On June 14, 2023, the traveling exhibition "Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and the Revolution 1848/49" was officially opened at the Cemetery of the Märzgefallenen in Berlin. The exhibition is a cooperation between the Karl Marx House Trier and the Museum Industriekultur Wuppertal with the participation of the Berlin Cemetery of the Märzgefallenen and the Cologne City Museum.
The revolutions of 1848/49 shook many European states and societies. People took to the streets and fought for social justice, political participation, national unity, democracy and human rights. With the manifesto of the Communist Party in February 1848 and the founding of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were both heralds and protagonists of the revolution. The 1848/49 revolution is a milestone in the history of democracy. The exhibition shows the diversity of the revolution and the role that Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels played in it.
In Wuppertal, the traveling exhibition will be on display from April 20 to June 23, 2024 as part of the event series "Revolution! Democracy on the Move 1848/49" at the Engels House (Engelsstraße 10, Wuppertal).
Location: Engels House, Engelsstraße 10, 42283 Wuppertal
Visitor information: Engels House
![[Translate to English:] Plakat Sonderausstellung Urbs 71](/fileadmin/_processed_/7/3/csm_urbs_25b55998cc.jpg "[Translate to English:] Plakat Sonderausstellung Urbs 71")
As early as 1968, Dr. Dr. Klaus Revermann, then head of the cultural department of the city of Wuppertal, planned a large cultural festival on the theme of "Work and Society" in cooperation with several cities in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was to take place in Wuppertal, and the residents of the other participating cities were to be brought there by a free bus transfer. Apart from Wuppertal, the cities of Bochum, Dortmund, Cologne, Krefeld and Oberhausen were involved. In addition to modern theatre, new music and art by established and (not yet) established artists and institutions, the citizens of the cities were to have their say. The weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT reported: "Urbs - something for everyone. The six-city event is not intended to be a cultural show, but rather to provide stimuli to participate and think."
The exhibition is jointly organised by the Museum Industriekultur Wuppertal, the Catholic Educational Association Wuppertal/Solingen/Remscheid as well as Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Heinrichs with students of the Bergische Universität and Beatrix Burghoff with students of the Bergisches Kolleg Wuppertal. The exhibition presents the programme of the festival, its genesis and reception on several panels - divided thematically.
Curator: Beatrix Burghoff (Bergisches Kolleg)
Exhibition venues
When the Communist Manifesto was published in London in 1848, the text written by Karl Marx in two days reached only a small readership. Today, 175 years later, the Manifesto is among the TOP 5 best-selling books in the world. It has become a classic that is also part of UNESCO's World Documentary Heritage and has been translated into more than 200 languages.
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were commissioned by the League of Communists, an early revolutionary socialist association, to draft a statute. Engels, who had already formulated the "Principles of Communism" in 1847, suggested the name "Manifesto." It was only with the further strengthening and institutionalization of the workers' movement since the 1860s and the revolutionary events after the First World War that the linguistically stirring text acquired the great worldwide relevance it still has today. In just a few pages, Marx formulated the materialist-historical foundations of bourgeois capitalism and called for its overcoming: "In place of the old bourgeois society, with its classes and class antagonisms, comes an association in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all."
The cabinet exhibition at the Engels House will show a small but diverse selection from the Wuppertal Manifesto Collection. A focus will be placed on particularly illustrated and print-quality outstanding editions.
Cabinet Exhibition:
Proletarians of All Countries Unite! - 175 Years of the Manifesto of the Communist Party
Exhibition duration:
March 14 - April 23, 2023
Exhibition Location:
Engels House; Engelsstrasse 10, 42283 Wuppertal, Germany.
Opening hours:
Monday: closed
Tuesday, Wednesday: 10 - 18 h
Thursday: 10 - 20 h
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Holidays: 10 - 18 h
The cabinet exhibition "No beautiful thing is in the world than to bite its enemies...", was on display at the Engels House from November 9, 2022 to December 11, 2022. The exhibition was part of the series of events celebrating the 200th birthday of the poet Georg Weerth.
