2018 – A year of remembrance and remembering: it was exactly eighty years ago, in 1938, that Austria became part of the Nazi German Reich. To mark this occasion, the special exhibition “Anschluss, War & Ruins” is focusing on the history of Salzburg between 1938 and 1945, starting with the “Anschluss” – Annexation – of Austria, then taking us through the war years until the time after the Nazi period.

The individual history of the institution will be set in relation to the history and culture of Salzburg during the Nazi period and to the course of the Second World War. The exhibition’s aim is to provide representative insights into a public cultural institution in the Nazi period. Photographs and film footage convey images of the events during the Nazi regime and testify to the close connection between culture and propaganda. Ultimately, they visualise the significance of Salzburg for Nazi ideology.

The exhibition shows a museum that in many aspects takes the stage as a “political” museum in the service of the objectives and ideologies of Nazism. Between 1938 and 1945, it fulfilled the cultural-political specifications in all the defined task areas and also profited hugely from Nazi confiscations in its collecting activities.

The interactive educational and communication room “The History Studio” is a supplement to the special exhibition. With the motto “What has history to do with us today?”, the focus is directed onto the memories of people from different age groups. On show are biographies, personal narratives and the various angles from which history is viewed. The room is like a snapshot, instantaneously evoking an awareness of history, tracing it and reflecting upon it – an act of remembrance portioned out among thirteen people from four generations. Film shows, lectures and inter-generation mornings round off the versatile programme.