BUNDESWEHR MILITARY HISTORY MUSEUM: A POLITICALLY SEASONED MARVEL

· OVERVIEW:

The Bundeswehr Military History Museum is the military museum of the German Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr, and one of the major military history museums in Germany. It is in a former military arsenal in the Albertstadt which is part of Dresden. After a long history of switching titles and approaches to military history, the museum was re-opened in 2011 with a new internal and external concept. The museum focuses on the human aspects of war, while also showcasing the evolution of German military technology. It aimed to present the consequences of war and the history of the German Army from the 14th century to date; it is housed in a former arsenal expanded after a design by architect Daniel Libeskind.

· HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE:

The Military History Museum is located on the outskirts of Dresden, a city tragically famous as the target of one of the most devastating bombings of World War II which, in February 1945, largely destroyed the historical centre of the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Saxony. The original building, the armory, was built between 1873-1876 and became a museum in 1897. Originally the Saxon armory and museum, the building has served as a Nazi museum, a Soviet museum and an East German museum which reflected the region's shifting social and political positions over the last 135 years. In 1989, the museum was closed because the newly unified German state was unsure how the museum would fit into the history being created. However by 2001, feelings regarding the museum had shifted and an architectural competition was held for an extension which would cause visitors to reconsider the way they think about war, after which Polish-born American architect Daniel Libeskind was selected to redevelop its building.

Libeskind’s idea was to create a contrast between the rigid, austere arsenal and the new expansion, whose wedged, transparent shape asymmetrically penetrated the historical, opaque building to transform it forever, both functionally and symbolically, as well as to mark the difference between old authoritarianism and modern democracy in Germany. The extension has been described as “an outwardly visible form of expression”. It was not his intention to preserve the museum’s facade and just add an invisible extension in the back. He wanted to create a bold interruption, a fundamental dislocation, to penetrate the historic arsenal and create a new experience.

98 feet over the street level, the tip of the wedge points toward the direction from which – on the night of February 13, 1945 – the first firebombs were dropped on Dresden during the Allied air raid. On top of the expansion, an 82-foot-high viewing platform overlooks the city. Internally, the wedge cuts the chronological exhibition which presents the history of the German Army in the point corresponding to years between 1914 and 1945, thus splitting it into two distinct parts to affirm that there should be a Germany “before” and a Germany “after” that period. Also, the spaces in the old building were completely redesigned, together with the permanent exhibition to which an array of thematic sections was added.

· MUSEUM HISTORY:

The original armory building was completed in 1876 as an armory for Kaiser Wilhelm I. The Arsenal main building in the center of Dresden's Albert City served as an armory for roughly twenty years, until it was transformed into a museum in 1897. Since then, the main building of the arsenal has housed the Royal Arsenal Collection, the Royal Saxon Army Museum, and in 1923 became the Saxon Army Museum. After 1938, the museum became the Army Museum of the Wehrmacht, and in 1972 the Army Museum of the GDR. Seven months before the reunification of Germany, the museum was renamed the Military History Museum in Dresden.

On February 13 and 14, 1945, British bomber planes commenced an air attack against Dresden, creating a vast firestorm below. During the first phase, 244 Lancaster bombers dropped high explosive and incendiary bombs aimed at the centre of the city. American B-17 bombers followed the next morning, to destroy the city's railroad marshalling yards. While much of the city was in ruins, the Bundeswehr's main military museum and most of the other military buildings in the Albertstadt survived the bombing of Dresden because of its location on the city's outskirts. The building withstood World War II attacks on Germany and continued to be used as a military museum until it was closed in 1989. It re-opened again in 2011 and provided a new way of presenting military history.

· KEY FEATURES:

1. Changing Perspective - The Museum offers different perspectives on German military history.

2. Cultural History of Violence - The Museum offers visitors a history of the German military, beyond uniforms and weapons in its investigation state.

3. The Central Theme is the Human Being - The central theme of the Museum’s architecture and exhibition design is an anthropological consideration of the nature of violence.

4. Museum as Forum - In addition to presenting current and historical topics in special exhibitions and events, the MHM will host screenings, lectures and international symposia.

5. A New Museum District - Once a prosperous and heavily visited area, Dresden’s Albertstadt district, in which the museum is located, has been deserted for some time. The new Museum will be the catalyst that turns the district into an international destination, a cultural centre and a museum district.

· HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK:

Although the new Museum has been designed in modern times, the political climate and the historical events that Dresden has witnessed have heavily influenced its architectural style and context. Through the architect’s thoughtful design process, the Museum manages to portray the history of its site both inside and outside the structure, through the glass wedge that points up to the initial direction of the air raid. Further, it is a perfect amalgamation of past typologies and newer, bolder styles of architecture, that fully depict the evolution of the German military forces and their views.