral history interviews are used.

The artistic estate of Johannes Hegenbarth (alias Hannes Hegen) and his wife Edith was taken into the museum. After an unsuccessful search in Berlin, Johannes Hegenbarth decided to entrust their joint oeuvre to a museum permanently and on 14 July 2009 signed the deed of gift to the Stiftung Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland.