Dokumentationszentrum Nationalsozialismus

Background

The newly developed Dokumentationszentrum Nationalsozialismus (Documentation Centre for National Socialism) in Freiburg is a place for remembering and communicating, for commemorating and researching the Third Reich era in this city. gewerkdesign designed the permanent exhibition, the memorial room and the museum’s functional rooms. On three floors, we present scenographically how the events of this period shaped Freiburg and how the personal fates of persecuted people are interwoven with them.

Exhibition architecture in historic rooms
The listed building, which was built in 1936 as a traffic office, is located in Freiburg’s historic city centre. The ground floor houses the introductory part of the exhibition as well as an original large-format mural from 1939, which was partly concealed and partly framed by a rack-like structure and thus integrated into the exhibition. The lowest floor of the exhibition is a former air raid shelter in the basement. We have equipped the low rooms that have solid concrete walls with suspended structures made of glass panels and metal rods that do not touch the floor and thus relativise the constriction of the space. The final part of the exhibition is housed on the first floor. Specially designed archive furniture with desks and drawers, which cite the original furniture of the traffic office, allows for in-depth, interest-led research. Here are also the staff offices, a library, a space for temporary exhibitions and project rooms for workshops. The now roofed inner courtyard has been turned into a memorial room, the heart of the Dokumentationszentrum Nationalsozialismus. It features a walk-in cube with the names of people from Freiburg who were murdered by the Nazi regime written on its outer walls. From inside the cube, the sky can be seen through a skylight. Embedded in the floor of the memorial room are original foundation stones from the synagogue that was destroyed in 1938, having had stood nearby.

Scenography on three floors in four theme clusters
The scenography is designed along four chronological ‘time spaces’: Freiburg in the Weimar period (1918–1933), The establishment of the dictatorship: marginalisation and conformation (1933–1938), World War II: violence and normality (1938/39–1945) as well as Freiburg and National Socialism – What remains? (1945 to the present day). Analogue exhibits such as historical objects, photographs and reproductions, texts and biographies alternate with digital exhibits such as interactive media stations and audible content. On the glass hanging constructions in the basement, certain places in the city are specifically related to events and fates. Printed on them are contours of Freiburg’s house facades, which appear to float in the space against the dark walls by means of the directed lighting. On their back sides, location-specific exhibits and content are found. Orange-coloured steles, standing freely in the room and equipped with media content, show possible ways for citizens to oppose the National Socialist system.

Tasks / Range of Services
Exhibition design/scenography and signage system, development of the museum’s functional rooms including reception desk and cloakroom facilities, design of exhibition furniture, media design with various animations; content and structural advice for the curatorial team, design, implementation planning, construction management for exhibition architecture, media planning and design, graphic design and realisation.

Special challenges
Design of a memorial room in close coordination with the building construction department and working groups from associations of affected people etc., listed building with historic air-raid shelter, inclusion of a listed monumental painting that was discovered during the construction phase.