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Rename?!
Berlin's street names and their history
Die Polizei entfernt am 2. Oktober 1994 die vom Aktiven Museum angebrachte Zusatztafel zur Clara-Zetkin-Straße. – Schwarz-Weiß-Fotografie: Ein Polizist entfernt ein zusätzlich angebrachtes Straßenschild des aktiven Museums, während ein weiterer Beamter im Gespräch mit einer Frau steht.
© Fotografie: J. Henschel.
Street names seem self-evident - but they are the result of political decisions, social negotiations and sometimes heated debates. The new special exhibition at the Mitte Museum takes a close look at Berlin's street history and asks: What does a street name tell us about the time in which it was given? And what does it say about us if we keep it - or change it?
The exhibition is part of "umbenennen?!" - a two-year exhibition project that twelve Berlin district and regional museums are realizing together. The Active Museum is coordinating the project and supporting it as a cooperation partner. Each district museum adds a specific local historical focus to the joint modules.
The Mitte district offers a particularly revealing starting point: as an inner-city district that unites former East and West Berlin districts, continuities and ruptures are particularly tangible here. Some street names from the Nazi era or the GDR still exist today - while others, seemingly innocuous, have long since been changed. Why? Who decides, and how? A special focus is on the history of initiatives, associations and committed citizens who have initiated, accompanied or even prevented renaming processes.
umbenennen?! sees itself as a contribution to the debate: To what extent are political power relations reflected in the naming of streets and squares? What democratic potential do moderated discourses on renaming hold? And what forms of identification do street names actually enable?
The exhibition will open on May 21 and will then be on display at the Mitte Museum from May 22 to September 27, 2026.Translated with DeepL
The exhibition is part of "umbenennen?!" - a two-year exhibition project that twelve Berlin district and regional museums are realizing together. The Active Museum is coordinating the project and supporting it as a cooperation partner. Each district museum adds a specific local historical focus to the joint modules.
The Mitte district offers a particularly revealing starting point: as an inner-city district that unites former East and West Berlin districts, continuities and ruptures are particularly tangible here. Some street names from the Nazi era or the GDR still exist today - while others, seemingly innocuous, have long since been changed. Why? Who decides, and how? A special focus is on the history of initiatives, associations and committed citizens who have initiated, accompanied or even prevented renaming processes.
umbenennen?! sees itself as a contribution to the debate: To what extent are political power relations reflected in the naming of streets and squares? What democratic potential do moderated discourses on renaming hold? And what forms of identification do street names actually enable?
The exhibition will open on May 21 and will then be on display at the Mitte Museum from May 22 to September 27, 2026.Translated with DeepL
Runtime: Fri, 22/05/2026 to Sun, 27/09/2026
Takes place here:
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