Motion Detector No. 29: A Motion-Detector for German-American Relations

**Distribution of food from American CARE- packages to striking Reichsbahn workers, May/June 1949** © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Fotograf unbekannt

Motion Detector No. 29: “We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident”. A Motion-Detector for German-American Relations

29.06.2026
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. The 29th Motion Detector focuses on the German-American relationship on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, and will be on display in the foyer of the MEK until December 2026.

250 years ago – on 4 July 1776 – 13 British colonies in North America declared their independence from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence – from which the quote in the title is taken – evinced principles that we still take for granted today: “All men are created equal, [...] endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”

It would be a long time before this applied as well to women, the indigenous peoples of North America, or the descendants of enslaved people sold from West Africa to the “New World”. Nevertheless, the document remains a milestone in universal human rights.

The Declaration of Independence also shaped generations of Europeans. After World War II, it took on a special significance: rather than leaving the people of liberated Nazi Germany to their fate, the United States quickly organized humanitarian aid. CARE packages, distributed to people and families in need, played a vital part in this effort. The first CARE packages arrived in Berlin in August 1946, at Steglitz freight station, located in the immediate vicinity of today’s MEK.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was established in 1961 as a result of U.S. humanitarian commitment to Europe’s reconstruction. For decades, its humanist approach shaped the image of the U.S. abroad—until 1 July 2025. Nearly 250 years after the Declaration of Independence, the agency was dissolved without replacement under President Trump. Once considered an expression of American values in the world, today it no longer exists. It is currently unclear how much remains of the principles proclaimed in 1776.

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