Historic wall maps and paintings for schools (1890-1979)

Wall paintings for schools are an important heritage stock of objects and closely linked to the history of the construction and usage of the museum building  – the house was built as the 32nd parish school between 1864 and 1866. The objects are significant sources in terms of education and media history, providing information about concepts in education and politics. Maps and paintings existed for almost all subjects and levels, reflecting the zeitgeist and the knowledge about historic phases and political systems that existed in schools.

By entering the collection into the museum’s own database as well as through its online presentation on museum-digital, in the German Digital Library (DBB) and the Europeana, it becomes publicly accessible. Together with the scientific analysis, measures to preserve the collection were realized. 

In the case of six school wall paintings reflecting colonial thinking, the Mitte Museum as an institution of the district authority Mitte of Berlin honours its commitment to “Postcolonial remembrance in the city” and the decolonialization of museum collections. In April 2023, the joint workshop series “Decolonialization of museums” was launched by the Mitte Museum, the Botanical Gardens / Botanical Museum and the Brücke Museum. The six objects were used as an example to discuss strategies for  classification in museums, for presentation and knowledge transfer. 

In the context of the programme “Digitization of cultural assets held by heritage institutions located within the state of Berlin”, the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion funds institutions such as museums, archives and others, with the Research and Competence Center Digitalisation Berlin (“digiS”) as a project partner.