Motion Detector No. 27: Dark Heritage – The Difficult Legacy of the MEK

01.10.2025
Museum Europäischer Kulturen

In the Motion Detector series, the Museum Europäischer Kulturen (MEK, Museum of European Cultures) presents objects from the collection and loans related to topics concerning people in Europe. Since 1 October 2025, the 27th Motion Detector focusing on Dark Heritage – The Difficult Legacy of the MEK can be seen in the foyer of the MEK until further notice.

Ninety years ago, on 1 October 1935, the Staatliches Museum für deutsche Volkskunde – one of the predecessor institutions of the MEK – opened at a new, prestigious location: Bellevue Palace, today the official residence of the Federal President of Germany.

The museum had long been demanding a new site. Its former premises in Berlin Klosterstraße had already been far too small and without electric lighting when the museum was founded in 1889. But it was only the politics of National Socialism that made the move possible.

The museum benefitted from the regime’s “blood and soil” ideology – while at the same time producing and reinforcing it. The opening exhibition, “German Peasant Art” (Deutsche Bauernkunst), interpreted the museum’s collection from a völkisch-ethno-nationalist perspective. Traditional costumes, furniture and household items were presented as the “German Volk heritage”, with their patterns framed as a völkisch “symbolism and imagery” (Sinnbild und Bildsinn). The “Germanic” family was glorified – staged with life-size dolls – and Adolf Hitler was honoured in a hall of tribute.

The timing of the opening was also cleverly chosen: just a few days later, the “Reich Harvest Festival” (Reichserntedankfest) took place in Hesse on the Bückeberg mountain near Hamelin. This festival ranked among the most important national holidays of the Nazi state. The huge mass rally staged the end of the harvest, the rural population and Adolf Hitler. The opening of the museum likewise became part of the propaganda surrounding the festival, as shown by a postcard issued for both occasions.

At the MEK today, we take responsibility for our dark heritage and oppose all forms of racism and discrimination.

In the Motion Detector series, the MEK displays objects from its collection to point to current topics and debates.