History through the News: The Newseum part 1

So, with so many of the DC museums closed because of the shutdown, there were only a few museums to choose from when my cousin came to visit on her fall break. Of those museums, the one that looked the most interesting to both of us was the Newseum. I had been to the Newseum years ago when it was located in Virginia, but hadn't been since the new facility had opened on Pennsylvania Ave. So, deciding to brave the rain and the protesters, we got in the car and headed into the city. 

View from the Newseum's terrace. 

It was strange that on the Sunday of a holiday weekend, we got a prime parking spot right in front of the National Museum of Natural History. It was only a three block walk to the Newseum, and before I knew it we were looking at a tall, sleek building. The buzz created by the visitors was a sharp contrast to the locked Sculpture Garden and the closed Archives we had passed on our short walk there. When we stepped inside, I have to admit that I was impressed by the shear size of building and excited to see what the day had in store for us.

After purchasing our tickets (they are good for 2 days and there is a student discount available), we made our way down to the orientation video, which explains what is the best for visitors to explore the museum. Having decided to follow the museum's recommendations, we began our tour on Level 1, where we saw three very different but cool exhibits: The Berlin Wall Gallery, Creating Camelot, and FBI Exhibit. And of course I took enough pictures to make each their own posting. 

The first post will cover the permanent exhibit that I thought was the best done in the entire Newseum: the aforementioned Berlin Wall Gallery.

Looking down from level 6 of the Newseum

The Berlin Wall Gallery is the first gallery you come to after exiting the orientation video. The gallery space is designated by a large section of the wall itself. 

After briefly touching a “piece of history” as instructed by the label text, my mom, cousin, and I headed over to get a closer look at the wall. 

There is something about this object that is awe inspiring. The art/graffiti on it tells part of its history, in stark juxtaposition to the clear surface of the concrete on the other side. After studying the art on the wall’s original West side, we headed into the gallery.

In the center of the gallery stands an imposing concrete tower. There are no panels explaining what it is on the outside of the structure, but it had an ominous feeling about it. Walking into the doorway - one of the only openings in the tower - you can hear indistinct industrial noises. There is a small panel labeling the tower a “Death Tower.” During the period when the wall was up, 300 of these towers lined border between East and West Berlin, from the East side. These towers were used to prevent illegal border crossings. This particular one used to stand at Stallschreiberstrasse, less than a mile from the most famous border crossing in Berlin- Checkpoint Charlie. 

After exiting the Death Tower, we moved to the first of the main text panels. These panels, which are on the three walls of the gallery, tell the story of the wall, from its very beginning to its famous fall. That story is told through the use of multimedia text panels. There is the traditional text that tells the historical narrative and personal stories. My favorite of these was the story of the young reporter who was one of the first to see (and report on) the first barricades that went up between East and West Berlin. 

But the story was not just told in still images and label text. Each panel had a video screen that added not only a multimedia dimension to the exhibit, but also a more emotional connection to the narrative. The videos were collections of news clips and stories about from different periods in the wall’s history, keeping with the museum’s intent to teach history through the news that made it. 

There were also a few other objects selected for the exhibit, to add a more tangible dimension to the panels. The first object is what is probably one of the most recognizable signs in from the recent history: the sign for Checkpoint Charlie. The other object in the main gallery is harder to place, but the inclusion of a photograph on the panel above it identifies it as one of the anti-tank barriers used at Todesstreifen. 

The final panel tells the story of the breaking down of the Soviet control of East Berlin and the tearing down of the wall. It focuses on the images made famous by newspapers around the world of the wall coming down. It is a very moving ending to the story. 

Now, I was a year old when the wall came down (although my mom did prop me up in front of the TV so I can say that I did watch it come down), so it wasn’t as powerful to me as it was to my mom.  Throughout the entire exhibit she had been talking about what it was like to live through certain events and how it seemed like the wall would always be a barrier between the two Berlins. Her commentary enhanced my experience at the exhibit, because to me, this is all history. But to my mom it was her childhood and early adult life. This was her news, not her history. Which I think is one lesson the exhibit is trying to get across to people born after the wall came down. This was millions of people’s reality, unfolding daily in the media. 

The gallery is not large and the panels are not as in depth as they are in many other of the Newseum’s exhibits, but this exhibit may be worth the price of the ticket on its own. It flows well, tells a meaningful story, and invokes an emotional response from patrons. Definitely one to check out. 

And next time, the Newseum part 2 and the JFK exhibits.