1917. REVOLUTION. RUSSIA AND EUROPE
German Historical Museum Berlin, 18 October 2017 to 15 April 2018
In the calendars of the german theaters, museums and cinemas there are only a few events about the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. An event which definitely marked the last century of world history.
Therefore I was very curious about the current exhibition 1917. REVOLUTION in the German Historical Museum. The exhibition team has worked on the project for two and a half years and presents numerous objects from russian and international collections.
At beginning you are standing in an elongated white room and ten protagonists from the worlds of politics, art and science talk about the topic. Behind it a space axis points to a photo of the Czar family Romanov - a Marx head appears as omen between them.
Inside it is divided into three theme complexes which follow chronologically the events of the revolutionary years. In the interior the arrangement becomes much more conventional and is oriented in a classic way to an exhibition of objects. In my opinion this method is limited to show the strong contradictions, the discourses on the subject and the different positions.
The exhibition reveal many new aspects and information for experts. For the normal audience and especially for pupils the visit becomes confusing from a certain point. From my own experience, I know how difficult it is to make political and historical exhibitions. And I have a great respect for the exhibition team.
Particularly difficult are historical topics of the past hundred years. In these cases, a very attractive narrative form has to be developed which makes history a criminal story, especially for an untrained audience. The books of Simon Sebag Montefiore ("Stalin, at the court of the Red Czar", "The Young Stalin") prove that modern russian history has these aspects. In the German Historical Museum I expected more courage for new ideas and more innovation.
K.K.
https://www.dhm.de/ausstellungen/1917-revolution.html
