Collected Fragments: Traces of the GDR

Fragments refer to what is left behind, broken, or has been isolated from lived reality. They reflect the imprint of time and memory. In the exhibition Collected Fragments, the idea of fragmentation is conveyed through three different levels. First, the material fragments on display directly refer to a world now lost. The Berlin Wall only exists in our memory and in the fragments that are kept for emotional or educational reasons. On another level, this exhibition is about personal experiences. What did the fall of the Berlin Wall do to people and their relation to their daily objects? Finally, fragments take on still another meaning in the context of the exhibition in terms of the museum’s collection. Then the activity of collecting implies a kind of fragmentation, taking original objects out of their original context and presenting them within a new narrative altogether. Our aim in doing this is not to celebrate the disappearance of a dictatorial state, nor is it to question the loss of a valuable culture. We want to invite you, the visitor, to experience and make sense of how fragments of history have shaped history in such a fundamental way, not only theirs but also ours.