The Wende Museum

90230 Culver City, CA, United States of America (USA) (California)

Wikipedia:
The Wende Museum of the Cold War is an art museum, historical archive, and educational institution in Culver City, California. It was founded in 2002 by Justinian Jampol, a native of Los Angeles and scholar of modern European history.

Name

Wende (pronounced “venda”) is a German word that translates into English as “transformation.” It commonly refers to the era of uncertainty and possibility leading up to and following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Mission

The Wende Museum preserves Cold War history, inspiring a broad understanding of the period and exploring its enduring legacy. Named for the transformative period leading up to and following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the museum:

collects and preserves artwork, artifacts, archives, films, and personal histories from Cold War era Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union;

challenges and engages the public through experimental exhibitions and interdisciplinary programming inspired by the collection;

promotes rigorous scholarship, educates students, and stimulates general interest through lectures, symposia, and publications; and

illuminates the past and informs the present through creative collaborations with contemporary artists and designers.

Collections

The comprehensive collection focuses on four areas:

 1.  materials originating from East Germany, with more than 50% of the collection from the GDR;
 2.  items used in everyday life and holdings capturing lived experience;
 3.  materials that document "Wende Moments", or junctures in Cold War history marked by extreme change—beginnings, endings, and transformative events such as the formation of the Warsaw Pact, the fall of the Berlin Wall, German reunification, and the collapse of the Soviet Union; and 4 official and unofficial artwork.

The ever-increasing collection widely ranges from consumer products (e.g., computers, radios, records, toiletries, foodstuff) to works of art in all media (e.g., paintings, drawings, sculptures, graphics, photographs), iconic political symbols (e.g., statuary, medals, flags, uniforms, commemorative gifts), and archives — including a substantial gift from East German leader Erich Honecker's estate — and some 3,500 16mm documentary, animation, and educational films as well as home movies from the GDR. The museum contains large collections of furniture, flags and banners, commemorative plates, Communist folk art, menus, family albums, and design items.

The Wende Museum owns eleven original segments of the Berlin Wall, including ten pieces installed in front of 5900 Wilshire Boulevard, the longest stretch of the Wall outside Germany.

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