Nature and German History
Faith – Biology – Power
The Deutsches Historisches Museum is currently planning the exhibition “Nature and German History. Faith – Biology – Power”, to open in November 2025. Nine-hundred years of German history will be displayed across 1,000 square metres of exhibition space. The spectrum ranges from Hildegard of Bingen’s concept of “viriditas”, the greening power of creation, in the 12th century to the early anti-nuclear movement in Wyhl and the different concepts of nature in the two Germanys towards the end of the 20th century. Moreover, the co-option of what was considered “natural” was one of the ideological tenets of the Nazi dictatorship, which attempted to bring both “external” and “internal” nature under their power of definition and rule by decreeing innumerable laws. The “Nuremberg Laws” and the “Reich Conservation Act” were both enacted in the same year: 1935.
The exhibition’s 10-12 stations will present events and developments where the concept of nature has been markedly modified or influenced. The large-scale project focuses on the changing significance and conceptuality of “Nature” and examines it as a political factor in German history. The exhibition traces the historical stages of these developments as well as the politicisation and instrumentation of the concept of nature as it unfolded in German history. Who defines what is considered nature? Who can influence it? How does the understanding of internal and external nature vary? And what happens to nature when unforeseen events occur that lead to political actions?
The exhibition will be curated by Prof. Dr Julia Voss
