The Berlin Underworlds Museum

One of the goals of the Berlin Underworlds Association is to offer the public the possibility to have a broad look into our city’s underground. With this in mind we rented the “Bunker B” in the Gesundbrunnen underground station from the BVG (Berlin Transit Authority). Because of the structures authenticity and good condition – for Berlin’s standards, we were able to have this historical site listed as a protected structure in 1999. Since then, our members have volunteered a total of around 10,000 hours into its reconstruction and refurbishment. All costs have been carried by the association, without public support.

In line with our goals, we have used these rooms, which stretch out over four subterranean levels, to set up our “Berlin Underworlds Museum”. Under this name we were able to take part in the “Long Night of the Museums” for the first time in 2005. Our exhibition, which is continuously being added to and improved, deals with the development of Berlin from an underground perspective. The main focus, however, is civil defence in the Second World War, the effects of bomb war and modern archaeological finds of the twentieth century. Further rooms deal with the removal of rubble from the streets in the post-war period, and another with story of a card catalogue of forced labourers that was discovered by members of the association in a forgotten bunker in the year 2000. As a result of our investigations a number of former forced labourers were able to receive reparation money. In an additional section of the museum, we have exhibitions that deal with the subjects: pneumatic postal system, brewery cellars and the underground railway system. Additionally we have a large museum archive and many items in storage that have in the past been lent out to other museums and film productions. The workgroup “Building, Technic and Exhibition” supports the association’s efforts by recovering and, when necessary, restoring historical technical equipment.

Should you, as a visitor to this website or our museum, have any artifacts (old suitcases, relevant documents, etc.) or historical photographs (from Gesundbrunnen, Humboldthain, the U-Bahn, tunnels, etc.) that you are willing to part with, please contact us by telephone: +49 30 4991 0517 or via our contact form. We are happy about every item that can help to improve our exhibition and that we can preserve for the coming generations.

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