The first postwar exhibit devoted to Adolf Hitler and the German people has proven so popular that organizers have been forced to extend it by three weeks to accommodate the long line-ups of visitors.
Since it opened its doors October 15, more than 170,000 visitors have visited Hitler and the Germans, an exhibition in Berlin’s German Historical Museum which examines the society that created Hitler.
The exhibition is aimed at helping people to understand how a single individual could come to destroy his own country. Museum spokesperson, Rudolf Trabold explained it was “the first exhibition to explain how a man who lived on the margins of society for 30 years, in Vienna’s men’s hostels, could become an almost mythical leader of the German people.”
A visitor from India, Ravi Nair, 73, said, “I had to queue for about an hour but it was worth it. The exhibition should help people in democratic countries realize that their vote is very valuable.”
“I thought the exhibition was very impressive,” said Norwegian tourist, Inge Lonning, 72. “I wanted to see it because I experienced the German occupation of Norway as a small child, so it’s not just history for me.”
Not everyone was convinced there was something new to be learned from the exhibition. Young Canadian, Julien Cayer, 28, said, “So much has been done about this period over the years…I thought I’d find something new but I didn’t.”
The exhibition traces Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, and highlights the consequences of his 12 years in power before his suicide on April 30, 1945.
Berlin’s Hitler and the Germans exhibit will now run until 27 February 2011.