Documentation Center Seeks Personal Memorabilia - Berlin Exhibition Seeks Refugee Stories from Postwar Survivors
A new exhibition titled Haven Berlin: Displaced Persons in a Divided City will open in 2027. The project aims to tell the stories of those who fled to Berlin after World War II. Organisers are now searching for personal items from refugees and expellees who arrived in the city decades ago.
The Documentation Center on Flight, Expulsion, Reconciliation is calling for contributions from people who came to Berlin from Eastern Europe or former German eastern territories after 1945. They are particularly interested in keepsakes such as toys, photographs, refugee identity papers, vocational certificates, or objects tied to first jobs.
Between 1945 and 1947 alone, around 1.4 million displaced people reached Berlin. Many passed through the city’s transit camps before settling elsewhere. The exhibition will explore Berlin's role as a key destination for refugees in the postwar years.
The focus will be on arrival, integration, and the experiences of those who stayed or moved on. By gathering personal memorabilia, the center hopes to create a vivid picture of life for displaced people in a divided city.
The exhibition will bring together objects and stories from a pivotal period in Berlin's history. It aims to highlight the struggles and resilience of those who rebuilt their lives after fleeing war. Haven Berlin will open its doors to the public in 2027.
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