All information about the Tank Museum, our history and educational offers.
Mission statement
“BUT WHOEVER WANTS PEACE, LET HIM SPEAK OF WAR.”
Walter Benjamin, 1926
The chosen quote comes from the essay “Friedensware”, a review of the book “Flügel der Nike – Buch einer Reise” (Wings of Nike – Book of a Journey) (by Unruh) from 1926. In this book, Benjamin is harshly critical of a pacifism that exhausts itself in appearance and habitus. He criticizes that a pacifism that does not have the strength to deal openly and critically with the very war it rejects is of no use. Such uncritical pacifism is structurally little more than a moral fig leaf and often useful lip service for those who, in their hearts, consider war to be an effective means.
“Si vis pacem para bellum” If you want peace, prepare for war. Marcus Tullius Cicero. Benjamin was almost certainly familiar with this ancient model and was by no means simply copying it here. The Roman expression aims to enforce peace with the threat and, if necessary, the use of military force. This fits into a culture in which war was a normal, manageable means of political conflict.
Benjamin’s quote aims to develop this approach further after the experience of the uncontrolled, industrial mass slaughter of the First World War. “para bellum” would not bring “pacem” under the auspices of total war, but only endless suffering and total annihilation. But if it has become unfeasible, humanity must avoid war completely in future. And in order to achieve this, the inconceivable horrors of the modern war in 1928 must be shown, discussed and remembered in an unembellished and blatant manner – in order to remove any temptation to wage war. A small change in the choice of words, a big change in the message.
Walter Benjamin worked as a translator (of Proust, Balzac and Baudelaire, among others) and as a philosopher. His thinking revolved around the interfaces between language and knowledge, literature and philosophy. He was friends with Brecht and Adorno, was interested in dialectical materialism and is considered part of the extended circle of the Frankfurt School. Above all, however, he was a free spirit, undogmatic and unbound. His works were little received during his lifetime, but since the 1960s Benjamin has been regarded as one of the great thinkers of the 20th century. In 2014, Deutschlandfunk called him “one of the shining lights of German philosophy.”
One of the main points of contact between his work and the museum world is his 1935 essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Technical Reproducibility”, in which he developed the concept of “aura”. This term is still a central concept in museum work today.
As an (assimilated) Jew and (unorthodox) communist in Germany, Benjamin chose exile in 1933, where he committed suicide in 1940 at the age of 48 for fear of being extradited to the National Socialists.
Strong together for history.
Support the museum with your suggestions and your annual contribution. By doing so, you shape the cultural landscape: help to ensure that modern military history in Germany becomes even better known and appeals to even more interested people. As a member you enjoy permanent free admission to the Panzermuseum!
Please send the completed membership form by fax to: +49 (0) 5192 / 130 99 99. You can also send it by e-mail.
To the support associationThe German Tank Museum Munster is looking for support in the following areas:
No job offers found.
The Panzermuseum regularly offers internships for pupils and students. As the number of places is limited, please apply at least 6 months before the desired period if possible.
Internship
As part of their compulsory internship of 1 to 2 weeks, students are given an overview of all fields of activity and professional groups in the Tank Museum and can implement their own project in the field of education and mediation at short notice under the guidance of the museum educator.
Please send your application with a cover letter, personal motivation and a tabular CV in a PDF file to our museum educator Constanze Seifert-Hartz:
Internship
Enrolled students have the opportunity to gain an insight into the work of the Panzermuseum as part of an internship (1-3 months). You can focus on the area of exhibition & collection or on the area of education & communication. This results in the following fields of activity in which you can participate. This will depend on current requirements and will always take into account your previous knowledge, experience and personal interests:
You will also have the opportunity to implement your own project. We give you a great deal of freedom in project design and in return expect you to be able to work independently. We therefore require that you are at least in the fourth semester of your Bachelor’s degree.
We subsidize one month of internship with a €300 travel and accommodation allowance (exception: online internships).
You can find further information on fields of activity in museums in the Museumsbund guide.
Please send your application with
in a PDF file by our museum educator Constanze Seifert-Hartz:
Museum educator
Inquiries about educational offers and internships
Committed to history – become part of our team.
The hobby commanders at the Tank Museum are a group of volunteers who support the educational collection in the care, maintenance and presentation of the exhibits. They carry out warm-up phases on selected vehicles and rectify minor defects using the available on-board resources.
The hobby commanders always meet on the first Thursday of the month at the Tank Museum. After a short team meeting, the hobby commanders start work on their respective vehicles.
Regular training courses are held to pass on the technical expertise of the experienced hobby commanders to new volunteer helpers.
The “Tank of the Month” also takes place several times a year at the Tank Museum. On these days, the hobby commanders open up their tanks and offer visitors a rare glimpse inside the exhibits.
As an honorary hobby commander, you receive a pass that allows you free entry to the Tank Museum all year round.
Unfortunately, no further hobby commanders are currently being accepted.
Support us – for living history.
Would you like to support the Tank Museum financially? Thank you for your support!
You can either drop the money in the donation box near the cash desk on your next visit to the museum. Or you can transfer the money to us:
Kreissparkasse Soltau
BLZ 258 516 60
Account no. 489435
IBAN: DE 4325851660 0000 4894 35
SWIFT-BIC: nolade 21 sol
Intended use: “Donations to the Friends of the German Tank Museum Munster”
You can also donate online via Paypal.
On this page you will find information on donations in kind to the museum.
If you are considering a donation in kind, please contact our depot. Here we will decide whether the donation in kind is of interest to our collection.
If you are interested, you can already view the object acceptance form online. This is required if your donation is accepted.
If you intend to make a donation of
Please contact us in advance at .
Donations in kind of this kind will be rejected at the museum without prior agreement.
