We asked you:
How do we tell the history of National Socialism today?
You have told us many times that you find the photos of murdered victims of Nazi persecution and German casualties of war overwhelming.
of you would like to have the chance to opt out when depictions of violence are shown.
of you would like a trigger warning when depictions of violence are shown.
of you would like to have contextual information about victims and perpetrators when depictions of violence are shown.
of you think it is important for museums to also show images of violence without warning.
These are your impressions of the exhibition rooms:
You gave us
comments on the language used in the exhibition.
Thank you!
You have frequently pointed out to us that the exhibition’s language used in relation to the Sinti and Roma is problematic.
of you believe that the offices of the Gestapo headquarters looked similar to the rooms today.
disagree.
Many of you are interested in learning more about what the Gestapo headquarters used to look like.
of you knew that prisoners were also tortured in the offices.
New to many of you is that the Gestapo planned and organised the deportations of Jews in the EL-DE Haus.
You feel that discriminatory representations should…
A. … no longer belong in museums.
B. … should be exhibited with trigger warnings or in special rooms.
C. … must be contextualised and explained by the curators or guides.
D. … speak for themselves and do not need to be contextualised.
We were surprised that
of you are interested in how we select and process sources for exhibition.
of you believe: if only official sources are available for the biographies of victims of persecution, their one-sidedness must be made clear.
of you believe: if only official sources are available for the biographies of victims of persecution, these biographies should not be exhibited.
What you find particularly interesting for the future exhibition:
of you would like to know more about how people lived in National Socialist Cologne. What role did Nazi organisations play in their everyday lives?
of you are interested in the question: How did non-Jewish residents of Cologne treat their Jewish neighbours? Did they contribute to their persecution?
of you are keen to learn how Nazi officials and party functionaries tried to influence urban society and its everyday life.
of you would like to know more about whether there was criticism under National Socialism. What could be discussed privately or publicly?
Thank you for your interest!
Credits:
Photos of the exhibition © NS-DOK / Nathan Ishar