Aldo Rossi in the turmoil of German identity. The German Historical Museum competition of 1988

Abstract

The 1988 competition for the German Historical Museum in Berlin was on several layers a controversial project that testifies to the publics’ potential to embrace a diverse culture of dispute. Even before the competition, the idea of a museum on German history was fiercely debated, especially in the face of National Socialism. Aldo Rossi’s proposal that won the competition featured a col-lage of typological forms reminiscent of historical German mon-uments. But critics contested its monumentality and naïve use of iconography, while the jury was accused to have violated compe-tition regulations. The fall of the Berlin Wall eventually ended the debate, but this did not go without reaction: The head jury Max Bächer protested to the then-chancellor Helmut Kohl, demanding compensation for Rossi’s lost prize.