Russian Germans: Who are they? Where do they come from? How did they live? The first and only museum for Russian-German cultural history in Germany, located in Detmold, deals with these questions – and thus builds a bridge between the history and the present of Russian-Germans in Germany.
The Museum of Russian-German Cultural History (MrK) was founded in Detmold in 1996 by Russian-German repatriates: While it began as a small, private collection, today it is a professional museum with a modern presentation style, communication and outreach program. The museum in Detmold was not established by the state, but was an initiative of newly arrived citizens in one of the largest destinations for late repatriates: the district of Lippe in North Rhine-Westphalia. The museum is an emigration museum of a special kind. It shows the history of the people who emigrated to from the German-speaking countries, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries. Their descendants left the country again after a history full of changes and, in most cases, suffering. 2.5 million people traveled to their new, old homeland: Germany.
Russia
deu. Russland, rus. Rossija, rus. Россия
The Russian Federation is the largest territorial state in the world and is inhabited by about 145 million people. The capital and largest city is Moscow, with about 11.5 million inhabitants, followed by St. Petersburg with more than 5.3 million inhabitants. The majority of the population lives in the European part of Russia, which is much more densely populated than the Asian part.
Since 1992, the Russian Federation has been the successor state to the Russian Soviet Republic (Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, RSFSR), by far the largest constituent state of the former Soviet Union. It is also the legal successor of the Soviet Union in the sense of international law.
The Russian-Germans see themselves as Germans. However, they have their own unique German history and their culture of remembrance has been strongly influenced by the experience of dictatorship. Information and meaningful encounters can counteract the skepticism and prejudices they have been confronted with. Beyond the exhibitions, the museum also sees its work as enabling direct communication and opportunities for encounters. The aim is to contribute to intercultural understanding. The MrK is looking for dialogue partners in politics, science, cultural institutions, schools, universities and the interested public.
The history of the Russian-Germans is an example of one of the major political and social tasks of our time. More and more people are leaving their countries, their homelands, to live elsewhere. The reasons for this are manifold. But the question always remains: How do we want to live together? How do we integrate minorities in Germany and in a common Europe? The Museum of Russian-German Cultural History wants to contribute to this discussion with its experience and knowledge. In this way, an area of German and European history is also shown that has so far hardly been considered in German museums. Visitors to the museum will discover an excerpt from the common German, Russian-German and Russian history – a multifaceted history of emigration, migration and integration with a high degree of political relevance.