Georg Weerth's short life fell in a literarily and politically highly exciting epoch between the July and February Revolutions in Paris. His first literary attempts in the tradition of Rhine Romanticism were followed by travel pictures ("English Travels"), essays on social and political life in England, and satirical poems ("Heuler und Wühler") and feuilletons ("Das Domfest von 1848") for Marxʼ "Neue Rheinische Zeitung." He abruptly ended his literary career with his "Proclamation to Women" in the last, May 19, 1849 issue of the "Neue Rheinische Zeitung." His satirical novel "Leben und Thaten des berühmten Ritters Schnapphahnski" (Life and Deeds of the Famous Knight Schnapphahnski) appeared in August 1849 as his only independent book publication. During his various stations in life, Weerth became acquainted with Freiligrath, Püttmann, Moses Hess, Heine, and the circle around Marx and Engels.
![[Translate to English:] Briefmarke Friedrich Engels](/fileadmin/user_upload/Bilder/Kontor91/friedrich-engels-publizist-sozialist.jpg "[Translate to English:] Briefmarke Friedrich Engels")
From 10 to 28 November 2021, an exhibition of stamps, postmarks, coins, medals and banknotes featuring Friedrich Engels can be viewed free of charge at our museum location Kontor 91 (Werth 91). This is a joint exhibition by the Förderverein Historisches Zentrum e.V., PHILAG Wuppertal e.V. and Münzfreunde Wuppertal e.V..
For about 100 years, several hundred stamps featuring Friedrich Engels and/or Karl Marx have appeared. The new approaches in the fields of philosophy, economics and politics developed by the two together have helped shape the 20th century worldwide. But even in the 21st century, the thoughts of Engels and his friend continue to be discussed. Although the countries of the former Eastern Bloc are particularly well represented, the first stamp with Engels' portrait appeared as early as 1919, for example. The stamp exhibition at Kontor 91 presents, among other things, the most beautiful pieces from Rolf Walther's extensive collection and embeds the Engels stamps in their historical context.
Opening hours: Wednesday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
![[Translate to English:] Ruhmeshalle Wuppertal](/fileadmin/_processed_/e/e/csm_Ruhmeshalle_24d2d1ede9.jpg "[Translate to English:] Ruhmeshalle Wuppertal")
The new special exhibition at Kontor 91 "Views into the Past-Wuppertal in Historical Photographs" is open!
Historical photographs from the collection of the Wuppertal City Archive show fascinating views of Barmen and Elberfeld. These old city views turn back the wheel of history and allow visitors to take a historical walk through the city, transporting them back to the imperial era. Among other things, the former municipal theatre, market squares and photographs of the suspension railway and stations of yesteryear are on display. Stroll through Wuppertal around 1900!
The special exhibition is complemented by models of the Wuppertal-Achse e.V., which are kindly on loan.
Opening hours: Wednesday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
![[Translate to English:] Plakat Engels Sonderausstellung 2020](/fileadmin/_processed_/2/f/csm_Plakat_Engels_Sonderausstellung_neu_a4ec8583fb.jpeg "[Translate to English:] Plakat Engels Sonderausstellung 2020")
"A spectre is haunting Europe - the spectre of communism". This is how the Communist Manifesto of 1848, written by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, begins, to end with the militant call "Proletarians of all countries unite!"
In many other writings, Friedrich Engels grappled with the economic and social consequences and dislocations of industrialisation in the 19th century. Together with Karl Marx, he formulated a critique and theory of capitalism that is still effective today. Friedrich Engels is thus one of the most important personalities of the 19th century who have influenced history to this day.
