's-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands) (AFP)
A Hitler buffet, cutlery engraved with swastikas, the iconic Volkswagen ladybug: these objects of "Nazi design" are currently on display in a museum in the Netherlands, much to the chagrin of some, who see a risk of " glorification "of Nazism.
The exhibition, entitled "Design of the Third Reich", is divisive. Its success is great: all tickets available since the opening in early September have been sold, already 10,000 in total. But she is also subject to virulent criticism. Leftist and antifascist activists, who demonstrated in front of the museum in 's-Hertogenbosch (south), believe that the exhibition looks like a sanctuary of the regime.
Never before had so many Nazi artefacts been arranged side by side, according to observers. Some 277 items ranging from a 1940s Volkswagen Beetle to the statues of Hitler's favorite sculptor, Arno Breker, propaganda posters, films by Nazi director Leni Riefenstahl, postage stamps and a MG42 machine gun .
The exhibition has a didactic aim, explains the museum, which took an exceptional step to avoid that its message is "misinterpreted": it is forbidden to take pictures, and therefore selfies, something that has become rare in a place of character touristic.
"Each object is placed in a historical context that highlights the horrible design of the Nazi regime.If the objects are taken out of context, it could be misinterpreted," says Maan Leo, spokesman for the museum. The latter lets only 50 visitors at a time, under the eyes of enhanced security. As for ticket sales, it is exclusively online.
- Nazi design -
If, unfortunately, a visitor was at his head and decided to make a selfie alongside a Hitler poster to feed his Instagram account, he may be banned from the museum.
"But the neo-Nazis do not usually wear a big swastika on the front, you have to be really sick" to defend the values of Nazism, she says with AFP.
The organizers of the exhibition - to be seen until 19 January 2020 - want it to inspire reflection on the different ways in which the Third Reich managed to win hearts and minds in Germany.
"This exhibition shows how Nazi design permeated every corner of society between 1933 and 1945," says Maan Leo. "It is" important to know how this process of seduction has worked and what role design has played "in the heyday of Nazism, she believes.
The museum took two years to set up the exhibition, a period during which it exchanged much with the Jewish community of 's-Hertogenbosch and with organizations representing the Jewish population in the Netherlands. The museum also consulted the Israel Information and Documentation Center (CIDI), which monitors anti-Semitism in the country.
"This is obviously a very delicate subject," says Paul van der Bas, spokesman for CIDI. "But as long as it is done in an appropriate context, this does not pose us a problem," he adds to AFP.
- "Beautiful disguise" -
The exhibition covers two floors of the museum. Visitors are first immersed in a film that explains the design of the ladybug but also that of the gas chambers of the extermination camps.
One floor below, stands a statue of a naked man sculpted by Arno Breker. At his side, a gigantic piece of furniture 5 meters long that occupied the office of Adolf Hitler. On the walls, posters depicting the dictator and propaganda posters.
"The exhibition shows how planned everything was and how much everyday life was under the Nazi regime," said Ralf Bordewieck, a German visitor.
"Such an exhibition should have a place in today's world," says Jan de Vries, professor of Dutch history. "It contains a very powerful message: terror can be hidden under a beautiful disguise".
© 2019 AFP