The exhibition “Roads not Taken. Oder: Es hätte auch anders kommen können” is due to go on show from 9 December 2022. The special exhibit will be presented in the Pei Building, with approx. 1000 m² exhibition space at its disposal.

"It could have turned out differently". From this perspective, historian Dan Diner looks at 14 caesuras in German history from 1989 to 1848. The title “Roads not Taken” provides the backbone structure to the exhibit: Starting with a set of key dates in German history, details of actual historical events will be set against the backdrop of other options and other possible outcomes, laid out as a chain of pivotal and often dramatic turning points. This unusual speculative approach raises inextricable questions about underlying or even engrained patterns, but also the importance of key decision-makers and political figures and the role of chance in shaping the course of history. The exhibition’s primary goal is to help visitors see the familiar from a new angle and to sharpen an awareness that history is not ‘a closed book’ but essentially an open process.

The project manager is Fritz Backhaus; the curatorial team consists of Julia Franke, Stefan Paul-Jacobs, and Dr. Lili Reyels.