"Schmidt! Living Democracy"

Who was Helmut Schmidt? What does his time as a soldier in the Second World War have to do with his politics as Chancellor and Minister and why did he travel so often to the USA and China? The exhibition "Schmidt! Living Democracy" provides insights into a century of German and international contemporary history and sheds light on the - still highly topical - conflict issues of the 1970s and 1980s in particular. In the spirit of Schmidt, we invite our guests to join the discussion: What does the future of democracy look like?

About the exhibition

At the heart of the exhibition lies Helmut Schmidt’s central lifelong theme: democracy. He was passionate about freedom of expression, controversial debate and the competition of ideas in the service of the common good. We aim to keep these ideas alive with the help of our visitors and will be inviting discussion at various points throughout the exhibition.

Photo of staff member
Dr. Magnus KochHead of Exhibitions and History

Magnus combines in-depth expertise on the life and political career of Helmut Schmidt with public history formats centered on the foundation’s exhibition projects. Central to this work is always the question of how history and the present are interconnected.

 

He studied history in Göttingen and earned his doctorate at the University of Erfurt on the everyday history of World War II. Since 2005, he has worked both independently and as a staff member and exhibition curator for institutions including the German Historical Museum in Berlin, the Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the Hamburg Institute for Social Research, and the University of Vienna.