When does the past begin?
What happens today is history tomorrow. Collecting what threatens to disappear, securing what current events produce, but also documenting a panorama of current society for the future are strategies for collecting the present. The view of historical museums is thus also directed towards today as the future past. Andreas Ludwig analyses the development of collecting the present since 1900 using the example of national history museums, town museums, local history museums and specialized museums. Examples from Eisenhüttenstadt and beyond show the different ideas of what seemed worth preserving for the future. He concludes: The museum shows when and how the present becomes history.
Lecture and discussion
Dr. Andreas Ludwig, Historian, Berlin
Dr. Arne Lindemann, CEO Museumsverband Brandenburg e.V., Potsdam
Moderation
Sören Marotz, Exhibition Manager DDR Museum, Berlin
