14.03.2025

Virtual exhibitions in the DDB

By Archivportal-D

There are new exciting virtual exhibitions by archives to be discovered online. Using DDBStudio, the participating archives have created exhibitions presenting part of their unique holdings for you to enjoy while on the road, at home or meeting with friends. Come take a peek!

If you work in a cultural institution and would like to curate a virtual exhibition yourself, see DDBpro for further information.

Stadtarchiv Kaarst D 3-12 Nr. 429 - Presentation of a relief of the municipal coat of arms by Heinz Klever to Eduard Klüber in 1979, photo: Egon W. Vossen |

Love at second sight?! Municipal reorganizations in Büttgen and Kaarst in the 20th century

A virtual exhibition by Stadtarchiv Kaarst

The civil parishes of Büttgen and Kaarst were both formed in the course of the French administrative reforms in 1798 and survived the 19th century virtually unchanged in territorial terms. Following the municipal territorial reform in the Weimar period, Büttgen and Kaarst were merged to form the Amt Büttgen in 1936. After just eleven years, this administrative community was dissolved and both municipalities became independent again. On January 1, 1975, Büttgen and Kaarst were again merged to form the municipality of Kaarst. The new municipality was granted city rights in 1981.

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“Ask!” - A virtual exhibition on the digital interactive interviews by Inge Auerbacher and Kurt S. Maier

A virtual exhibition by Deutsches Exilarchivs

The exhibition “Ask!” has been on display at the German Exile Archive 1933-1945 in Frankfurt since September 2023 and will run until August 2026. It tells the life stories of Inge Auerbacher (*1934) and Kurt Salomon Maier (*1930). Both experienced National Socialism as children, survived the anti-Semitic persecution by the National Socialists and ended up in exile in the USA with their families via different routes. The archive has created two digital interactive interviews with both, Inge Auerbacher and Kurt Salomon Maier. Users can interact with the format and the digital testimonies provide answers to their questions with the help of artificial intelligence.

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Home page of the virtual exhibition “Ask!” by Deutsches Exilarchiv |

Locations of former synagogues in the Gütersloh district

Kreis Gütersloh, Geoportal - Overview map with the locations of the former synagogues in the district of Gütersloh |

Destroyed, forgotten, remembered. The former synagogues in the district of Gütersloh

A virtual exhibition by Kreisarchiv Gütersloh

In the 18th century, there was a large influx of Jewish people, as the county of Rietberg in particular encouraged the settlement of Jewish citizens, which it hoped would stimulate the local economy. In the 1760s, the first two synagogues were built in Neuenkirchen, today a district of Rietberg, and Gütersloh in what is now the county. Prior to this, services were held on the Sabbath in rented prayer rooms or in private homes. In the following 100 years, five more synagogue communities were established.

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Social discipline and resistance. The Second Reformation in Hesse-Kassel 1605

A virtual exhibition by Landeskirchliches Archiv Kassel

After the death of Landgrave Philip of Hesse in 1567, the four sons from his first marriage agreed that his land should be divided, but that some institutions should remain under joint jurisdiction. These institutions included the Protestant regional church, which governed itself through synods. The body met for the last time in 1582. A consensus was no longer possible after this, as the three landgraveships now diverged theologically.

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Mural of the Dörnberg devil in Dörnberg church

Landeskirchliches Archiv Kassel - Dörnberg devil mural (secco technique around 1509), whitewashed over after 1605, uncovered in the 1930s, Dörnberg church |