Wuppertal is celebrating Friedrich Engels' 200th birthday with a special exhibition in the "Haus der Jugend", not far from his birthplace in Barmen. The exhibition takes a historical look at the entrepreneur, philosopher and social critic, writer and journalist, revolutionary and visionary, but also at the dutiful son, loyal and generous friend and sociable host. It describes his eventful life at the time of the "Industrial Revolution", which was to take him from Wuppertal to Bremen, Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Cologne, Manchester and London. With many exhibits, works, pictures and above all contemporary photos, events, life and work on the way to modernity are shown as Engels also perceived them.
Responsible for the project
Project management: Dr Lars Bluma
Curatorial team: Heike Ising-Alms (lead curator), Thorsten Dette, Marina Mohr, Reiner Rhefus
Scientific Advisory Board: Dr. Anja Kruke (Archive of Social Democracy/Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung), Prof. Dr. Wilfried Nippel (Humboldt University Berlin), Dr. Regina Roth (Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences/MEGA), Prof. Dr. Clemens Zimmermann (Saarland University)
Organisation and administration: Marcus Issel
Exhibit and loan management: Alexandra Barbian
Finances: Birgit Verkennis
Advertising and Merchandising: Birgit Hoseit-Veljovic
Technical equipment: Jochen Reuter, Kevin Emmerlich
Design office: Space4
The end of the war, the revolution, the founding of the republic, the first democratic local elections and the imperial constitution: the years 1918/19 have left their mark on history and yet have not always been sufficiently appreciated, but have always been controversially discussed.
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of all these events, the Bergische Volkshochschule, the Museum Industriekultur Wuppertal and the Bergische Geschichtsverein, Wuppertal branch, supported by schools and associations, have created a programme that highlights the various aspects - in particular also the local historical events - of the revolutionary year. These are viewed from very different angles: political and democratic history, but also educational and cultural history. The protagonists of this long "forgotten revolution" will have their say, as will the controversies surrounding the possibilities and limits, conflicts and contradictions of this historical turning point that made possible the first parliamentary democracy in Germany, the Weimar Republic. Many of the events illustrate the revolutionary events using local examples and thus tell chapters from the history of the emerging democracy in Wuppertal from different perspectives.
Prof. Dr. Jochen Johrendt / Bergischer Geschichtsverein, Dr. Detlef Vonde / Bergische VHS, Dr. Lars Bluma / Museum Industriekultur Wuppertal
Curator of the special exhibition: Reiner Rhefus (Museum Industriekultur Wuppertal)
EXHIBITION ON THE HISTORY OF MONEY IN OUR REGION WITH A SPECIAL PRESENTATION OF FRIEDRICH WILHELM KRUSE'S COLLECTION OF GOLD COINS.
The exhibition illustrates the development of monetary and commercial transactions in the 18th and 19th centuries and the increasing importance of money for economic activity. It shows the overcoming of the fragmentation of the German economic area and the standardisation of currencies and weights in the Deutsche Zollverein.
This is the last special exhibition of the Historical Centre before the temporary closure of the Museum of Early Industrialisation.
The great technical innovations of the 19th century - the steam engine, the railway, photography, telegraphy and the automobile - spread relatively quickly and extensively through everyday life at the time. Starting in the big cities and the early industrial factories, the novelties soon reached the countryside, the rivers and the coasts. The acceleration of production processes and travel routes had such a profound impact on the population that the perception of space and time changed fundamentally. People reacted to the new machines with a mixture of fascination, surprise and fear. At the same time, these new inventions stimulated the imagination of contemporaries, and visions of the future emerged that ranged from paradisiacal conditions to dystopian forecasts of the enslavement of humans by machines.
Caricature was the perfect medium to document the tense relationship between man and machine in humorous and critical drawings. Published as single-sheet prints, in newspapers or satirical magazines, they soon became available to a large audience. The more caricature became a mass medium through high print runs, the more it owed its own success to the machines, namely the constantly improved printing presses.
In the special exhibition, the Historisches Zentrum Wuppertal shows the great names of 19th century European caricature, such as George Cruikshank, Grandville, Honoré Daumier and Albert Robida, and how they commented humorously, but also critically - between surprise and apprehension - on the technical achievements of their time.
