With the opening of its permanent exhibition in 1997, the Cologne Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism took a decisive step in coming to terms with the city’s Nazi history. The widespread myth that themajority ofCologne’s womenwere opposed to National Socialism was critically scrutinised on the basis of a wealth of evidence. Thirty years after this milestone, the demands on exhibitions and their communication are changing, as is awareness of the Nazi era itself. Today in particular, new and differentiated questions are being asked about the presentation of historical content — from the perspective of both experts and visitors.
Until the opening of a new permanent exhibition in the coming years, the intervention at the NS-DOK therefore offers a space to reflect on the current exhibition together with the public. The starting point is selected exhibits, texts and forms of presentation that can be considered critical or even problematic today. Among other things, the focus will be on how to deal with images of acts of violence, the use of discriminatory terms and depictions and how we can tell the story of National Socialism in an appropriate and sensitive way today. The NS-DOK cordially invites all interested parties to the opening of this special intervention on 20 January 2026 at 7 pm in order to engage in an open discourse on the challenges of communicating history.
