jangled nerves

Description

Major regional exhibition of the Haus der Geschichte Baden-Württemberg. Through the concerted use of different kinds of media, the integration history of displaced persons is told in a concise and entertaining manner. The visitor enters the exhibition through an outer glass wall that appears as a curtain of typography, listing the regions and cities from which over 12 million people were expelled. A walkable map of Eastern and Central Europe depicts the origins of the displaced persons through hundreds of animated arrows marking the routes of their escape. A curved wall guides the visitor towards an enormous, slowly rotating »Banishment Door«, leading to the »Field of Encounter«. There, 28 glass cabinets tell individual stories through various subject areas. The walls of the room are mirrored to extend the field of cabinets infinitely in all directions – these 28 stories serve as examples and were selected from thousands of personal destinies. Before leaving the exhibition, the visitor is invited to spend time in the “Contemporary Witnesses Cinema” showing interviews with displaced persons from the first, second and third generation considering how their identities have changed through integration.