The Museum of the Cold War Opens its Doors as from March 2008
For decades the government bunker in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler was the most secret building complex in the Federal Republic of Germany. The end of the East-West conflict sounded the death-knell of the monstrous complex. It is now being converted into a museum. From 1. March 2008, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler will boast yet another tourist attraction with the Museum of the Cold War, the documentation site of the government bunker. Idyll and politics are merging in a unique alliance. In the era of the Cold War the subterranean building was officially known as the "Emergency Seat of the Constitutional Organs of the Federal Republic in case of Crises and Defence". The Emergency Seat was originally a 19-kilometre-long subterranean network of tunnels. It contained 895 offices, 936 dormitories, five canteens and command centres, a dental surgery, a medical unit and a hairdressing salon. In case of war 3,000 persons from public life were to be protected there from a nuclear, biological or chemical attack. The most expensive building complex in the Federal Republic of Germany was not officially closed until 1997. From 2001 to 2006 Europe’s largest bunker was finally dismantled by the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning. The infrastructure installed in the tunnels disappeared.
As unique as the Berlin Wall
In a 200-metre-long section the museum now shows original installations and equipment. Based on plans by the Bonn architects Schroeder and Schevardo, an adjoining reception centre has been constructed in front of the actual bunker. This accommodates the reception and an information and exhibition area. Visitors are informed about the history and technology of the former government bunker by an exhibition and by films. The actual entrance to the bunker is situated behind the foyer. Only this section of the former tunnel network is open to the public, yet the complex already conveys an indelible impression of the "Cold War" scenario after taking only a few steps inside. A feeling of claustrophobia is inescapable. The temperatures sink in comparison to the outside world, the air humidity rises. Since former members of staff have trained as guides for the public, their descriptions will contribute to reviving the era when the Great Powers were at loggerheads and threatened one another. The Museum of the Cold War is a fortress of the nuclear age. For Jürgen Pföhler, chief administrative officer of the district of Ahrweiler, the new museum has a significance "comparable in its uniqueness to the Berlin Wall." It is an original site of the Cold War, the only one of its kind in Germany. For the conversion of the bunker the Federal Government has provided funds amounting to 2.5 million euros. The organisation in charge is the Heimatverein "Alt-Ahrweiler" (a local conservation association), which with acquisition of the museum assumes responsibility for the budget. There is no further support from the Federal Government or the regional authority. The Federal Government remains the owner of the gutted tunnels and areas surrounding the exterior buildings.
Interview with Wilbert Herschbach, chairperson of the Heimatverein Alt-Ahrweiler, future operator of the Museum of the Cold War
Mr Herschbach, without the Heimatverein Alt-Ahrweiler the project involving the reconstruction of the "Government Bunker" could not have been realised. What motivated you to take over the operation of this documentation site? The project had developed positively – from an originally empty tunnel to a museum equipped with exhibits in one section of the former bunker. We can once again restore some rooms to their original state. With the section that, due to its historical and political significance, has not been gutted, we can tell a very important story: we say – we never want war here again. We want to showcase the history of the Cold War and get our message across, in particular to young people. That’s our motivation.
What message is to be conveyed on the tour, what should be triggered in the minds of the visitors?
Being in the bunker is oppressive. And when you get to the end of the gallery, you stare into a long, straight tunnel. It’s a really spine-chilling experience. When you then leave the bunker, you realise what was going on there. You reflect about what was happening back then, the arms upgrade of the Super Powers. I believe that people develop a different consciousness of co-existence and co-operation when they come out of the museum.
You are expecting visitors from all over the world. How are you preparing for this?
In what way are contemporary witnesses, i.e. people who worked in the former government bunker for decades, mostly under the seal of secrecy, particularly suited to carry out what may be termed political education in the museum?
Contemporary witnesses were aware every day that there was a nuclear threat. They went into this bunker with the consciousness that something could happen. They knew that they sustained the Federal Government’s ability to govern with their work. The former employees should tell people how they lived. This is important. We have authentic descriptions from the contemporary witnesses, who can also say exactly how everything was controlled. They also staged tests. They rehearsed the emergency situation. They can convey this far more vividly than someone who lived outside and gleaned his/her knowledge from books.
What do you think is the reason for most of the visitors to come here, or to put it another way, what awaits them?
What influence, in your opinion, can the documentation site have on the here and now, for nuclear threat is still a topical issue?
We have been living without a war in Europe for 60 years. Anyone who comes out of the bunker should be aware of this. Visitors should think about how we can motivate politicians to act responsibly in the interests of the population. I think it’s important that we function like little wheels. The more people we can influence in this way, the more we can bring home the threat of that era, which still lingers even today, the greater the consciousness of the need for future action.
Translation: Heather Moers
Copyright: Goethe-Institut, Online-Redaktion
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December 2007
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