Täterort Topography as Object: The Munich Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism and Modern Infrastructures of Memory

Abstract

Munich’s significance as the birthplace of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, NSDAP) was emphasized in propaganda and urban planning of the Nazi regime. Among buildings, adapted for the party’s needs, was the Palais Barlow, which became the headquarters of the NSDAP until it was bombed by the Allies in 1945. Today, the Munich Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism (NS Doku), opened in 2015, stands on this site. This article examines the relation between the presence of the NS Doku in the local topography, which is deeply associated with the NS regime, and contemporary contexts of approaching the difficult past. It traces the beginnings of this institution and sets them in the decades-long debates on acknowledging the city’s “brown” past. It claims the pivotal importance of connectedness of various factors, including aesthetics and functionality, local politics and sustainability, in fulfilling its educational role and reshaping the character of Königsplatz that served as rally grounds under the NSDAP regime.