On 5 July last year, I gave a talk at the Topography of Terror on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the foundation and the institution. At the time, I explained that with annual visitor numbers topping one million for years, the Topography of Terror had become a cornerstone of cultural learning in Berlin and all of Germany. But its history extends even further back in time. Among the many groups that literally began digging here, at the site of the perpetrators, in May 1985, were “Aktives Museum Faschismus und Widerstand in Berlin” (“Active Museum and Resistance”), an association founded in the 1980s, and “Initiative zum Umgang mit dem Gestapo-Gelände” (Initiative for dealing with the Gestapo site”), which had emerged somewhat later. What they all shared was their commitment to establishing a permanent place of learning here.
The Topography of Terror is much more than just a place – it is a mission. This mission is to ensure, at the historical site and beyond, that present-day memorial work has a sound scholarly basis. For this reason, the main goal cannot be perpetual trudging through a “vale of tears” – even if presentations of the crimes committed by the Nazis are concerned with incredible atrocities and the immense suffering of countless groups of victims. We must continually face up to our mission of providing progressive exhibitions and educational work. The Memorial Museums Department at the Topography of Terror makes an important contribution to achieving this goal. Throughout Germany it supports memorial work and remembrance that goes beyond mourning. For twentyfive years, the department has stood for critical examination of the history of the Nazi dictatorship, always focusing on topical questions and challenges.
Let me take a brief look at some of the most important stages in the history of the Topography of Terror. I have already mentioned its early roots. In 1992, following the peaceful changes in the GDR in 1989–1990 and the decision to make Berlin the capital of Germany once again, the Topography of Terror – originally a civic action project in West Berlin – was established by the state of Berlin initially as a dependent foundation under public law. One year later, in 1993, there were two important developments: Berlin held a competition for a new Topography of Terror Documentation Centre, and the Foundation Council, chaired by Berlin’s senator of culture, agreed to incorporate the Memorial Museums Department – formerly part of Action Reconciliation Service for Peace – into the newly established Foundation. Berlin showed that it was willing to take responsibility for a national task of this kind – and I am extremely proud of this. The memorial work enabled Berlin to have an impact throughout Germany. A year later, in 1994, the federal government agreed jointly to fund the Topography of Terror, and has done so ever since.
The 25th anniversary of the Memorial Museums Department at the Topography of Terror Foundation is an ideal occasion to pay tribute to the Foundation’s successful and vital work. As I mentioned above, in 1993 the Topography of Terror was still under development. Its two directors at that time, Professor Reinhard Rürup and Professor Andreas Nachama, must be congratulated for their foresight in incorporating the Memorial Museums Department into the emergent foundation. The decision was the right one – that much is clear today. Over time, the Memorial Museums Department at the Topography of Terror Foundation has proved to be an effective counterpoint to the decentralised landscape of memorial centres in Germany. It is important that Germany has a large number of memorial centres that differ in terms of their historical contexts and geographical distribution. The Memorial Museums Department has demonstrated that it is the right organisation to coordinate this network and by doing so, to support the strengths of the individual institutions within the overall framework.
This is clearly due to the thematic focus of the Topography of Terror Documentation Center, which deals with all the various aspects of the history of Nazi crimes and thus differs from the individual memorial centres. The decision to take charge of the Memorial Museums Department has proved successful in another respect as well. With the increase in international collaboration in a variety of fields – including research into Nazi crimes, the structuring of new memorial centres and the development of educational work – a growing number of inquiries are also reaching the Memorial Museums Department from foreign countries. In other words, the Memorial Museums Department has proved it can be both a nationally effective node in the network of memorial museums in Germany and a centre of expertise for national and international consulting activities. This is particularly important given current developments in Germany, with growing right-wing populism and the rise of the Alternative for Germany as a nationwide parliamentary party. The Topography of Terror Foundation provides the Memorial Museums Department with an ideal basis for its work in every respect.
And the Topography of Terror Foundation has enhanced its reputation in Germany and abroad by taking over the Memorial Museums Department 25 years ago and developing it as a leading institution. We can conclude by hoping that the work in this acknowledged form will continue to be the backbone of the decentralised structure of memorial centres in Germany. In this it has the full support of the State of Berlin and the federal government. There can be no end to our efforts to come to terms with the Nazis’ reign of terror. However, we will need to find adequate strategies for the memorial centres in response to the changing ways in which people examine and discuss Nazi history. I am certain that, as a coordinating force and a source of ideas, the Memorial Museums Department will play a central, if not centralising, role.
I wish to congratulate you on your 25th anniversary and thank you for your work. I am confident that our paths will cross again frequently in the future, because I regard coming to terms with the past – as well as commemoration and remembrance – as a matter of great importance – and because I know you will always be at hand to support me in this.
Dr. Klaus Lederer is Berlin’s Deputy Mayor and the Senator for Culture and Europe.