Bonn‘s Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland has a significance beyond most German history museums. It charts the return of Germany to democracy and prosperity after decades of turmoil, dictatorship, war and ruin. It covers the nation’s post-World War II return to self-government.

This museum is in Bonn for a reason. The city was surprisingly named the West German capital in 1949. This was only a provisional arrangement, like the German federal republic itself. Before that Bonn had no tradition of German leadership, apart from 200 years as the seat of the prince-elector of Cologne.

But Bonn was where German democracy was rebuilt, far from the great cities and the Cold War frontier that divided Europe. For practical reasons, as well as in honour of its half-century as capital, it remains the second seat of the president, the chancellor and the German executive council. Several government departments still have their headquarters in the city.

Haus der Geschichte is Germany’s museum of recent history, but its exhibits are not focused solely on the constitution and weighty events. In the Germany since 1945 permanent exhibition, visitors will find politics, mostly of the second half of the 20th century, documents and photographs, newspapers and magazines.

German society on show in Bonn

But there are also exhibits on social aspects of life in Germany that put the post-war era into context, a collection of cultural memorabilia from ration books to jukeboxes and bubblegum machines. There is no shortage of colour and, to engage visitors, the museum is heavy on media images.

Other exhibits include household and commercial machines, recreated period house interiors and household objects, clothing, packaging, advertising, sports equipment, toys, ephemera, painting, graphic arts and sculpture. Some of the print works were commissioned by the communist East German government. In a demonstration of democracy, the museum preserves a collection of more than 70,000 political cartoons, some of which are on display.

Whatever was important to German society in the post-war period is included in the collection. One relevant theme is guest workers and their contribution to the regeneration of the German economy. Germany lost more than seven million people during World War II.

Other themes include propaganda and the fall of Nazism, the destruction and division of Germany, displaced persons, the post-war black market and currency reform.

Turning point in German history

One piece of paper is important to see. The note that effectively ended Bonn’s role as a German capital is on display – the note that brought down the Berlin Wall.

The note, about the East German government's new travel rules for its citizens, was handed to government spokesman Günter Schabowski in November 1989. Schabowski read the note, saying that East Germans could now apply for private travel outside the country under liberalised conditions, aloud in a press conference.

Asked for details, the underprepared Schabowski said he thought the new measures would come in immediately.

Within hours East Germans had flooded the Berlin border crossing points and overwhelmed guards let them through. Within days, the government had unravelled and the Cold War was on its way to an end. The incident was an eloquent demonstration of the disintegration of a state.

The Cold War and German government

Haus der Geschichte is the place to learn about the Cold War from a German perspective and the recreation of German government. Visitors can sit in simple seats used by the first German Bundestag assembly of 1949, which look more suitable to a student lecture theatre. The seating sets the theme – the first Bundestag sat in the quickly modified Pädagogische Akademie, a Bonn learning institution. Here, visitors can watch film of historical debates as the representatives of federal Germany rebuilt their nation, law by law.

Varied objects capture the flavour of the Cold War years. They include fashion, official vehicles such as the West German chancellor’s rail carriage, military vehicles and products that capture the tone of the era. There is even a hippy 1966 VW van in flower-power livery. Elvis Presley's duffle bag, which he used during his 1958 military service in West Germany, is another surprising exhibit.

Collecting Germany’s 20th century past

The array of items in the museum collections is vast: postcards, flyers, maps, stamps and historical letters, advertising, posters, clothing including work wear and military uniforms, flags and banners, furnishings, household objects and sports equipment are included. The aim is to preserve the ‘cultural memory’ of German society despite the passing of time.

On a Bonn theme, Roman cellars and other archaeology are displayed downstairs.

Elsewhere in Bonn, democratic Germany’s two parliamentary chambers and the chancellor’s residence Palais Schaumburg are open regularly and the whole ensemble is connected by the trail Weg der Demokratie, conceived as a ‘path of democracy’.

The Germany since 1945 exhibition has been under renovation since 2024. The museum expects that from December 2025 visitors can view a new exhibition 'that presents contemporary German history in an emotional way'. Haus der Geschichte will remain open during the redevelopment.

Haus der Geschichte is at Willy-Brandt-Allee 14 and open free. Audio guides in English are available and there is a smartphone download. Other Haus der Geschichte museums are in Berlin and Leipzig.

Raven Travel Guides Europe offer the background needed to understand Germany's history and culture. The website includes a Bonn travel guide. For other samples of Bonn attractions, check out the blogs on Beethoven-Haus, Münsterplatz, LVR-LandesMuseum and the Namen-Jesu-Kirche.