• Munich Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism
Since 2015 the Munich Documentation Centre informs on the history of National Socialism and its aftermath, particularly in the city of Munich.
Image: Munich, July 3 1932, March of the SA and SS at the Gau Rally Munich-Upper Bavaria, Stadtarchiv München W-Rep-0055
Munich, July 3 1932, March of the SA and SS at the Gau Rally Munich-Upper Bavaria, Stadtarchiv München W-Rep-0055

Image: Munich, 2015, External view of the Documentation Centre, to the left the former »Führerbau«, now the Academy for Musik and Theatre, Jens Weber
Munich, 2015, External view of the Documentation Centre, to the left the former »Führerbau«, now the Academy for Musik and Theatre, Jens Weber
The Bavarian capital of Munich plays a key role in the history of National Socialism. The German Workers' Party which in 1920 was renamed to NSDAP (»National Socialist German Workers' Party«) on at the instigation of Adolf Hitler was founded there shortly after the Forst World War. Initially a marginal phenomenon the party gained more and more popularity. With its anti-democratic elites and its beer halls which could be used for mass events, Munich provided an ideal breeding ground for the NSDAP and other radical right-wing groups. On November 9, 1923 a coup attempted by the NSDAP in Munich failed. Soon after Adolf Hitler and other leaders of the coup were given conspicuously mild sentences. In the late 1920s the NSDAP was gathering strength again. In 1930 the party moved into its new headquarters in the »Brown House«, a mansion near the Königsplatz converted for this purpose. Even after their rise to power in 1933 the party headquarters remained in Munich. All around the »Brown House« a whole quarter arose with government agencies and representative buildings like the »Führerbau« (Führer's buiding).
In 1933 political enemies were held captive and tortured in the basement of the »Brown House«. In March 1933 the first concentration camp in National Socialist Germany was established in nearby Dachau, it existed until the end of the Second World War. Also in 1933 radical right-wing students organized a book burning on Königsplatz. 1935 Munich was officially declared »Hauptstadt der Bewegung« (Capital of the Movement). In November 1938 the nation-wide anti-Jewish riots (»Kristallnacht«) were orchestrated from Munich. Exactly one year later Georg Elser (1903–1945) carried out a failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler in the Bürgerbräukeller, one of the city's famous beer halls. During the war, large parts of Munich were destroyed by allied bombing, including the »Brown House«. The National Socialist's reign in Munich ended on April 30, 1945 with the arrival of US forces.
Image: Munich, July 3 1932, March of the SA and SS at the Gau Rally Munich-Upper Bavaria, Stadtarchiv München W-Rep-0055
Munich, July 3 1932, March of the SA and SS at the Gau Rally Munich-Upper Bavaria, Stadtarchiv München W-Rep-0055

Image: Munich, 2015, External view of the Documentation Centre, to the left the former »Führerbau«, now the Academy for Musik and Theatre, Jens Weber
Munich, 2015, External view of the Documentation Centre, to the left the former »Führerbau«, now the Academy for Musik and Theatre, Jens Weber
The »Brown House«, the »Führerbau« (Führer's buiding) and other buildings in the vicinity of the Munich Königsplatz were sites of perpetrators. No mass crimes were committed here but the city played a key role in the development and the consolidation of National Socialism.
Image: Munich, 1935, »Brown House«, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek/Bildarchiv
Munich, 1935, »Brown House«, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek/Bildarchiv

Image: Munich, 2015, View of the permanent exhibition and the former »Führerbau«, Jens Weber
Munich, 2015, View of the permanent exhibition and the former »Führerbau«, Jens Weber
After the war, Munich struggled for a long time to come to terms with its past as »Capital of the Movement«. Although for example a square near the Königsplatz was already in 1946 renamed »Platz der Opfer des Nationalsozialismus« (»Square of the victims of National Socialism«, there were strong opposing reactions by parts of the population.
From the 1980s onwards citizens' groups ensured that the city's role in National Socialism was increasingly addressed. An information space at the original site of the party headquarters was demanded. In the 1990s there were intense discussions about suitable concepts but also about the location and especially about the use of the ruins of the »Brown House« whose foundations were eventually not incorporated into the new building but demolished. The costs for the development of the centre were born by the federal government, the state of Bavaria and the city of Munich. The running costs of the house which was opened in 2015 are covered by the city. The permanent exhibition focuses on Munich's role in National Socialism but also with its coming to terms with the past after the war. The documentation centre offers changing exhibitions, a comprehensive educational program and a library.
Image: Munich, 2015, View of the permanent exhibition, Jens Weber
Munich, 2015, View of the permanent exhibition, Jens Weber

Image: Munich 2015, View of the learning centre, Jens Weber
Munich 2015, View of the learning centre, Jens Weber
Name
NS-Dokumentationszentrum München
Address
Brienner Straße 34
80333 München
Phone
+49 (0)89 233 670 00
Fax
+49 (0)89 233 670 05
Web
http://www.ns-dokuzentrum-muenchen.de
E-Mail
nsdoku@muenchen.de
Open
Tuesday to Sunday 10 a.m. To 7 p.m.
Opened on holidays that fall on a Monday
Closed 24. and 21. December
Possibilities
Permanent exhibitions, temporary exhibitions, library, guided tours, workshops, smartphone-app