Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte

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Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte

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[Translate to english:] Pupils at Neues Museum © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Neues Museum / Anika Büssemeier
[Translate to english:] Pupils at Neues Museum [Translate to english:] © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Neues Museum / Anika Büssemeier

Didactic material for the special exhibition "The Germanic Tribes. Archaeological Perspectives"

The following didactic materials for schools can be used in lessons covering the early history of Central Europe; Archaeology and History as disciplines; nationalism and national identity; and the abuse of History and Archaeology in Right-Wing Extremism.

Germanic tribes: Who were they?
Where did Germanic tribes lives, what did they settlements look like, how and with whom did they trade goods, and how as their relationship with the Romans? This introductory teaching and learning material gives an overview on the basis of both archaeological finds and written sources.

Grades 5 and above
Download_Worksheets_C_colored (PDF, 2.7 MB)

Reconstruction drawing titled "Drinking Party"; © Benoît Clarys, 2020
Reconstruction drawing titled "Drinking Party", © Benoît Clarys, 2020

How have we come to agree on specific historical representations?
The material guides students through the process of critically approaching “reconstruction” drawings. In this case, the artistic rendition of a get-together in a Germanic house was commissioned by the curator of the exhibition. Which archaeological objects did they choose, how are they represented by the artist, and which image do we get as a result—and how can we criticize it?

Grades 10 and above
Download_Worksheets_E_colored (PDF, 4,1MB)

Reconstruction drawing entitled "Before the battle", © Benoît Clarys, 2020
Reconstruction drawing entitled "Before the battle", © Benoît Clarys, 2020

How have we come to agree on specific historical representations?
The material guides students through the process of critically approaching “reconstruction” drawings. In this case, the artistic rendition of a scene before a battle was commissioned by the curator of the exhibition. Which archaeological objects did they choose, how are they represented by the artist, and which image do we get as a result—and how can we criticize it?


Grades 10 and above
Download_Worksheets_D_colored (PDF, 3,9MB)

Symbols and codes of the extreme right as appropriations of the Germanic past: Religion—Myth—Ideology
The Germanic past has been utilized by the extreme right for its radical messages. Especially religion serves as a projection screen for white supremacist, anti-democratic, and antisemitic ideologies. The material presents sources to examine critically the connection between depictions of Nordic gods and symbols of the extreme right.

Grades 10 and above
Download_Worksheets_A_colored (PDF, 620KB)

Symbols and codes of the extreme right as appropriations of the Germanic past: Archaeology—Politics—Misappropriation
History and Archaeology have been at the center of the extreme right attention since the nineteenth century. Taking the symbol of the so-called black sun as a case in point, this material shows how archaeological objects are willfully misinterpreted to serve their ideological goals.

Grades 10 and above
Download_Worksheets_B_colored (PDF, 1,1 MB)