Experience Rostock's eventful history: guided tour of the special exhibition in 1945!

Experience Rostock's eventful history: guided tour of the special exhibition in 1945!

The Rostock Cultural History Museum opens the doors to a moving contemporary history. On Thursday, August 14, 2025, a public tour of the special exhibition “Rostock 1945. Twelve months between war and a new beginning” will take place at 5 p.m. This exclusive opportunity offers visitors a deep insight into a time that was characterized by destruction, uncertainty and violent upheaval, but also by hope and a departure into a new era. Admission to the tour costs just three euros and no prior registration is required. If you want to experience what's happening up close, you shouldn't miss this date, because the exhibition can only be seen in August 2025, as Rathaus Rostock also reports.

The exhibition, which opened on April 12th and runs until August 24th, deals with the last months of the Second World War and the confrontation of the Rostock population with the post-war period. The focus is on the personal reports of contemporary witnesses, whose memories impressively represent the changes and challenges of this special time. Not only the destruction, but also the new beginning is discussed - in the spirit of commemorating a formative year in the city's history, as can also be found in the details on the website of the [Rostock Cultural History Museum](https://kulturgeschichtes-museum-rostock.de/sonder exhibition/rostock-45/).

Insights and accompanying programs

The tour is part of an extensive accompanying program that includes Thursday and Sunday tours as well as special curator tours. In addition, workshops and tours are offered for students, which can be organized upon request. A further training course for teachers is planned for May 12th. This encourages both the examination of historical facts and the discussion about the perspectives of the people back then.

In the post-war context, the situation for many families was anything but rosy. More than a third of the population lived in temporary shelters, often referred to as “Nissen huts.” The reconstruction not only required a lot of organizational effort, but was also characterized by heated debates about the design of the cities. Some wanted a return to the old construction methods, while others called for a radical new beginning with modern architectural concepts. The need to quickly create living space for refugees and bombed-out people presented cities with major challenges, as Planet Wissen describes.

In many cities, the opportunity was used to renovate some of the historic city centers and to introduce the idea of ​​“separation of functions”. This meant a clear separation of living and working spaces - a concept that had a lasting impact on cities. But the nostalgic feelings of the population kept any modern approach in check, and the desire for the usual cityscape was strong.

The special exhibition in the Cultural History Museum not only offers solid facts, but also provides space for personal memories and stories that many should not forget. A visit to the exhibition is therefore not only informative, but also a valuable contribution to the culture of remembrance.