Deutsches Museum - History

History

A few months before the summer 1903 meeting of the Society of German Engineers, Oskar von Miller gathered a small group who supported his desire to found a science and technology museum. In a showing of support this group spontaneously donated 260,000 marks to the cause and elected a "Provisional Committee" to get the ball rolling.

In June 1903 Prince Ludwig agreed to act as patron of the museum and the city of Munich donated Coal Island as a site for the project. In addition, exhibits began to arrive from Munich, Germany, and abroad including collections from the Bavarian Academy. As no dedicated museum building existed the exhibits were displayed in the National Museum.

On November 12, 1906 the temporary exhibits at the National Museum are ceremonially opened to the public and on November 13 the foundation stone was laid for the permanent museum.

The first name of the museum, the "German Museum for Masterpieces of Natural Science and Technology", was not meant to limit the museum to German advances in science and technology, but to express the importance of science and technology to the German people.

Oskar von Miller opened the new museum on his 70th birthday, 2 May 1925, after a delay of almost ten years. From the beginning the museum displays are backed up by documents available in a public library and archives, which are open seven days a week to ensure access to the working public.

Before and during World War II the museum was put on a shoestring budget by the Nazi party and many exhibits were allowed to get out of date with a few exceptions such as the new automobile room dedicated 7 May 1937. By the end of 1944 the museum was badly damaged by air bombings with 80% of the buildings and 20% of the exhibits damaged or destroyed. As Allied troops marched into Munich in April 1945 museum director Karl Bässler barely managed to keep the last standing bridge to Museum Island from being blown up by retreating German troops.

Following the war the museum had to be closed for repairs and a number of temporary tenants, such as the College of Technology and the Post Office used museum space as their own buildings were being reconstructed. The Museum was also home to the Central Committee of the Liberated Jews, representing Jewish displaced persons in Germany after the war.

In November 1945 the library was able to reopen, followed by the congress hall in January 1946. A special exhibit on fifty years of the Diesel engine was able to open in October 1947 and the regular exhibits began reopening in May 1948. Not until 1965, more than twenty years after the end of the war in Germany, did the exhibit area match (and then exceed) pre-war size.

During the 1950s the museum focused on natural sciences rather than technology and many of the traditional large exhibits, such as civil engineering, were reduced in size to make way for more modern technological advances.

In August 1969 the Apollo 8 space capsule was shown in a special exhibit entitled "Man and Space" and in 1970 the first full-time director, Theo Stillger, was appointed. In the 1970s the mission statement of the museum was modified to encourage the explanation of the cultural significance of science and technology in exhibits.

The early 1980s saw severe damage to several exhibits due to arson resulting in the smallest exhibit space of 34,140 square meters. This was followed by an extensive reconstruction effort and additional building bringing the total exhibit space to 55,000 square meters by 1993. The 1980s and 90s also brought agreements with the Science Centre in Bonn and the government resulting in the creation of Deutsches Museum Bonn and the Flugwerft Schleißheim airfield exhibit.

In 1996 the Bavarian Government gave buildings at the historic Theresienhöhe site in Munich to the Deutsches Museum resulting in the creation of the new transportation museum, the Deutsches Museum Verkehrszentrum, which opened in 2003 and now houses the road vehicle and train exhibits that were removed from the original Deutsches Museum site. The Theresienhöhe quarter is a new area on the edge of the inner city of Munich, and the Museum of Transport is a part of the quarter's design of mixed use.